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Medicine Birds and Mill Creek-Middle Mississippian Interaction: The Contents of Feature 8 at the Phipps Site (13CK21)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard L. Fishel
Richard L. Fishel*
Affiliation:
302 Eastlawn, Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
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Abstract

The Phipps site (13CK21) in northwest Iowa contains evidence of interaction between Middle Mississippian and Middle Missouri peoples. Excavations in 1994 uncovered eight features and recovered more than 21,000 sherds and nearly 10,000 faunal elements. The assemblage from one feature includes more than 260 broken and splintered raptor tarsometatarsi, approximately 100 raptor phalanges, and more than 80 raptor talons, plus shell beads, red ocher-stained manos and mussel shell, a bison scapula hoe, and a large quantity of red-slipped sherds. The raptor elements may be the discarded remains from the preparation of a shipment of trade goods destined for Middle Mississippian peoples of western Illinois.

El sitio Phipps (13CK21), situado en el noroeste de Iowa, ha producido evidencia del contacta entre grupos de la tradición cultural Misisipiana Media con gente de la tradición Misuri Media. Excavaciones realizadas en 1994 encontraron ocho rasgos y recobraron más de 21,000 tiestos y casi 10,000 elementos de fauna. El conjunto procedente de uno de los rasgos incluye màs de 260 tarsometatarsos fracturados y astillados, aproximadamente 100 falanges, y más de 80 garras de aves de rapiña. Este rasgo produjo también cuentas de concha, manos manchadas de ocre, restas de moluscos bivalves, una azada hecha de escápula de bisonte, y una gran cantidad de cerámica con engobe rojo. Los restas de aves de rapina pueden ser las sobras desechadas de un envío destinado a grupos Misisipianos en la parte occidental de Illinois.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 62 , Issue 3 , July 1997 , pp. 538 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1997

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References

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