Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T18:22:00.910Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Isotopic and Mortuary Variability in a Middle Mississippian Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mark R. Schurr*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556

Abstract

Stable-isotopic studies of prehistoric diet have usually confined discussions of isotopic variability within populations to sex-related differences in diet and have rarely considered other social or cultural sources of dietary variation. Extant data from eastern North America suggest that isotopic variation (and hence dietary variation) may have been greatest within the relatively complex Middle Mississippian societies of the late prehistoric period. Correlations between isotopic variability and mortuary variability (an indication of social position) were identified in a sample of burials from the Angel site, a Middle Mississippian (A.D. 1200-1450) civic-ceremonial center in southwestern Indiana. These correlations demonstrate how contextually informed isotopic studies can be used to examine the relations between social position and diet. This approach may be especially useful for studies of social interactions between different populations.

Resumen

Resumen

Los estudios sobre dietas prehistóricas mediante el análisis de isótopos estables normalmente confinan la interpretación de la variabilidad isotópica dentro de poblaciones a diferencias en la alimentación relacionadas con el sexo, ignorandopor lo general otras causas sociales y culturales de variación en la dieta. Datos disponibles para el Este de Norteamérica sugieren que la variación isotópica (y por consiguiente la variación en la dieta) alcanzó un nivel máximo en las sociedades relativamente complejas "Middle Mississippi" del período prehistórico tardío. Correlaciones entre variabilidad isotópica y variabilidad funeraria (un indicador de posición social) fueron identificadas en una muestra de enterramientos del sitio Angel, un centro cívico-ceremonial Middle Mississippi (1200-1450 D. C.) en el suroeste de Indiana. Estas correlaciones demuestran cómo los estudios isotópicos pueden ser utilizados para examinar las relaciones entre posición social y dieta cuando se toman en cuenta los contextos. Este enfoque puede resultar particularmente útil para estudios de interaccion social entre diferentes poblaciones

