Kozarek, Sue Ellen (Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati)
DEMONSTRATING SEDENTISM IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD: A MIDDLE
WOODLAND HOMESTEAD IN SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA
Impressive mounds and earthworks built by the prehistoric Hopewell populations
have long been an important feature of Midwestern archaeology. Most of our current
knowledge of this tradition in the Ohio Valley region has been the result of archaeological
investigations that have focused on these ceremonial sites. Thus, although artifact
and burial typologies are extensive, little is known about the secular lives of
the Hopewell societies in this region. In contrast, Hopewell archaeology in the
Illinois region has focused since the 1950s on subsistence and settlement patterns.
It is difficult to make comparisons between the two regions because the data sets
are so different. Morever, there is a great deal more settlement evidence available
for the Havana period, particularly from the lower Illinois River Valley.
The Jennison Guard site (12 D 295) is a Hopewellian habitation situated on the
Ohio River floodplain in Dearborn County, Indiana. This site is unique in this
region because it is not directly associated with a ceremonial complex. The 1985
field season of excavation was conducted with the objective of determining the
duration or permanence of the occupation at the site. These excavations revealed
a large, extramural activity area: nineteen cultural features, a refuse disposal
zone, and two discrete, voluminous middens. Preliminary analyses of the floral
and faunal remains suggested the site was occupied on a year-round basis.
The research presented here focuses on the evidence for organization and maintenance
of life space at the site. By comparing this evidence with expectations for the
use and maintenance of space among groups that are (1) highly mobile, (2) seasonally
migratory, and (3) sedentary, it is demonstrated that the Jennison Guard site
was occupied for a relatively long, uninterrupted period of time and that the
occupants of the site were residentially sedentary. The Jennison Guard site is
but a single example from a complex tradition whose settlements in the Ohio Valley
region remain poorly documented. The hypotheses and conclusions presented here
are not intended to suggest a pattern of settlements for this tradition; rather,
they are offered as a basis for much needed future comparisons. [return to 1987 abstracts menu][continue to next]