NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission ofof the the copyrightcopyright owner. owner. FurtherFurther reproduction reproduction prohibited prohibited without without permission. permission. BETWEEN PLAZA AND PALISADE: HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION AT EARLY MOUNDVILLE by Gregory D. Wilson A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology. Chapel Hill 2005 Approved by l L ' Advisor: Dr. Vincas P. Steponaitis Reader: Dr &/U- Reader: Dr.' avis, Jr. Readep-Dr. C. Margaret Scarry Reader: Dr. John F^S^arry Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3200860 Copyright 2005 by Wilson, Gregory D. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3200860 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © 2005 Gregory D. Wilson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT GREGORY D. WILSON: Between Plaza and Palisade: Household and Community Organization at Early Moundville (Under the direction of Vincas P. Steponaitis) This dissertation examines issues of political consolidation and the origins of social inequality in the context of the early Mississippian Moundville chiefdom in west-central Alabama. Using a GIS-based approach I link large-scale architectural and artifactual datasets to examine variability in the composition of and relationships among early Mississippian households at the Moundville site. Specifically, I explore how everyday household activities and political negotiations generated relations of inequality at the political and ceremonial capital of the Moundville chiefdom. Overall this analysis has revealed that the early Mississippian Moundville community consisted of a number of spatially discrete multi-household groups. This form of multi­ household organization is similar to ethnohistorically described kin groups from the early Historic southeastern United States. Hosting feasts, dances, and other ceremonial events were important strategies by which elite households created social debts and legitimized their positions of authority. Non-elite households, on the other hand, maintained considerable economic and ritual autonomy through diversified production activities, risk sharing, and household ceremonialism. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank my wife, Amber VanDerwarker for years of unwavering support. I could have never made it this far without you. I thank my committee members for their guidance and patient instruction; each of which provided invaluable assistance at crucial points in the dissertation process. Thanks in particular to Vin Steponaitis for being a great advisor for all things anthropological. Special thanks to Margie Scarry and John Scarry for their help in selecting this research project. I also extend my gratitude to Steve Davis for his substantial contribution to the Moundville GIS map. Finally, I wish to thank Brian Billman for sharing his insights into household archaeology. A great number of other individuals and institutions also facilitated this research. Thanks to my peers; Tony Boudreax, Kandi Detwiler, Scott Hammerstedt; Hunter Johnson, Mintcy Maxham, Scott Meeks; Jon Marcoux, Chris Rodning, and Bram Tucker for their friendship and scholarly feedback. Hats off to Anna K. Bauguess, Catherine V. Brooks, Tara Miranda, and Jessica Newman for being great research assistants. I also thank those senior scholars who have provided me with advice and guidance; John Kelly, Vernon J. Knight, Brad Koldehoff, Bill Iseminger; and Timothy Pauketat. Major thanks to Eugene Futato and the staff at the Office of Archaeological Research in Moundville, Alabama for providing access to collections and analysis space during the early stages of this research. Finally I would like to thank my family for their love and support. Thanks dad for introducing me to Archaeology all those years ago. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................................. x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................... 1 2. CHIEFDOM ORIGINS AND ORGANIZATION................................................................ 6 2.1 Origins of the Chiefdom Concept ................................................................................7 2.2 The Basis of Chiefly Authority .................................................................................... 8 2.3 Chiefdom Organizational Variation ...........................................................................12 2.4 Agency and Structure in the Archaeological Record ............................................. 16 2.5 Household Archaeology ...............................................................................................19 2.6 Theoretical Summary ...................................................................................................25 3. MISSISSIPPIAN COMMUNITIES AND HOUSEHOLDS.............................................28 3.1 Kin Groups and Community Composition ..............................................................30 3.2 Mississippian Household Organization ................................................................... 33 3.3 Discussion ......................................................................................................................40 3.4 Moundville Culture History and Community Organization ................................ 40 3.5 Previous Perspectives on Moundville Community Organization ....................... 51 3.6 Summary and Discussion ............................................................................................ 56 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4. THE MOUNDVILLE ROADWAY EXCAVATIONS......................................................59 4.1 The Study Assemblage ............................................................................................... 61 5. SERIATION............................................................................................................................... 64 5.1 Background on Moundville Ceramic Seriation ..................................................... 68 5.2 Methods of Seriation ....................................................................................................71 5.3 Summary of Seriation Evidence ................................................................................82 6. ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION..........................................84 6.1 Architectural Construction Techniques and Functions ......................................... 84 6.2 Creating a Geographical Information System for Moundville ............................86 6.3 Structure Identification ............................................................................................... 89 6.4 Variation in Structure Size and Function .................................................................90 6.5 Residential Group Organization ............................................................................. 100 6.6 Changing Community Patterns ................................................................................121 6.7 Estimating Occupation Span .................................................................................... 126 6.8 Intra-community Status Differences .......................................................................133 6.9 Mortuary Patterns ....................................................................................................... 135 6.10 Summary...................................................................................................................... 136 7. CERAMICS AT EARLY MOUNDVILLE........................................................................ 146 7.1 Methods of Analysis ................................................................................................