A Mississippian Period Ritual Cave in Tennessee

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 350-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Faulkner ◽  
Bill Deane ◽  
Howard H. Earnest
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Mississippian Period ◽  
East Tennessee

Trailed and incised drawings on the mud-covered walls of an East Tennessee cave have been identified as the artwork of Mississippian Indians who visited this sanctuary about 800 years ago. These unique drawings, called “mud glyphs” because of their similarity to certain petroglyphs found in the southeastern United States, include abstract designs, symbols, zoomorphic forms and anthropomorphic figures. Symbols such as the forked eye and the “bird-man” anthropomorphic representation correlate with six radiocarbon dates on torch charcoal that range between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries A.D. The occurrence of thousands of superimposed elements on the walls indicates that Mud Glyph cave was a Mississippian period sanctuary and further suggests that certain southeastern caves during this period were used for ritual activities rather than for mining as they were during earlier Woodland and Archaic times.

1st Unnamed Cave: a Mississippian period cave art site in east Tennessee, USA

Antiquity ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 70 (270) ◽  
pp. 774-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Faulkner ◽  
Jan F. Simek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soft Materials ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Special Group ◽  
Mississippian Period ◽  
East Tennessee ◽  
Cave Art

The well-protected walls and floors of deep caves are some of the few places where human markings on soft materials — sands, muds, clays — survive archaeologically. Since 1979, a special group of caves in the eastern United States has been reported with ‘mud-glyphs’ or prehistoric drawings etched in wet mud. Here, the seventh of these mud-glyph caves is described; once again, its iconography connects it to the ‘Southern Cult’ or ‘Southeast Ceremonial Complex’ of the Mississippian period.

Enduring Traditions and the (Im)materiality of Early Colonial Encounters in the Southeastern United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Holland-Lulewicz ◽  
Victor D. Thompson ◽  
James Wettstaed ◽  
Mark Williams
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Early Colonial ◽  
Descendant Communities ◽  
Colonial Encounters

Hernando de Soto's expedition through the southeastern United States between 1539 and 1543 is often regarded as a watershed moment for the collapse of Indigenous societies across the region. Historical narratives have proposed that extreme depopulation as a result of early contact destabilized Indigenous economies, politics, networks, and traditions. Although processes of depopulation and transformation were certainly set in motion by this and earlier colonial encounters, the timing, temporality, and heterogeneous rhythms of postcontact Indigenous histories remain unclear. Through the integration of radiocarbon and archaeological data from the Mississippian earthen platform mound at Dyar (9GE5) in central Georgia, we present a case of Indigenous endurance and resilience in the Oconee Valley that has long been obfuscated by materially based chronologies and typologies. Bayesian chronological modeling suggests that Indigenous Mississippian traditions persisted for up to 130 years beyond contact with European colonizers. We argue that advances in modeling radiocarbon dates, along with meaningful consultation/collaboration with descendant communities, can contribute to efforts that move us beyond a reliance on materially based chronologies that can distort and erase Indigenous histories.

The Yanomamö of the Mississippi Valley? Some Reflections on Larson (1972), Gibson (1974), and Mississippian Period Warfare in the Southeastern United States

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 909-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bruce Dickson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South America ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Ontological Argument ◽  
Basic Material ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
Mississippian Period ◽  
Material Conditions

Larson's (1972) hypothesis that warfare during the Mississippian period in the Southeast was primarily a struggle over the fertile silt and sandy loam bottomland soils is summarized. This is then contrasted with Gibson's (1974) thesis that, at least in the Lower Mississippi Valley, warfare was caused by the "asymmetrical" nature of the kinship systems found there. Such systems led to status decline over several generations and forced individuals to attempt to offset the decline by achieving success in warfare. The Larson-Gibson dispute is essentially an ontological argument which pits the materialist's view of reality against that of the idealist. This dispute is compared to a similar one between Harris (1971, 1974, 1977, 1979) and Lizot (1977) concerning the explanation of Yamomamo warfare in South America. Following this, the basic material conditions of Mississippian warfare are suggested. The importance of mechanisms such as Gibson has proposed for understanding Mississippian warfare at the "tactical" level is recognized. Finally, primacy is given to Larson"s materialism at the "strategic" level.

