University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2014 Constructing Community in the Central Arkansas River Valley: Ceramic Compositional Analysis and Collaborative Archaeology Rebecca Wiewel University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, and the Indigenous Studies Commons Recommended Citation Wiewel, Rebecca, "Constructing Community in the Central Arkansas River Valley: Ceramic Compositional Analysis and Collaborative Archaeology" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 2077. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2077 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Constructing Community in the Central Arkansas River Valley: Ceramic Compositional Analysis and Collaborative Archaeology Constructing Community in the Central Arkansas River Valley: Ceramic Compositional Analysis and Collaborative Archaeology A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Rebecca Wiewel University of Kansas Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and English, 2004 University of Wyoming Master of Arts in Anthropology, 2008 December 2014 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ______________________________________ Dr. George Sabo III Dissertation Director ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Dr. Ann Early Dr. W. Fredrick Limp Committee Member Committee Member ABSTRACT In the Central Arkansas River Valley, archaeological investigations of the protohistoric occupation in the Carden Bottoms locality of Yell County, Arkansas suggest the interaction of groups from three adjoining regions at the site (the Central Mississippi Valley, the Lower Arkansas River Valley, and the Middle Ouachita region). Until now, the analysis of whole ceramic vessels associated with the site (derived from looted contexts) constituted the strongest evidence of this process, but this analysis was based on stylistic cues and macroscopic examination of pastes to discriminate between local and nonlocal wares. This project employed instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) as an important crosscheck of these assumptions and found that some wares previously identified as evidence of trade with Caddo communities from the Middle Ouachita region of southwest Arkansas may have been produced locally by Caddo potters residing at the site. Other results from INAA support some exchange relationships with communities farther downstream on the Arkansas River. In combination with findings obtained from large-scale excavations and other research undertaken during the larger Central Arkansas River Valley project, I suggest that the Carden Bottoms community may be an early example of societal coalescence in which several formerly distinct groups came together during times of regional instability precipitated by the De Soto entrada, the dissolution of nucleated chiefdoms in northeast Arkansas, and severe drought associated with the Little Ice Age. Most other examples of coalescence in southeastern North America are known from colonial contexts. These combined results shed new light on the process of social interaction, integration, and the projection of social identity in the Central Arkansas River Valley and have broader implications for research throughout the protohistoric Southeast. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As with any endeavor in academia, or life for that matter, this dissertation would not have come to fruition without the support and assistance of numerous individuals and institutions. Foremost acknowledgment goes to the members of my committee: Drs. George Sabo III, Ann Early, and Fred Limp. All have provided useful commentary and suggestions. I thoroughly appreciate the grounding I received in archaeological theory from taking Dr. Limp’s seminar class, which reintroduced me to several theoretical perspectives in a new light. Dr. Early generously shared her knowledge and expertise of Caddo ceramics throughout my research, which greatly aided the process of data collection. Dr. Sabo has been a wonderfully supportive advisor who first introduced me to the archaeology of the Central Arkansas River Valley and to the problems at the center of this dissertation. His encouragement to forge ahead with this research project despite some setbacks is much appreciated. I also owe both Drs. Sabo and Early a resounding thank you for helping me find gainful employment after graduation! Several individuals provided access to collections to obtain comparative samples for compositional analysis or furnished samples for my research. Thanks go to Mary Suter of the University of Arkansas Museum and Drs. Bob