Permanent vs. shifting cultivation in the Eastern Woodlands of North America prior to European contact

Abstract Schiffer (1986) first identified the old wood problem for wood charcoal-based dates from archaeological contexts in the American Southwest. The potential for dates to be skewed toward excessively old calendar ages in this region has recently generated reticence in part of the archaeological community towards including wood charcoal dates in general. Some scholars have even begun to cleanse the radiocarbon databases of regions throughout North America, partly with this presumed limitation in mind. However, the issues that contribute to the old wood problem have not been closely examined outside the arid climate of the American Southwest, resulting in some studies excluding hundreds of radiocarbon dates. The present study fills that void by examining the radiocarbon record from four well-dated Fort Ancient sites in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana. Specifically, we test whether or not there are significant differences between wood charcoal and non-wood charcoal assays. Our findings suggest that wood charcoal dates should not be excluded. We explore reasons for this difference in the Eastern Woodlands and propose an ideal dating regime.

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The Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database (Card): Archaeological 14C Dates in North America and Their Paleoenvironmental Context

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200056630 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 371-394 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

K Gajewski ◽

S Munoz ◽

M Peros ◽

A Viau ◽

R Morlan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

North America ◽

Large Scale ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Current Status ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Demographic Trends ◽

European Contact ◽

Northern United States ◽

Population Numbers

Databases of accumulated paleoecological and archaeological records provide a means for large-scale syntheses of environmental and cultural histories. We describe the current status of the Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database (CARD), a searchable collection of more than 36,000 14C dates from archaeological and paleontological sites from across North America. CARD, built by the late Dr Richard Morlan of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, consists of uncalibrated 14C data as well as information about the material dated, the cultural association of the date (e.g. Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland), and its geographic location. The database can be used to study questions relating to prehistoric demography, migrations, human vulnerability to environmental change, and human impact on the landscape, but biases relating to sampling intensity and taphonomy must first be accounted for. Currently, Canada and the northern United States are well represented in the database, while the southern United States is underrepresented. The frequency of 14C dates associated with archaeological sites increases through time from 15,000 cal yr BP until European contact, which likely reflects, among other factors, both the destruction of older cultural carbon due to erosion and dissolution and increasing population numbers through time. An exploratory analysis of the dates reveals their distribution in both time and space, and suggests that the database is sufficiently complete to enable quantitative analysis of general demographic trends.

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Copper Working Technologies, Contexts of Use, and Social Complexity in the Eastern Woodlands of Native North America

Journal of World Prehistory ◽

10.1007/s10963-009-9020-8 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 213-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Kathleen L. Ehrhardt

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Social Complexity ◽

Eastern Woodlands ◽

Native North America

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Development of Thymus vulgaris Varieties for North American Commercial Organic Cultivation

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.33.3.482c ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 482c-482

Author(s):

W. Letchamo ◽

T. Kireeva

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Essential Oils ◽

North American ◽

Shifting Cultivation ◽

Oil Content ◽

Steam Distillation ◽

Washington State ◽

Thymus Vulgaris ◽

Organic Cultivation

Five different cultivars of Thymus vulgaris originating from various geographical sources (Canada, F.R. Germany, former GDR, and Spain) were first propagated by cuttings from each cultivar in the greenhouse and then cultivated organically in the fields during the periods of 1993–1995 (Quebec, Canada) and 1996–1997 (Washington State). The field-grown plants were harvested in mid-September. The oils obtained through steam distillation of the dried leaves from each cultivar were analyzed by means of TLC followed by GC. The oil content varied from 1.38% to 2.04% in Quebec, and 1.41% to 2.25%, depending on the cultivar used. The highest oil content was obtained from `Madrid', followed by `RH-1' and `Laval-1'. More than 95% of the oil, with a total of 24 components, were identified in the samples. `Laval-1', recently developed in Quebec, `Madrid' from Spain, and `RH-1' from Germany were established to belong to thymol-chemotypes, while `RH-2' from Germany was found to be carvacrol-chemotype. `QDLB', from the former GDR, was characterized by its ≈39% thymol, 17% carvacrol, and 3.52% linalool content in the oil. The content of thymol and its ratio was found to change slightly with shifting cultivation of the cultivars from Europe to North America. Other important constituents in the essential oils were also p-cymene (10.87–22.89%), g-terpinene (2.21–8.85%), α-pinene (0.87–2.23%), sabinene (0.00–1.77%), borneol (0.00–3.69%), geraniol (0.59–3.48%), and terpinen-4-ol (0.21–3.08%). As `Laval-1' and `RH-1' showed better overwintering ability and produced relatively higher leaf yields. These two cultivars were found to be prospective cultivars for commercial organic cultivation for North America. Results obtained from various growing areas are presented.

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Evidence for Aboriginal Tobaccos in Eastern North America

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/280019 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 269-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Thomas W. Haberman

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

South Dakota ◽

Great Plains ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Cultural Interaction ◽

Temporal Perspective ◽

Eastern Woodlands ◽

Tobacco Seeds ◽

Herbarium Collections ◽

Aboriginal Groups

SEM micrographs of seeds from four tobaccos historically cultivated by aboriginal groups in the Eastern Woodlands and adjacent Great Plains of North America are presented. The tobaccos considered are Nicotiana rustica L., N. attenuata Torr., N. bigelovii var. quadrivalvis (Pursh) East, and N. bigelovii var. multivalvis (Lindley) East. Micrographs of seeds from herbarium collections are compared with micrographs of carbonized tobacco seeds from the Extended Middle Missouri component at the Travis I site, and tobacco is reported from the Dirt Lodge Village site, both in South Dakota. The archaeological specimens compare most favorably with N. bigelovii var. quadrivalvis (Pursh) East, the tobacco historically cultivated by the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa. These results strengthen the evidence for trade contacts and cultural interaction by Middle Missouri tradition populations with groups to the west and provide new data on the temporal perspective for the cultivation of N. bigelovii var. quadrivalvis (Pursh) East in the Middle Missouri subarea.

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Introduction: Reversing Language Shift in Indigenous America—Collaborations and Views from the Field

Practicing Anthropology ◽

10.17730/praa.21.2.x2619t9543177tth ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 2-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Teresa McCarty ◽

Lucille Watahomigie ◽

Akira Yamamoto

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

North America ◽

Language Shift ◽

The United States ◽

Western Hemisphere ◽

Indigenous Languages ◽

European Contact ◽

The World

Throughout the Western hemisphere—indeed, throughout the world—indigenous languages are being displaced at an alarming rate. While no one knows precisely how many languages were spoken in North America prior to European contact, estimates range from 300 to 600. In what is now the United States and Canada, the number is now reduced to 210. In some respects, this is a story of remarkable resilience and resistance. But numbers alone belie the fragility of these languages and their prospects for survival.

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