Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-1997 Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from the Knobloch Site, 20AE633, Allegan County, Michigan Alexandra D. Bybee Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Bybee, Alexandra D., "Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from the Knobloch Site, 20AE633, Allegan County, Michigan" (1997). Master's Theses. 3943. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3943 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANALYSIS OF THE SKELETAL REMAINS FROM THE KNOBLOCH SITE, 20AE633, ALLEGAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN by Alexandra D. Bybee A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillmentof the requirements forthe Degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan December 1997 Copyright by AlexandraD. Bybee 1997 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people were involved in the research resulting in this thesis and gratitude goes to all of them. Academically, I would like to th_ank my committee members: Dr. Robert Sundick and Dr. William Cremin from Western Michigan University and Dr. Janet Brashier from Grand Valley State University. Their comments and reviews of my draftswere invaluable in the completion of this thesis. Dr. Brashier was exception­ ally helpful in her reviews and, along with Lisa Morrissey, appreciation goes to them for allowing access to the Anthropology Laboratory at GVSU and aiding in the skeletal analysis. Trace element analysis was conducted at GVSU's Water Resources Institute by Dr. Richard Rediske. His explanations of the processes and results of the trace element analysis were quite helpful. On a personal level, I would like to acknowledge my family and friends for their continued support through the duration of my education. In particular, my deep­ est gratitude goes to my father, William Bybee, for all of his love and guidance. I would also like to mention my almost-stepmother, Mary Baker, and all of my siblings, especially Jeanette, Howie, Aaron, and Kym, forbeing such an integral part of my life. This thesis is dedicated in loving memory to my mother, Shirley Bybee. Alexandra D. Bybee 11 ANALYSISOF THESKELETAL MATERIAL FROM THE KNOBLOCH SITE, 20AE633, ALLEGANCOUNTY, MICHIGAN Alexandra D. Bybee, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1997 The skeletal remains of at least thirty individuals were recovered from the Knobloch site, 20AE633, Allegan County, Michigan. The site is from the Late Woodland period, a time which saw a variety of strategies for food procurement, including hunting, gathering, fishing, and agriculture. It is not known to what extent these strategies were practiced. The results of trace element analysis of skeletal sam­ ples fromthe Knobloch site assemblage indicate a diet reliant on hunting and gathering. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................- .................................................v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Site History and Cultural Affiliations..................................................... .2 Analysis of Trace Elements and the Knobloch Site Population ................ 5 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................. 8 III. TRACE ELEMENTANALYSIS ................................................................ 11 History................................................................................................. 11 Trace Elements .................................................................................... 12 Strontium ............................................................................................. 13 Strontium in the Human Body .............................................................. 14 Anthropological Considerations ...........................................................17 Problems With Trace Element Analysis ................................................ 21 Trace Element Measuring Techniques ..................................................25 IV. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS ................................................................. 27 Non-Cremated Remains ....................................................................... 27 Cremated Remains ...............................................................................3 5 Trace Element Analysis........................................................................ 36 lll Table of Contents-Continued CHAPTER V. RESULTS ........................................................................................... 42 Non-Cremated Remains ..................................................................43 Cremated Remains .........................................................................45 Trace Element Analysis .................................................................. 47 VI. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 50 VII. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................. 55 IV LIST OF TABLES 1. Skeletal Inventory of Feature 1, Non-Cremated Remains, Lower Level. ...................................................................................... 28 2. Skeletal Inventory of Feature 1, Non-Cremated Remains, Upper Level and Fill........................................................................... 30 3. Skeletal Inventory of Feature 3 .......................................................................... 32 4. Skeletal Inventory of Feature 5 .......................................................................... 32 5. Skeletal Inventory of Feature 6 ........................................................................... 33 6. Skeletal Inventory of Feature 7 ........................................................................... 34 7. Sites With Small Sample Sizes Used forTrace Element Analysis......................... 37 8. Skeletal Components Used in Trace Element Analysis ........................................ 38 9. Trace Element Levels in Parts Per Million (ppm) ............................................... .41 10. Demography of the Knobloch Site Skeletal Assemblage, Feature 1 .....................43 11. Demography of the Knobloch Site Skeletal Assemblage, Features 3, 5, 6, and 7 .................................................................. .44 12. Demographic Profile........................................................................................... 44 V CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Knobloch site (20AE633) is located in the NW 1/4, of the NE 1/4, of Section 22, Hopkins Township, T3N, R12W, Allegan County, Michigan. The site is located three-quarters of a mile south of the Rabbit River, a tributary of the Kalamazoo River. The site was discovered in the fall of 1975 in a farmer's potato field, when a concentration of fragmentaryburnt and unburnt human bone overlying an articulated burial was unearthed. The site was excavated over the next few years by crews of students under the direction of the late Dr. Richard E. Flanders from GVSU (then Grand Valley State Colleges). The crews from GVSU uncovered a series of four storage pits, nine hearths, two structures, and three burial areas. With the excep­ tion of human skeletal material, all excavated material has been curated in the Anthro­ pology Laboratory at Grand Valley State University (the human skeletal remains were repatriated in the spring of 1996). Archaeological investigations were last conducted at the site in 1979, with site boundaries never having been delineated. Three research questions regarding the population at the Knobloch site will be addressed. In this study a discussion of the skeletal material and trace element levels is presented, followed by an investigation of three questions related to the trace element levels determined for certain skeletal samples from the assemblage and their relation to 1 2 the Knobloch site. The first question examines the results of trace element analysis on cremated and non-cremated skeletal material. Incineration of skeletal remains is a step in conducting trace element analysis, therefore, there should be no difference in trace element levels between cremated and non-cremated skeletal samples. Samples from the Knobloch site assemblage of both cremated and non-cremated human remains were analyzed for this determination. The second question examines the subsistence strategies of Knobloch populations based on trace element analysis to determine diet. Subsistence strategies of Late Woodland peoples in southwest Michigan were diverse and analysis of trace element level ratios and comparison to other sites with known food procurement strategies should predict whether the Knobloch site population was relying on hunting and gathering or agriculture. Finally, intersite differences in trace element levels provides some evidence, however slight, regarding the social organiza­ tion of