Mainfort, Mary Beth Trubitt, and John House of the Arkansas Archeological Survey. Other Survey personnel provided additional access to site records, help with the Carden Bottoms collection, and other practical assistance, including Jerry Hilliard, Dr. Jami Lockhart, Leslie Walker, Jared Pebworth, Mike Evans, Aden Jenkins, and Lela Donat. I received a National Science Foundation subsidy award from the University of Missouri Research Reactor, which discounted the cost of instrumental neutron activation analysis (National Science Foundation grant #1110793). Additional funds to cover the cost of analysis were provided by a National Endowment for the Humanities We the People grant awarded to the Arkansas Archeological Survey (Project ID# RZ-51028-09). Dr. Jeffrey Ferguson, a research scientist at the University of Missouri Research Reactor, provided his much needed expertise with the analysis and interpretation of the results of the chemical compositional study. I appreciate his always prompt responses to my questions. I would also like to thank the American Indian project participants from the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw nations who shared their views with me about archaeology and destructive analysis techniques. While all the project participants contributed to my understanding of a collaborative project between Indians and academics, I would like to especially acknowledge Robert Cast, Bobby Gonzalez, Doyle Edge, Jean Ann Lambert, Ardina Moore, and Dr. Andrea Hunter. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude and love to my friends and family for putting up with me throughout yet another stint in graduate school. Many thanks go to my wonderful parents, William and Brenda Fritsche, and to Adam Wiewel, my partner in life and archaeology. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Research Questions 7 Theoretical Framework 8 Research Design 14 Ceramic Compositional Analysis 14 American Indian Views on INAA 18 Organization of Chapters 19 Chapter 2: Research in the Central Arkansas River Valley 21 The History of Carden Bottoms Phase Research 21 The Pottery Trade 23 The Carden Bottoms “Puzzle” 25 De Soto’s “Tanico” 27 The Central Mississippi Valley and Lower Arkansas River Valley, ca. 1500 - 1700 30 Chiefdoms in Northeast Arkansas 32 The Menard Complex and Quapaw Villages in the Lower Arkansas River Valley 36 The Caddos in Southwest Arkansas, ca. 1500 - 1700 41 The Central Arkansas River Valley Project 46 Village Layout 46 Architecture 50 Artifacts 54 Chapter 3: Compositional Analysis of Ceramic Paste 60 Background on INAA Research in Surrounding Regions and Regional Geology 60 Methods 63 Sample Selection 65 Sherd Data 68 INAA Sample Preparation 70 Collecting Chemical Data with INAA 71 Interpreting Chemical Data 73 Results 76 Internal Data Patterns 80 Clay Samples 81 Intra-site Patterning at 3YE25 82 Comparisons to Other Regional INAA Data 83 East Texas Caddo Comparison 84 Arkansas and Oklahoma Caddo Comparison 86 Summary 90 Chapter 4: Compositional Analysis of Ceramic Temper 92 Background 92 Methods 94 Results 96 Chapter 5: Evaluation of Results 102 Implications of Compositional Results 102 Implications of Archaeological Investigations 111 Discussion: The Carden Bottoms Community in Context 119 Chapter 6: Communities in Collaboration 123 Background 123 Perceptions of INAA and Technical Analyses 126 Evaluation of the CARV Project 130 Chapter 7: Conclusions 138 Answers to Research Questions 139 Research Question 1 139 Research Question 2 140 Research Question 3 141 Research Question 4 143 Research Question 5 143 Future Research Directions 145 Research Significance 146 References Cited 148 Appendix A: Descriptive Data for Sherd Samples 165 Appendix B: Photos of Sherds Submitted for INAA 243 Appendix C: Raw INAA Data 285 Appendix D: INAA Samples by Group 309 Appendix E: Permission Forms 315 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Sherd samples selected for INAA 64 Table 3.2 Distribution of group assignments by site 80 Sherd Table 3.3 Group membership probabilities (%) using Mahalanobis distance for 89 samples Perttula’s Oklahoma and Arkansas Caddo samples within the compositional groups defined in this study selectedTable 4.1 for Distribution of temper cluster assignments by site 98 Table 4.2 Mean concentration of elements by county 100 TableINAA. 6.1 Questions asked of American Indian project participants 132 Table 6.2 Questions asked of academic archaeologist project participants 132 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Map showing the location of the Carden Bottoms locality and 3YE25 2 Figure 1.2 Examples