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Ambrose, S. H. 1990 Preparation and Characterization of Bone and Tooth Collagen for Isotopic Analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 17 : 431451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ambrose, S. H., and DeNiro, M. J. 1986 Reconstruction of African Human Diet Using Bone Collagen Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios. Nature 319 : 321324.Google Scholar
Baden, W. W. 1987 A Dynamic Model of Stability and Change in Mississippian Agricultural Systems. Unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Bass, W. M. 1971 Human Osteology : A Laboratory and Field Manual of the Human Skeleton. 3rd printing. Special Publication No. 2. Missouri Archaeological Society, Columbia.Google Scholar
Bender, M. M., Baerreis, D. A., and Steventon, R. L. 1981 Further Light on Carbon Isotopes and Hopewell Agriculture. American Antiquity 46 : 346353.Google Scholar
Black, G. A. 1967 Angel Site : An Archaeological, Historical, and Ethnological Study, edited by Thornbrough, G.. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.Google Scholar
Broida, M. O. 1983 Maize in Kentucky Fort Ancient Diets : An Analysis of Carbon Isotope Ratios in Human Bone. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington.Google Scholar
Broida, M. O. 1984 An Estimate of the Percents of Maize in the Diets of Two Kentucky Fort Ancient Villages. In Late Prehistoric Research in Kentucky, edited by Pollack, D., Holkensmith, C, and Sanders, T., pp. 6883. Kentucky Heritage Council, Frankfort, Kentucky.Google Scholar
Brown, J. A. 1981 The Search for Rank in Prehistoric Burials. In The Archaeology of Death, edited by Chapman, R., Kinnes, I, and Ransborg, K., pp. 2552. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Brown, J. A. 1987 Quantitative Burial Analyses as Interassemblage Comparison. In Quantitative Research in Archaeology, edited by Aldenderfer, M. S., pp. 294308. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J. E. 1989 A Carbon Isotopic Perspective on Dietary Variation in Late Prehistoric Western Illinois. Paper presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J. E., and Mielke, J. H. 1985 Demography, Diet, and Health. In The Analysis of Prehistoric Diets, edited by Gilbert, R. I. and Mielke, J. H., pp. 360422. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J. E., Autry, W., Breitburg, E., Eisenberg, L., and Merwe, N. van der 1988 Diet and Health in the Nashville Basin : Human Adaptation and Maize Agriculture in Middle Tennessee. In Diet and Subsistence : Current Archaeological Perspectives, edited by Kennedy, B. V. and LeMoine, G. M., pp. 243259. Proceedings of the 19th Annual Chacmool Conference, Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J. E., Bullington, J., Charles, D. K., Cook, D. C., Frankenburg, S. R., Konigsberg, L. W., Lambert, J. B., 1987 Diet, Demography, and the Development of Horticulture. In Emergent Horticultural Economies of the Eastern Woodlands, edited by Keegan, W. F., pp. 6785. Occasional Paper No. 7. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Carbondale, Illinois.Google Scholar
Chisholm, B. S., Nelson, D. E., and Schwarcz, H. P. 1982 Stable Isotope Ratios as a Measure of the Marine and Terrestrial Protein in Ancient Diets. Science 216 : 11311132.Google Scholar
Collins, M. B., and Lannie, D. D. 1979 Carbon Isotope Ratios. In Excavations at Four Archaic Sites in the Lower Ohio Valley, Jefferson County, Kentucky, edited by Collins, M. B., pp. 946947. Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 1. Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington.Google Scholar
Conard, A. R. 1988 Analysis in Dietary Reconstruction. In A History of 17 Years of Excavation and Reconstruction—A Chronicle of 12th Century Human Values and the Built Environment, edited by Heilman, J., Lileas, M, and Tumbow, C., pp. 112156. Dayton Museum of Natural History, Dayton, Ohio.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M. J. 1985 Postmortem Preservation and Alteration of Invivo Bone Collagen Isotope Ratios in Relation to Paleodietary Reconstruction. Nature 317 : 806809.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M. J., and Epstein, S. 1978 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43 : 495506.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M. J., and Epstein, S. 1981 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 45 : 341351.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M. J., and Schoeninger, M. J. 1983 Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes of Bone Collagen : Variation Within Individuals, Between Sexes, and Within Populations Raised on Monotonous Diets. Journal of Archaeological Science 10 : 199203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeNiro, M. J., Schoeninger, M. J., and Hastorf, C. A. 1984 Effect of Heating on the Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen. Journal of Archaeological Science 12 : 18.Google Scholar
Essenpreis, P. S. 1978 Fort Ancient Settlement : Differential Response at a Mississippian-Late Woodland Interface. In Mississippian Settlement Patterns, edited by Smith, B. D., pp. 141167. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Farnsworth, P., Brady, J. E., DeNiro, M. J., and Neish, R. S. Mac 1985 A Re-Evaluation of the Isotopic and Archaeological Reconstructions of Diet in the Tehuacan Valley. American Antiquity 50 : 102116.Google Scholar
Farrow, D. C. 1986 A Study of Monongahela Subsistence Patterns Based on Mass Spectrometric Analysis. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 11 : 153179.Google Scholar
Gilbert, B. M., and McKern, T. W. 1973 A Method for Aging the Female Os Pubis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 38 : 3138. Goldstein, L. G.Google Scholar
Gilbert, B. M., and McKern, T. W. 1980 Mississippian Mortuary Practices : A Case Study ofTwo Cemeteries in the Lower Illinois Valley. Scientific Papers No. 4. Northwestern University Archaeological Program, Evanston.Google Scholar
Green, T. J., and Munson, C. A. 1978 Mississippian Settlement Patterns in Southwestern Indiana. In Mississippian Settlement Patterns, edited by Smith, B. D., pp. 293330. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Hatch, J. W. 1976 Status in Death : Principles of Ranking in Dallas Culture Mortuary Remains. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Headland, T. A., and Reid, L. A. 1989 Hunter-Gatherers and Their Neighbors from Prehistory to the Present. Current Anthropology 30 : 4351.Google Scholar
Hobson, K. A., and Schwarcz, H. P. 1986 The Variation in 513C Values in Bone Collagen for Two Wild Herbivore Populations : Implications for Paleodiet Studies. Journal of Archaeological Science 13 : 101106.Google Scholar
Johnston, F. E. 1962 Growth of the Long Bones of Infants and Young Children at Indian Knoll. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 20 : 249254.Google Scholar
Katzenberg, M. A. 1989 Stable Isotope Analysis of Archaeological Faunal Remains from Southern Ontario. Journal of Archaeological Science 16 : 319329.Google Scholar