A new Middle Pennsylvanian (Westphalian) amphibian trackway from the Cross Mountain Formation, East Tennessee Cumberlands

1994 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin S. Kohl ◽  
Jonathan R. Bryan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Radius Of Curvature ◽  
Track Width ◽  
Minimum Radius ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Delta Plain ◽  
Cumberland Mountains ◽  
The Cross ◽  
East Tennessee

An amphibian trackway collected in minespoil from the Cross Mountain Formation in the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee represents the first known Middle Pennsylvanian (Westphalian) amphibian trackway from the southeastern United States. The tracks are impressed onto the upper surface of a bed of fine-grained, cross-laminated sandstone and siltstone, deposited in an upper delta plain environment.The trackway was made by an amphibian with a long glenoacetabular distance and low pace-angulation. The imprints show five digits on the pes and four on the manus. Average measurements for the trackway are: stride, 8.4 cm; pace angulation, 76.1° (manus), 63.1° (pes); track width, 5.5 cm (manus), 6.7 cm (pes); glenoacetabular distance, 16.7 cm. The manus impression averages 2.8 cm long by 3.1 cm wide, and the pes averages 3.8 cm long by 3.1 cm wide. A tail drag is conspicuous along the entire length of the trackway and has a minimum radius of curvature of 9 mm.The trackway is assigned to Matthewichnus caudifer n. ichnosp. on the basis of similarities to published material. The trackmaker was probably a temnospondyl labyrinthodont, considering the size of the animal (thus excluding lepospondyls) and the fact that it had a four-digit manus (thus excluding reptiles and anthracosaurian labyrinthodonts).

The Chronological Position of the Dalton Horizon in the Southeastern United States

1982 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert C. Goodyear
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Temporal Position ◽  
Alluvial Terrace ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Changes ◽  
Shelter Site ◽  
Settlement Strategies

The chronological placement of the Dalton horizon in the southeastern United States has traditionally been between 10,000 and 8,000 B.P. (8000–6000 B.C.). A review of previous dating approaches questions the basis for that assignment and casts serious doubts about the validity of alleged associations between Dalton remains and C-14 dates in caves and shelters. The significance of two Dalton-associated C-14 dates from the alluvial terrace of the Rodgers Shelter site is discussed in regard to their age and contexts. Excavations of Dalton open sites during the 1970s revealed pure Dalton assemblages with no side-notched and corner-notched points present. Radiocarbon dates spanning the period from 9,500 to 9,000 B.P. for side-notched and corner-notched points indicate that the Dalton point had ceased to be made by that time. It is argued that the interval from 10,500 to 9,900 B.P. (8500–7900 B.C.) is the correct temporal position of the Dalton horizon. The importance of correctly estimating the age and duration of the Dalton adaptation is emphasized, particularly for relating technological and settlement strategies to the paleoenvironmental changes of the early Holocene.

Testing for Mississippian Period Turkey Management in the Archaeological Record of the Southeastern United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Erin Kennedy Thornton ◽  
Tanya Peres ◽  
Kelly Ledford Chase ◽  
Brian M. Kemp ◽  
Ryan Frome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Meleagris Gallopavo ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Intensive Management ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Mississippian Period ◽  
Dna Analyses ◽  
Combined Data

People living in Mesoamerica and what is now the eastern and southwestern United States used turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) as sources of meat, eggs, bones, and feathers. Turkey husbandry and domestication are confirmed in two of these regions (Mesoamerica and the American Southwest), but human-turkey interactions in Eastern North American (eastern United States and Canada) are not fully explored. We apply stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) and ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses to archaeofaunal samples from seven sites in the southeastern United States to test whether turkeys were managed or captively reared. These combined data do not support prolonged or intensive captive rearing of turkeys, and evidence for less intensive management is ambiguous. More research is warranted to determine whether people managed turkeys in these areas, and whether this is generalizable. Determining whether turkeys were managed or reared in the southeastern United States helps define cultural and environmental factors related to turkey management or husbandry throughout North America. This inquiry contributes to discussion of the roles of intensified human-animal interactions in animal domestication.

Does Enhancing Mind Perception Affect Conspiracy Belief?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Noguera
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Social Discourse ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Mind Perception ◽  
Mixed Anova ◽  
Interaction Term ◽  
The Mind

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a novel mind perception manipulation. Mind perception is currently theorized to be an essential aspect of a number of human social psychological processes. Thus, a successful manipulation would allow for the causal study of those processes. This manipulation was created in an attempt to explore the downstream impact of mind perception on the endorsement of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are steadily becoming more and more prominent in social discourse. Endorsement of conspiracy theories are beginning to show real world ramifications such as a danger to human health (e.g., in the anti-vaccination movement). A sample of college students (valid N = 53) from a large rural institution in the southeastern United States participated for course credit. These participants completed a mind perception pretest, were randomly assigned to either the manipulation in question (in which participants are asked to consider the ‘mind’ of several targets and write their thoughts about them) or the control condition, and then they completed a posttest. The mixed ANOVA revealed that the interaction term between Time and Condition was not significant. Because the manipulation did not work, other analyses were aborted, in accord with the pre-registration. My Discussion focuses on the procedures and potential shortcomings of this manipulation, in an effort to lay the groundwork for a successful one.

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