Bush, Leslie (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana
University, Bloomington)
PLANT USE BY THE OLIVER PHASE PEOPLE; PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM
THE CLAMPITT SITE
Little is known about the paleoethnobotany of Oliver Phase sites, but it is hoped
that research undertaken this summer at the Clampitt site (12 Lr 329) will help
fill that gap. This paper presents preliminary data from plant remains recovered
primarily through flotation, with comments on historically documented uses of
those plants and a comparison of Clampitt plant remains to those at a similar
site of the Fort Ancient Anderson Phase.
A total of 31 flotation samples were obtained from 24 features, ranging in volume
from 12.5 liters to 22.0 liters. Samples were processed in a machine-assisted
flotation device, the Indiana Machine, which had been updated and improved by
Bret Ruby. The extremely sandy soil at the Clampitt site necessitated use of a
1.0 mm heavy fraction screen in the flotation device, even though a screen of
less than 0.5 mm is standard. While this does not affect the light fractions in
any way, some charred remains less than 1.0 mm in diameter may have been lost
from the heavy fractions during flotation.
Preliminary analysis of the recovered remains was carried out using on procedures
adapted from Mollie Toll. All samples were sifted through geologic screen to separate
them into four size categories. Remains greater than 2.0 mm were completely sorted
by hand under an illuminated magnifying glass. In this size category, as in all
others, uncharred remains were rejected as modern contaminants. Size categories
between 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm and between 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm were scanned under a light
microscope for 10 minutes each and all charred seeds, rind, and nutshell removed.
This process has been completed for 29 of the light fractions (representing 536
liters of soil) and the data presented here come from these light fractions.
Before turning to the results of the analysis, some cautions are in order: First,
these are preliminary data. While the range of plant types identified is not expected
to increase greatly -- if at all -- during further investigations, some changes
in distribution are to be expected. For this reason, I felt it preliminary to
calculate wood/nut and nutshell/seed ratios at this time.
Second, with few exceptions, plant types have been identified to the genus level
only, as Deborah Pearsall and others caution against over-specific identification.
Third and most importantly, the range of plant remains found though flotation
represents only what was available to the Oliver Phase people and not necessarily
what they used or the proportions in which they used them. Accidental deposition,
food preparation and disposal techniques, and differential preservation bias the
botanical record.
As shown in Figure 3, 24 genera of plants
were recovered through flotation. While woods and nutshell have not yet been analyzed,
it appears that wood is dominated by hardwoods. Nutshell remains include hickory,
walnut, and acorn.
Tropical cultigens clearly dominate the plant remains. Maize (Zea mays) is the
most common of the tropical cultigens on the site -- both in terms of number of
pieces found and ubiquity. Only one corn cob was found; it appears to be an eight-rowed
specimen. Beans (Phaseolus), though not as numerous as maize, are well distributed
throughout the site.
Five of the other plant types found on the site are generally thought to have
been cultigens or quasi-cultigens at some point during prehistoric times. They
are: goosefoot (Chenopodium), knotweed (Polygonum), pigweed (Amaranthus), little
barley (Hordeum), and maygrass or canarygrass (Phalaris).
The range of species found at the Clampitt site provide limited information about
seasonality: Almost all of the seeds mature in late summer through late fall.
However greens are available in the early to late spring, indicating that the
recovered botanical remains were harvested between early spring and late fall.
It should be remembered that this scenario assumes that most plant remains found
were deliberately introduced to the site. Another complicating factor is that
the season of harvest is not necessarily the same as season of use and deposition.
In general, botanical data provide support for recent work by Bob McCullough and
Brian Redmond showing that the Oliver phase people lived in ways similar to the
better-known Fort Ancient peoples. An Anderson Phase Ft. Ancient site, the Incinerator
site (also called "Sunwatch Village") served as a conceptual model for students
during the field school. Because of this, and because Gail Wagner has recently
analyzed the botanical remains from that site, it serves as the basis for comparison
here.
The botanical profiles of the two sites are very similar. Both are dominated by
maize and beans, and both share a similar range of smaller seeds. The three most
common smaller seeds at both sites are: goosefoot, purslane, and sumac. The primary
differences are the presence of blueberry and catchfly at the Clampitt site and
nightshade at the Incinerator site. A simple regression analysis of the small
seeds gives an r-squared value of 0.75. A second regression analysis was performed
after removing genera for which a total of five or fewer seeds were recovered
from both sites to eliminate undue influence from seeds present in such small
numbers that they are likely to have been introduced accidentally. The r-squared
value for that second correlation is still 0.71, indicating a strong correlation
between the types and relative amounts of seeds on the sites.
Even though the tropical cultigens are clearly the most numerous plant types found
at both sites, some interesting differences emerge. Maize was found in all Incinerator
trash pits, yet it appeared in only 71% of Clampitt features. In contrast, beans
were found in more of the Clampitt features. Possibly, this represents functional
differentiation of middens at the Incinerator Site, or a difference in food preparation
and/or disposal techniques at the two sites. But it also may represent a real
difference in the amount of maize and beans consumed at the two sites.
In sum, botanical remains from the Clampitt site reveal a typical Fort Ancient
susistence pattern -- exactly as one would expect from an Oliver phase site. But
they also show some interesting divergences from the pattern at the very similar
Incinerator site which warrant further investigation. [return to 1991 abstracts menu][continue to next]