Kellar, J. H. 1967 Material Remains. In Angel Site : An Archaeological, Historical, and Ethnological Study, edited by Thombrough, G., pp. 431490. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.Google Scholar
Krogman, W. M. 1962 The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois.Google Scholar
Larson, L. H. 1980 Aboriginal Subsistence Technology on the Southeastern Coastal Plain During the Late Prehistoric Period. Riply P. Bullen Monographs in Anthropology and History No. 2. Florida State Museum, University Presses of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Laurent, G. J. 1987 Dynamic State of Collagen : Pathways of Collagen Degradation In Vivo and Their Possible Role in Regulation of Collagen Mass. American Journal of Physiology 252 (Cell Physiology 21) : C1C9.Google Scholar
Leabo, D. A. 1976 Basic Statistics. Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, Illinois.Google Scholar
Longin, R. 1971 New Method of Collagen Extraction for Radiocarbon Dating. Science 230 : 241242.Google Scholar
Lovell, N. C, Nelson, D. E., and Schwarcz, H. P. 1986 Carbon Isotope Ratios in Paleodiet : Lack of Age or Sex Effect. Archaeometry 28 : 5155.Google Scholar
Lynott, M. J., Boutton, T. W., Price, J. E., and Nelson, D. E. 1986 Stable Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Maize Agriculture in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. American Antiquity 51 : 5165.Google Scholar
McKern, T. W., and Stewart, T. D. 1957 Skeletal Age Changes in Young American Males. Technical Report EP-45. (U. S. Army) Headquarters, Quartermaster Research and Development Command, Natick, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Masters, P. M. 1987 Preferential Preservation of Non-Collagenous Protein During Bone Diagenesis : Implications for Chronometric and Stable Isotope Measurements. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 51 : 32093214.Google Scholar
O. Connell, J. F., Hawkes, K., and Jones, N. B. 1988 Hadza Hunting, Butchering, and Bone Transport and Their Archaeological Implications. Journal of Anthropological Research 44 : 113161.Google Scholar
O' Shea, J. M. 1984 Mortuary Variability : An Archaeological Investigation. Academic Press, Orlando.Google Scholar
O' Shea, J. M. 1985 Cluster Analysis and Mortuary Patterning : An Experimental Assessment. PACT 11 : 91108.Google Scholar
Peebles, C. S. 1974 Moundville : The Organization of a Prehistoric Community and Culture. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Peebles, C. S., and Kus, S. M. 1977 Some Archaeological Correlates of Ranked Societies. American Antiquity 42 : 421448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phenice, T. W. 1969 A Newly Developed Visual Method of Sexing the Os Pubis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 30 : 297302.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M. J., and DeNiro, M. J. 1984 Nitrogen and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Bone Collagen from Marine and Terrestrial Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48 : 625639.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M. J., DeNiro, M. J., and Tauber, H. 1983 Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen Reflect Marine and Terrestrial Components of Human Diet. Science 20 : 13811383.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M. J., Moore, K. M., Murray, M. L., and Kingston, J. D. 1989 Detection of Bone Preservation in Archaeological and Fossil Samples. Applied Geochemistry 4 : 281— 292.Google Scholar
Schurr, M. R. 1987 A “Partial Cremation” from the Angel Site, Vanderburgh County, Indiana. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 96 : 9193. Indianapolis.Google Scholar
Schurr, M. R. 1988 Fluoride Dating of Prehistoric Bones by Ion Selective Electrode. Journal of Archaeological Science 16 : 265270.Google Scholar
Schurr, M. R. 1989 The Relationship Between Mortuary Treatment and Diet at the Angel Site. Ph. D. dissertation, Indiana University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Schurr, M. R., and Redmond, B. G. 1991 Stable Isotope Analysis of Incipient Maize Horticultura Usts from the Gard Island 2 Site. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 16 : 6984.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, H. P., Melbye, J., Katzenberg, M. A., and Knyf, M. 1985 Stable Isotopes in Human Skeletons of Southern Ontario : Reconstructing Paleodiet. Journal of Archaeological Science 12 : 187206.Google Scholar
Sealy, J. C, and Merwe, N. J. van der 1985 Isotopic Assessment of Holocene Human Diets in the Southwestern Cape, South Africa. Nature 315 : 138140.Google Scholar
Sillen, A., Sealy, J. C., and Merwe, N. J. van der 1989 Chemistry and Paleodietary Research : No More Easy Answers. American Antiquity 54 : 504512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B. D. 1985 Mississippian Patterns of Subsistence and Settlement. In Alabama and the Borderlands : From Prehistory to Statehood, edited by Badger, R. R. and Clayton, L. A., pp. 6479. University of Alabama Press, University, Alabama.Google Scholar
Sneath, P. H. A., and Sokal, R. R. 1973 Numerical Taxonomy. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.Google Scholar
SPSS, Inc. 1978 Fractionation of Nitrogen Isotopes by Animals : A Further Complication to the Use of Variations in the Natural Abundance of 15N for Tracer Studies. Journal of Agricultural Science 90 : 79.Google Scholar
Stenhouse, M. J., and Baxter, M. S. 1979 The Uptake of Bomb 14C in Humans. In Radiocarbon Dating : Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference, Los Angeles and La Jolla, 1976, edited by Berger, R. and Suess, H. E., pp. 324341. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Steponaitis, V. P. 1978 Location Theory and Complex Chiefdoms. In Mississippian Settlement Patterns, edited by Smith, B. D., pp. 417453. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Stothers, D. M., and Bechtel, S. K. 1987 Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis : An Inter-Regional Perspective. Archaeology of Eastern North America 15 : 137154.Google Scholar
Stump, R. K., and Frazier, J. W. 1973 Simultaneous Determination of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen in Organic Compounds. Nuclear Science Abstracts 28 : 746.Google Scholar
Swanton, J. R. 1946 The Indians of the Southeastern United States. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 137. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Ubelaker, D. H. 1978 Human Skeletal Remains : Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation. Aldine, Chicago, Google Scholar
van der Merwe, N. J., and Vogel, J. C. 1978 13C Content of Human Collagen as a Measure of Prehistoric Diet in Woodland North America. Nature 276 : 815816.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. C, and Merwe, N. J. van der 1977 Isotopic Evidence for Early Maize Cultivation in New York State. American Antiquity 42 : 238242.Google Scholar
Wedel, W. R. 1961 Prehistoric Man on the Great Plains. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Yarnell, R. A. 1964 Aboriginal Relationships Between Culture and Plant Life in the Upper Great Lakes Region. Anthropological Papers No. 23. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar