A Shell Heap Site on Griffin Island, Wellfleet, Massachusetts

1962 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross Moffett
Keyword(s):  
Final Stage ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Cape Cod ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Triangular Points

AbstractA group of small middens has yielded cultural materials that are characteristic of Cape Cod. A Middle Woodland stage having grit-tempered, dentate- and rocker-stamped pottery, stemmed and side-notched points was followed by a Late Woodland 1 stage using course shell-tempered, straight-sided vessels, and large triangular points. A late Woodland 2, or final, stage had fine shell-tempered, globular pots, to some extent suggestive of late Windsor pottery of the coastal section west of Cape Cod.

Woodland Social Change in the Central Midwest: A Review and Evaluation of Interpretive Trends

1983 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Tainter
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
West Central ◽  
Central Illinois

The analysis of Middle Woodland to Late Woodland social change in west-central Illinois has produced contrasting interpretations of decreasing and increasing complexity. This paper evaluates both views, showing that available evidence is most consistent with the interpretation of social collapse at the Middle to Late Woodland transition.

scholarly journals Modeling Regional Radiocarbon Trends: A Case Study from the East Texas Woodland Period

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (02) ◽  
pp. 239-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Z Selden
Keyword(s):  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Woodland Period ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
East Texas ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Early Woodland ◽  
Resultant Data

The East Texas Radiocarbon Database contributes to an analysis of tempo and place for Woodland era (∼500 BC–AD 800) archaeological sites within the region. The temporal and spatial distributions of calibrated14C ages (n= 127) with a standard deviation (ΔT) of 61 from archaeological sites with Woodland components (n= 51) are useful in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the peoples in cast Texas, and lead to a refinement of our current chronological understanding of the period. While analysis of summed probability distributions (SPDs) produces less than significant findings due to sample size, they are used here to illustrate the method of date combination prior to the production of site- and period-specific SPDs. Through the incorporation of this method, the number of14C dates is reduced to 85 with a ΔTof 54. The resultant data set is then subjected to statistical analyses that conclude with the separation of the east Texas Woodland period into the Early Woodland (∼500 BC–AD 0), Middle Woodland (∼AD 0–400), and Late Woodland (∼AD 400–800) periods.

Comments on “A Reconsideration of Aboriginal Fishing Strategies in the Northern Great Lakes Region” by Susan R. Martin

1989 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Cleland
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Population Loss ◽  
Fishing Strategies ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Economic Specialization

Martin's suggestion that there is great continuity in subsistence strategy through the Middle and Late Woodland periods of the Northern Great Lakes is rejected. She fails to produce convincing evidence for the use of gill nets during Middle Woodland times and to account for the difference in fish fauna on sites of these two periods. Also addressed here is the possible consequence of economic specialization on population size and fluctuation. It is concluded that unlike Middle Woodland populations, those of the Late Woodland fluctuate rather dramatically. Finally, it is suggested that whatever the cause of the population loss and mechanisms of replacement, these shifts likely have important implications for periodicity in ceramic style change.

Phytolith Evidence for the Early Presence of Maize in Southern Quebec

2015 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 408-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Gates St-Pierre ◽  
Robert G. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Woodland Period ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Late Woodland Period ◽  
Middle Woodland Period ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
New Crop ◽  
St Lawrence River

It has long been believed that maize (Zea maysspp.mays) was introduced in Quebec at around A.D. 1000, at the very beginning of the Late Woodland period. The identification and dating of maize phytoliths extracted from the carbonized encrustations on the interior surfaces of Native American ceramic vessels from three sites located in the St. Lawrence River valley, namely the Hector-Trudel, Station-4, and Place-Royale sites, indicate that this cultigen was rather introduced in that area during the Early Middle Woodland period, ca.400 to 200 B.C. These sites provide the northernmost and possibly the oldest evidence of maize consumption in northeastern North America. More samples of maize phytoliths from the same two sites were dated to the late Middle Woodland period, between A.D. 600 and 800, suggesting an increase in the ubiquity and importance of this new crop in the subsistence strategies. Moreover, the identification of an unknown variety of maize points toward the possibility that a new local variety of maize appeared during the process. This process might have been accompanied by a more intensive and complementary collecting of wild rice. Finally, the results support the hypothesis of an in situ origin of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians.

Problems and Prospects in Northeastern Prehistoric Ceramic Studies

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Custer
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Population Movements ◽  
Middle Atlantic ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Ceramic Design ◽  
Design Motifs

Three major research topics can be addressed using Northeastern ceramic data. First, different technological developments are seen in the earliest ceramics. Flat-bottomed wares develop in the Middle Atlantic and coiled, conoidal wares are earliest in New England. Second, the Abbott Farm and Delmarva Adena complexes of the central Middle Atlantic can be distinguished from surrounding Early and Middle Woodland complexes on the basis of ceramics; social complexity may be related to ceramic traits. Finally, Late Woodland ceramic design motifs and design “grammars” can be used to distinguish ethnic groups and study population movements throughout the Northeast.

scholarly journals Late woodland cultural adaptations in the lower Missouri River valley : archery, warfare, and the rise of complexity

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kerry David Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Missouri River ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Woodland Period ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Cultural Adaptations ◽  
Late Woodland Period ◽  
Defensive Strategies ◽  
Social Dynamic ◽  
The Face ◽  
Major Increase

