Anth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC1The Eastern Woodlands II:The Terminal ArchaicTransitionLecture 21North American ArchaeologySpring 2009UCSCThe “Terminal Archaic” 2000-1000 BC Series of Technological and SocialInnovations Pottery--storage and cooking technology Horticulture Squash and Bottle Gourd Local Complex of Weedy Annuals Elaborate mortuary rituals and monuments Expansion of local and regional economicand social networksInvention of Pottery in East Fiber-Tempered Ware 2000-1700 BC So. Atlantic Coast Shell midden sites Stallings Island,Savannah River, GA Thick, rounded or flat-bottomed open bowlsw/ simple incised orpunctated decorationAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC2Steatite Bowls Widely traded throughout Mid-Atlantic and NE between1700-1300 BC Associated w/ more intensive use of seeds and nuts Steatite-TemperedPottery Marcey Creek Plain 1300 BC Sassman: Malestatus-building mayhave resisteddevelopment ofceramics by women Grit-Tempered Pottery 1000BC Vinette I (NY) Examples from Koster Cord-marked, conicalbottom (typicalWoodland Traditionpottery) More heat resistant--better for direct heatcookingVinette I PotteryAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC3The “Container Revolution” Bruce Smith Sedentary groups--need more storage, and/or Direct heat cooking (boiling) Associated with increased nut and seedprocessing in Late Archaic Alternative Hypothesis: Early pottery as “prestige technology”--usedas special containers for preparing andserving food at competitive feasts (“Big Men”)Origins of Early GardeningComplexes in East Early Eastern MexicanComplex Squash (Curcurbita pepo) Bottle gourd (Lagenariasiceraria) Early Sites Koster (5000-4000 BC) Bacon Bend (2100-2400BC) Phillips Spring (2000-2300BC) Natural spread or humanagents??Eastern Agricultural Complex Asch and Asch (1970s) Complex of local weedyannuals (“small grains”) Sunflower, marshelder(sumpweed) goosefoot, maygrass,knotweed, little barley Propagated beyondnatural range Some show geneticchanges (domestication)by 2000 BC Salts Cave, Newt KashHallowAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC4Why did “small grain” horticulturedevelop in East? Richard Ford Stress and competition Deliberately fostering spread of certain species Bruce Smith Casual and opportunistic Sedentary settlements caused restructuring of floodplainecosystems Kristen Gremillion “Small grains” abundant, dependable, and nutritious, but hardto process Delay cost of processing by storing (caching) Supplement other foods, especially during WinterEarly Mound Complexes Watson’s Brake (3900 BC) NE Louisiana 11 mounds and oval enclosurePoverty Point Site 2200 BC-1200 BC Bayou Macon, LA 6 concentric ridges High population density Mound complexes Mound A Mound B Motley Mound Lower Jackson MoundAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC5 Evidence of posts and living debris on top ofembankments--houses?? 600 houses = 3000 people??Charred remains of floor mats Mound A (Bird Effigy?) Mound B Cremation burialsAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC6 Typical Late Archaic subsistence Rich ecotone setting Hunted deer, small mammals, birds, fish Collected fruit, nuts, seeds Squash cultivation (and maybe weedy annuals) Fiber-temperd pottery, steatite bowls, earth ovens and Poverty Ptobjects Fancy PPT Objects Women’s status marker? Plummets (fishing weights or bola stones) Randomly distributed throughout siteAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC7 Motley Points Status symbols for high ranking warriors? Microlithic technology for making jasper beadsChiefly status symbols?? Clay figurinesAnth176A: North American ArchaeologyProf. Judith Habicht MaucheSpring 2009UCSC8Poverty Point Regional System PPT site center ofregional system LMV and Gulf Coast 100 sites, clusteredaround 10 localcenters Centers located atstrategic ecotones Influence widespreadthroughout SEWas Poverty Point the center of acomplex regional chiefdom? Jon Gibson (1974) Organization of labor to build mounds Distribution of high status items (MotleyPoints, jasper beads, etc.) Three-tier settlement hierarchy Local centers located to control trade anddistribution of high-ranked