The Swantek Site: Late Prehistoric Oneota Expansion and Ethnogenesis by Daniel Christopher Pugh A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor John M O’Shea, Chair Professor Gregory E Dowd Professor Kent V Flannery Professor John D Speth © Daniel Christopher Pugh 2010 For Christina, my true north ii Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without help and support from many individuals and institutions. I would like to thank John O’Shea for more than a decade of academic support and guidance culminating in his role as my primary advisor for this dissertation. John took me in as a starry-eyed young graduate student and helped me to focus my interests and develop intellectual tools for understanding so much more than just archaeology. I know it took great patience to mentor me and John has always provided me with the space I needed to become an independent thinker. My other committee members within the Museum of Anthropology have also been very influential. John Speth has served as a friend as well as a mentor and Kent Flannery has provided a wealth of knowledge and experience that I hope to one day fully comprehend. Greg Dowd graciously joined my committee at a late date having already been influential through his writing and took extra time to provide a unique perspective on my project. To all of my committee members, I cannot thank you enough for the guidance and resources you have provided. Special thanks also to the other faculty members of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology who have been remarkably open to discussing my ideas even when they did not relate to course work or even my dissertation project. The museum community is truly something special and I feel very fortunate to have spent time learning from such wonderful people. Within the larger anthropology department, I have iii continued to rely on the advice and mentorship of several other faculty members, and in particular I would like to thank Bruce Mannheim for his unique insights. Perhaps most important for my growth as a graduate student and scholar has been the amazing group of graduate students with whom I have had the fortune of interacting at the University of Michigan. In particular, Lars Fogelin and Sev Fowles took me under their wings when I was a young graduate student and mentored me informally. The long coffee breaks Lars and I shared and the fieldwork and explorations that Sev and I experienced were critical for building my understanding of the world of ideas that constitute archaeology. Sunday Eiselt took me into the field after my first year of graduate school and showed me how a top notch dissertation project was run while putting up with a good deal of sarcasm and bad jokes. Later Bill Parkinson took me into the field so that I could experience “the Nebraska of Europe” (the Carpathian Basin) and helped me to gain a more worldly perspective. I could not have survived coursework without the camaraderie of my fantastic and unique cohort including Liz Bridges, Daphne Gallagher, Kenny Sims, and Sudha Shah. More recently I have thrived on the energy in the museum community and interactions with students as we plug away in the Treehaus. There are too many individuals to whom I am grateful to name here, but I hope you all know how important you are to me. The community of Genoa, Nebraska has been unbelievably generous to me and facilitated the research presented in this document. In particular, the generosity and hospitality of the Swantek and Carlson families was overwhelming. Philip and Sandra Swantek welcomed me onto their farm and shared their knowledge of the area without hesitation and were extremely patient with my excavations, long period of analysis, and iv motley crew of field workers. Likewise, Monty and Angie Swantek welcomed myself, my crew, and my dogs into a trailer home on their property where we lived as neighbors for a summer in 2005. Nancy Carlson was the first to welcome me into the Genoa community and has been unbelievably generous in sharing her expertise on local archaeology, volunteering countless hours of help and labor, baking cookies for the crew, rescuing us when I locked the keys in my truck, and even opening her home to us. Likewise Jerry Carlson contributed to this project in more ways than I can enumerate, sharing his labor, resources, and friendship when they were most valued. Finally, Ralph Miller and his dog Suzique are to be thanked for sharing their home with our odd and muddy group on literally a moment’s notice. The community of Genoa is truly remarkable in its hospitality and unique commitment to history and I hope to one day pay back the debt of gratitude that I feel. Perhaps the most enduring academic relationships that I have are with Brad Logan and Lauren Ritterbush. I first met Brad when I was a high school student in Kansas who didn’t really even know what anthropology was. Brad agreed to meet me for a day of career shadowing and made me feel like a potential member of the academic community at a time when I was barely