The introduction of the bow and arrow into prehistoric Missouri during the Late Woodland Period was a major event that possibly changed the entire Middle Woodland social dynamic and settlement pattern arrangement such that there was a major increase in social cooperation between settlements tied closely to defensive settlement strategies. Small villages faced the possibility of effective, long-range attacks that could potentially lead to the quick application of overwhelming force on unprepared villages. To deal with this potential, settlements moved to less productive upland locations with inter-visible settlement clusters that provided for mutual defense through defense in layers. As agriculture became better established, this pattern of defense again changed as people nucleated into larger sites in highly productive, lowland areas. Defense was still a significant consideration as reflected in both the selection of defensible topographic settings and the apparent creation of a borderland along the river. The larger number of people in each village provided safety in numbers and decreased the likelihood of overwhelming attacks. The influence of archery and the selection for effective defensive strategies in the face of archery-based warfare creates a more parsimonious explanation for the rapid shift to inter-visible, upland sites during the Late Woodland Period. Archery appears to be the primary cause of what was a seismic shift where settlement patterns altered radically in just a few hundred years. This research addresses the possible implications for major advances in prehistoric weapons technology that has increasing relevance for today's society.

A Study of Possible Prehistoric Wild Rice Gathering on Lake of the Woods, Ontario

1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Rajnovich
Keyword(s):  
Wild Rice ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Settlement Pattern ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Woodland Period ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Lake Of The Woods ◽  
Middle Woodland Period

Archaeological surveys of Lake of the Woods have located about 200 prehistoric sites including Palaeo, Archaic, Middle Woodland (Laurel) and Late Woodland (Blackduck and Selkirk) components. None have contained direct evidence of wild rice usage prehistorically, but this may be due to the archaeological record rather than a real reflection of non-use of wild rice. This article presents a discussion of the palynological record of the area to determine the advent of wild rice and a settlement pattern study of Middle and Late Woodland components in relationship to known wild rice stands. Both Middle and Late Woodland components tend to cluster around wild rice stands. This factor, along with the palynological record, leads to the hypothesis that wild rice was gathered as early as the Middle Woodland period on Lake of the Woods.

scholarly journals Modeling Regional Radiocarbon Trends: A Case Study from the East Texas Woodland Period

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Z Selden
Keyword(s):  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Woodland Period ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
East Texas ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Early Woodland ◽  
Resultant Data

The East Texas Radiocarbon Database contributes to an analysis of tempo and place for Woodland era (∼500 BC–AD 800) archaeological sites within the region. The temporal and spatial distributions of calibrated 14C ages (n = 127) with a standard deviation (ΔT) of 61 from archaeological sites with Woodland components (n = 51) are useful in exploring the development and geographical continuity of the peoples in cast Texas, and lead to a refinement of our current chronological understanding of the period. While analysis of summed probability distributions (SPDs) produces less than significant findings due to sample size, they are used here to illustrate the method of date combination prior to the production of site- and period-specific SPDs. Through the incorporation of this method, the number of 14C dates is reduced to 85 with a ΔT of 54. The resultant data set is then subjected to statistical analyses that conclude with the separation of the east Texas Woodland period into the Early Woodland (∼500 BC–AD 0), Middle Woodland (∼AD 0–400), and Late Woodland (∼AD 400–800) periods.

Crafting Everyday Matters in the Middle and Late Woodland Periods

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Pluckhahn ◽  
Martin Menz ◽  
Lori O’Neal
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Control ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Craft Production ◽  
The Political ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Central Florida ◽  
Middle Woodland Period ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Crystal River

A defining characteristic of the Middle Woodland period is the prevalence of craft goods of stone, bone, shell, and metal, which originated frequently from exotic sources and were often fashioned into non-utilitarian, symbolically-charged products. In the processual heyday, archaeologists devoted considerable attention on the perceived control of the production and exchange of these exotic goods and what it may say about the political and economic power of elites, and, by extension, their societies. In this chapter, the authors suggest that this emphasis on the political- and ritual-economic contexts for craft production may obscure an important point: specifically, that crafting was rooted in the everyday rhythms of domestic life, by which the authors mean the networks of relationships with other people and other objects. Reviewing the archaeological record for two large Middle Woodland populations and ceremonial centers – Kolomoki in southwestern Georgia and Crystal River in west-central Florida (Figure 9.1) – the authors argue that a low level of craft production was common to domestic contexts.

Patterns of Resource Distribution and Archaeological Settlement Patterns in the Piedmont Uplands of the Middle Atlantic Region

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Custer ◽  
Edith B. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Resource Distribution ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Late Woodland ◽  
Middle Woodland ◽  
Late Archaic ◽  
Atlantic Region ◽  
Middle Atlantic ◽  
Resource Distributions ◽  
Middle Archaic

Varied patterns of subsistence resource distributions are found in the Piedmont Uplands throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Settlement patterns correlate with these resource distribution patterns through time. Paleo-Indian through Middle Archaic patterns are small scattered procurement sites that are part of a supra-local logistical system. Late Archaic through Middle Woodland patterns include large base camps in low relief settings forming the focal points for foraging systems, or a tethered nomadism. Late Woodland patterns are dependent upon intensive collecting and agriculture rather than specific subsistence resource distribution patterns.

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