A STUDY OF SWEAT LODGES IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES by JAYUR MADHUSUDAN MEHTA A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in the Department of Anthropology in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2007 Submitted by Jayur Madhusudan Mehta in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts specializing in Anthropology. Accepted on behalf of the Faculty of the Graduate School by the thesis committee: ________________________ R.P. Stephen Davis, Ph.D. ________________________ Keith Jacobi, Ph.D. ________________________ William Dressler, Ph.D. ________________________ Ian W. Brown, Ph.D. Chairperson ________________________ Michael D. Murphy, Ph.D. Department Chairperson ______________ Date ________________________ David A. Francko, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School ______________ Date ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have helped me along the way with this study. I first want to thank my thesis committee for helping with my research design and for their insightful comments. I thank my mentors and friends back home, R.P. Stephen Davis, Vin Steponaitis and Tony Boudreaux, without whose sage advice I never would have made the choice to come down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I extend my sincerest gratitude to all of the Gulf Coast Survey’s friends down in Natchez. Thanks to Smokey Joe, Dr. Prospere, and Sherry and Lee Jones, I always had a lot to learn and a place to stay when visiting. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the McGehee family for all of their help and support. Without the guidance of Ms. Betty, Tom, and Elenora, I would have been stuck in the woods without a shovel. I also want to recognize Alabama’s Anthropology club for helping with the Smiley Rock excavation. And to you Katy, without whom I never would have been able to pack my truck full of field gear so efficiently. I have matured under your friendship and I look forward for the years to come. My penultimate thanks go to my family for supporting my decision to become an archaeologist. Without you, none of this is possible. And lastly, but by no means last, I thank my advisor, Dr. Ian Brown. You have been an excellent mentor, teacher and friend to me for two years now and, hopefully, for many more. Thank you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii- viii ABSTRACT ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Primary Objectives 3 Importance of Architecture 4 Smiley Rock and Poplar Cove sites 6 Thesis Layout 9 Chapter 2: Developing Architectural Grammars for Sweat Lodges : Theory and Method 10 What is an Architectural Grammar? 10 Structural Linguistics and Structuralism 13 Glassie and Middle Virginia 16 Methods for Devising Sweat Lodge Architectural Grammars 19 Summary 26 Chapter 3: Defining the Sample 29 Chickasaws 31 Choctaws 33 Creeks 36 Cherokee 41 The Catawba and Related Tribes 46 Other Groups in the Southeast 50 A Sample of Sweat Lodges from Groups Outside of the Southeastern United States: 55 Sioux 55 Crow 60 Mandan 60 Ojibwa 63 Klamath, Modoc, and other Indians of California 66 Sweat Lodges: Summary of an Idea and a Form 67 Chapter 4: The Smiley Rock (22Ad1041) and Poplar Cove (22Ad1040) Sites 70 Environmental Setting 72 A Note on Methods 74 iv Excavations at Smiley Rock 75 Excavations at Poplar Cove 80 Summary 87 Chapter 5: Discussion 89 Rule Sets for Sweat Lodges in the Southeast 91 Archaeological Reclassification 98 The Sweat Lodge as a Religious Artifact for the Removal of Bodily Pollution 103 Smiley Rock site 104 Poplar Cove site 105 Chapter 6: Conclusion 108 References Cited 111 Appendix A: Ceramic Totals 121 Appendix B: Artifact Tabulations 124 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Study sample 22 Table 2: Extant structures used for sweating 25 Table 3: Correlation of building use and location 27 Table 4: Level A, counts and percentages of pottery types and varieties 78 Table 5: Level B, counts and percentages of pottery types and varieties 79 Table 6: Counts and percentages of pottery from Poplar Cove 83 Table 7: Types of sweat lodges in the Southeast 96 Table 8: Examples of sweat lodges using the type-variety nomenclature 98 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Regional Map of the Smiley Rock and Poplar Cove sites 7 Figure 2: Transformation of Middle Virginia house forms 18 Figure 3: Map of sweating methods in North America 30 Figure 4: Map of the geographical distribution of Indian groups in the Southeast 32 Figure 5: Diagram of Choctaw sweat lodges 36 Figure 6: Diagram of Creek square ground 38 Figure 7: Diagram of Creek sweat lodges 42 Figure 8: Diagram of Cherokee sweat lodges 47 Figure 9: Diagram of Catawba sweat lodges 49 Figure 10: Diagram of Lower Mississippi Valley sweat lodges 52 Figure 11: Seminole sweat lodge relative to fire 53 Figure 12: Diagram of Seminole sweat lodges 54 Figure 13: Sioux sweat lodge 58 Figure 14: Diagram of Sioux sweat lodges 59 Figure 15: Crow sweat lodge 61 Figure 16: Mandan sweat lodge 63 Figure 17: Diagram for Ojibwa sweat lodges 65 Figure 18: Chimariko sweat lodge 68 Figure 19: Smiley Rock contour map 71 vii Figure 20: Map of the Lower Mississippi Valley 73 Figure 21: Diagram of excavation units 77 Figure 22: Locations of soil features in units 78 Figure 23: Soil stain feature at Poplar Cove site 80 Figure 24: Bisected feature 81 Figure 25: Feature fully excavated, large thermally altered rocks present in floor 82 Figure 26: Bar chart of pottery per time period 85 Figure 27: Stone discoidal, or “chunkey stone”. 86 Figure 28: One of the thermally-altered stones in the Poplar Cove pit 87 Figure 29: Structure 113 99 Figure 30: Structure 1 102 viii ABSTRACT This thesis takes the position that the sweat lodges of the southeastern Indians are a meaningful architectural construct fully embedded within Native American cosmology and religion. Syntactic architectural grammars are explored as a model for representing the social rules that guided how sweat lodges were to be made. It is found through this study that a syntax-based approach to architectural grammars is not useful for studying the conventions guiding sweat lodge construction. As an alternative, a system of rules is proposed that relies upon using types and varieties to account for the multiplicity of sweat lodge forms. The type-variety model is tested against two archaeological sites, Smiley Rock (22Ad1041) and Poplar Cove (22Ad1040). Both are assessed for how well they conform to the model proposed herein. Additionally, two structures previously characterized as sweat lodges without the aid of the type-variety model developed in this thesis are studied to determine the validity of their classification. This study has great implications for the archaeology of sweat lodges as it proposes a unique and proprietary nomenclature for an architectural construct previously only defined by general terms. Furthermore, this thesis discusses the social and religious implications of sweat lodges and provides additional data on the greater phenomenon of southeastern Native American religion and cosmology. ix Chapter 1 Introduction In 1775, a Frenchman by the name of Louis Le Clerc Milford made the difficult journey by sea from his ancestral homeland to the deep forests of the southeastern United States. Having first arrived in Boston, he promptly embarked on an expedition to the southern colonies. Two weeks into his travels, in what is now northern Georgia, he was abandoned by his German guide, and forced to wander blindly into the wild unknown. At the brink of starvation in May of 1776, Milford encountered several Indians traveling through the woods. Although initially fearful of Milford and his rifle, their fears were allayed as Milford laid down his arms. It was through this unique set of events that he was led over the Chattahoochee River and into the town of Coweeta, home of the confederated tribes of the Creek nation. His arrival would signal the beginning of a twenty-year relationship with the Creeks, among whom he would gain trust, esteem, and finally the ranking of Tastanegy, or “Great War Chief”. Although initially a stranger and not allowed to soldier for the Creeks, he eventually gained their regard as a valorous Frenchman, brave in battle and worthy as a friend in war. He led the Creeks on many expeditions against the British and other warring Indians tribes, and consequently was given honors as a war chief. The initiation ceremony in which Milford was made tastanegy took place over a series of days that culminated with ritual sweating and feasting. On the appointed day of the initiation an assembly of Creeks arrived at his home and bore him upon a litter to the grand cabin house where the nation’s assemblies were held. There he was required with the men of the village to spend the night drinking the common medicine, a forceful emetic tea made from the leaves of ilex vomitorium1, until sunup the following day. Afterwards, Then the entire assembly stripped themselves, and we all went, absolutely naked, to a circular cabin where the priests were awaiting us… the subordinate chiefs brought some stones, which they had made red hot in the fire in the center of the quadrangle and the priests, singing all the while, poured over them the water in the two gourds of which I have already spoken, which produced a terrific heat and steam. The entire assembly was perspiring heavily, and my whole body was bathed in such profuse sweat that… I was afraid I should not be able to stand it.