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Chronology of a Fortified Mississippian Village in the Central Illinois River Valley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2019

Anthony M Krus Open the ORCID record for Anthony M Krus [Opens in a new window] ,
Edward W Herrmann ,
Matthew D Pike ,
G William Monaghan  and
Jeremy J Wilson
Anthony M Krus*
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow, SUERC, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland, United Kingdom Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA
Edward W Herrmann
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA
Matthew D Pike
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Department of Anthropology, 700 W. State Street, Suite 219 West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059, USA
G William Monaghan
Affiliation:
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Department of Anthropology, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140, USA
Jeremy J Wilson
Affiliation:
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Department of Anthropology, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Geophysical survey and excavations from 2010–2016 at Lawrenz Gun Club (11CS4), a late pre-Columbian village located in the central Illinois River valley in Illinois, identified 10 mounds, a central plaza, and dozens of structures enclosed within a stout 10 hectare bastioned palisade. Nineteen radiocarbon (14C) measurements were taken from single entities of wood charcoal, short-lived plants, and animal bones. A site chronology has been constructed using a Bayesian approach that considers the stratigraphic contexts and feature formation processes. The village was host to hundreds of years of continuous human activity during the Mississippi Period. Mississippian activity at the site is estimated to have begun in cal AD 990–1165 (95% probability), ended in cal AD 1295–1450 (95% probability), and lasted 150–420 yr (95% probability) in the primary Bayesian model with similar results obtained in two alternative models. The palisade is estimated to have been constructed in cal AD 1150–1230 (95% probability) and was continuously repaired and rebuilt for 15–125 yr (95% probability), probably for 40–85 yr (68% probability). Comparison to other studies demonstrates that the bastioned palisade at Lawrenz was one of the earliest constructed in the midcontinental United States.

Keywords

Bayesian modelingCentral Illinois River ValleyLate Woodland PeriodMississippi Periodwarfare
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , June 2019 , pp. 713 - 731
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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