old enough to drive. Throughout my college career, he and Lauren demonstrated to me how good archaeology is done and shaped me in more ways than I can count. I cannot express enough the depth of my gratitude toward Brad and Lauren for nurturing my nascent interest in prehistory and helping me find my own path. Also in the Great Plains, I have benefitted greatly from input from Donna Roper, Donald Blakeslee, Eric Hollinger, Rob Bozell, Renee Botts, Bob Hoard, Steve Holen, Joe v Artz, and all of the people at the Nebraska State Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society, and Iowa Office of State Archaeologist. My excavations and research were made possible by generous volunteer work from many people including Brad Krueger, Lindsey Trainor, Kyle Stock, DeAnna Dear, Meghan Howey, Beth Dykstra, Heather Horobik, Heather Rejto, Stephanie Salwen, Elisa Ramirez-Lagos, Erin Lutgens-Rice, Lindsey Reiners, Kenny Swantek, Alice Terrel, Troy Terrel, Ron Cruise, Bob Cruise, Tom Bryant, Chris Bryant, John Drozd, and Eric Deyoe. Although we did not have a formal relationship, the cultural officers of the Pawnee Tribe, particularly Francis Morriss provided an important check on the nature and impact of my work. Most importantly, I could not possibly have done this research without the unending love and support from my family. Christina, my wonderful wife has served as a true north and a sounding board throughout this process. She has also volunteered endless hours of labor excavating, processing artifacts, analyzing my zooarchaeological remains, listening to my ideas, sitting through practice lectures, editing, and working through my struggles. The support and encouragement of my parents, Charles E and Sara Pugh, have never been limited and without that foundation, I could not possibly have enjoyed any of the successes that I have enjoyed in academics or in life. The research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the James B. Griffin Foundation, and the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. vi Thank you to all of the people and institutions listed above and the countless others that have helped me to grow through the years. Of course any and all errors in this document are entirely my own. vii Table of Contents Dedication………………………………………………………………………………..ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………...iii List of Figures………………………………………………………….………………...ix List of Tables……………………………………………………………..…………..….xi List of Appendices…………………………………………………..………………….xiii Abstract……………………………………………………………..…………………..viv Chapter 1. Introduction……………………………………………………….....…....…..1 2. Flux and Transformation in Tribal Societies…………………………...…….10 3. Toward an Archaeology of Ethnogenesis…………………………....…….....54 4. Late Prehistoric Flux in the American Midcontinent……………....…….......88 5. Investigating Ethnogenesis at the Swantek Site……………………...……...138 6. Discussion and Conclusions……………………………………………........201 Appendices…………………………………………………………………...….……..223 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………....281 viii List of Figures Figure 4.1. Itskari area in relation to traditional Oneota territories and major western 101 Oneota sites……………...…………………………………………………..... 4.2. Significant western Oneota sites and all Oneota sites in Nebraska…….... 112 4.3. Sites in Nebraska and Kansas with known Oneota material…………….. 132 5.1. Source areas for major non-gravel toolstones found at the Swantek Site.. 152 5.2. Line drawing and profile of partially reconstructed vessel………………. 160 5.3. Selected rim profiles with diameter estimates…………………………… 161 5.4. Rim radius for all rims………………………………...…………………. 162 5.5. Rim thickness for all rims ………………………………..…………….... 163 5.6. Rim angle for all rims……………………………………………………. 163 5.7. Rim height for all rims …………………………………………………... 164 5.8. All postmolds and features excavated at the Swantek Site ……….…..…. 167 5.9. Selection of projectile points from Swantek excavations………….…..… 168 5.10. Sites used in comparative ceramic analyses……………………………. 175 ix 5.11. Sites used in comparative ceramic analyses……………………………. 180 5.12 Scatterplot of Tanimoto distance values for all test pairs in rank order… 180 5.13. Correlation analysis of Brainerd-Robinson coefficients versus 193 geographic distance for 14 used site pairs…………………..………………... 5.14. Correlations between Brainerd-Robinson coefficients and geographic 194 distance for all site pairs excluding Swantek and White Rock………...……... 5.15. Correlations between Brainerd-Robinson coefficients and geographic 194 distance for site pairs including Swantek and White Rock only………...…… 5.16. Correlations between Brainerd-Robinson coefficients and geographic 195 distance for all site pairs including Swantek……..…………………………... 5.17. Correlation between Brainerd-Robinson coefficients and geographic 196 distance for all site pairs excluding Cribb's Crib……………..………….…… 5.18. Correlations between Brainerd-Robinson coefficients and geographic 197 distance for all site pairs involving Dixon except Dixon vs Vosburg…...…… 5.19.