Ruby, Bret J. (Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University, Bloomington)
LATE HOPEWELL SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN SOUTHWESTERN INDIANA
In 1992, archaeologists from the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology conducted
an investigation of late Middle Woodland Mann phase (ca. AD 100-500) settlement
patterns in southwestern Indiana. Support for this research was provided by the
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of historic Preservation and
Archaeology.
Prior to this investigation, our knowledge of the Mann phase was derived almost
exclusively from surveys and excavations conducted by Dr. James H. Kellar at a
single site--the Mann site (12 Po 2). (J.H. Kellar, "The Mann Site and "Hopewell"
in the Lower Wabash-Ohio Valley", in Hopewell Archaeology, edited by David S.
Brose and N'omi Greber, pp. 100-107, Kent State University Press, 1979). The major
goal of the present study has been to place the Mann site within a broader context
through the development of a preliminary model of regional settlement patterns.
Field survey, collections research and collector interviews were conducted in
an effort to document the full range of functional and locational variability
in Mann phase settlements. Three classes of Mann phase settlements have been defined.
"Short-term extractive camps" comprise the most numerous class of Mann phase sites.
These sites are minimally characterized by the presence of diagnostic Lowe Cluster
projectile points and/or distinctively thin lamellar blades. No examples of this
site type have been excavated.
Short-term extractive camps are the most widely distributed of the Mann phase
sites. They are located on floodplain, terrace and interior upland landforms.
"Hamlets" comprise the second-most numerous class of Mann phase sites. These sites
are characterized by the presence of utilitarian ceramics in addition to the diagnostic
projectile points, lamellar blades, and a wide range of lithic tool types and
debitage. These ceramics are thin-walled cordmarked and plain subconoidal jars
which are often notched on the superior lip surface and tempered with grog, limestone
or fine grit. Components representative of this settlement type have been encountered
in excavations at three sites: Kuester (12 Vg 71), Hovey Lake (12 Po 10), and
Ellerbusch (12 W 56). These excavations reveal a consistent pattern; they all
reflect small- scale occupations represented by loose clusters of shallow basin-
shaped pits indicative of food-processing rather than storage functions and are
sometimes accompanied by thin middens and/or scattered postholes. The Grabert
site (12 Po 248) may represent another excavated Mann phase hamlet (see Ruby,
Bret J., "Excavations at the Grabert Site (12 Po 248): A Late Middle Woodland
Habitation Site in Posey County, Indiana", in Current Research in Indiana Archaeology
and Prehistory: 1990, edited by Christopher S. Peebles, pp. 15-18. Research Reports
No. 12, Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Bloomington, 1991). Excavations
conducted within one of three small midden concentrations at this 1.6 ha site
(the largest documented Mann phase hamlet) uncovered part of an ovoid structure
and a series of associated processing pits. Faunal remains from this site indicate
a short-term, warm-season occupation. However, the recovery of comparatively high
frequencies of decorated Hopewellian ceramics and exotic raw materials such as
mica, copper, and galena, in addition to the presence of a nearby conical mound
(12 Po 52), suggest that the Grabert site may have been the focus of corporate-ceremonial
activities rather than strictly domestic activities.
Mann phase hamlets display a more restricted spatial distribution. They are limited
to bottomland settings, with several examples located within the active floodplain,
which would have precluded year-round settlement.
"Corporate-ceremonial" sites comprise the least-numerous of the Mann phase settlement
types. These sites display evidence of activities reflecting supra-household integration
and non- subsistence tasks. One of the most spectacular examples of this settlement
type is the GE mound (12 Po 885). The GE mound was accidentally discovered in
1988 during earth-moving operations associated with the construction of a county
road and subsequently subjected to extensive looting. The GE mound was a loaf-shaped
structure approximately 125 meters long, 50 meters wide and 6 meters high, reflecting
an investment of corporate labor on a truly monumental scale. In fact, this site
ranks among the five largest Hopewell mounds in the Midwest. A long list of status-related
artifacts was recovered from the mound, including several thousand chert bifaces,
large obsidian and quartz crystal bifaces, a silver-covered copper earspool and
a series of copper celts. Limited test excavations conducted by the Indiana Department
of Transportation recovered evidence for the production of status-related artifacts,
fragmentary burned and unburned human bone reflecting a complex mortuary program,
and many artifacts that had been intentionally destroyed through heating or smashing.
(see Tomak, Curtis H., "The Mount Vernon Siotte: A Hopewell Ceremonial/Burial
Site in Posey County, Indiana". Report prepared for the Indiana Department of
Transportation, Indianapolis, 1990). The Martin site (12 Vg 41), is a more modest
example of this settlement type. This site contains at least two small conical
mounds preserved in 19th century cemetery. Cultural debris surrounding the mounds
suggests a Mann phase affiliation.
Mann phase corporate-ceremonial sites are located on terrace landforms, as well
as upland locations overlooking bottomland settings. None have been identified
within the active floodplain. This suggests that activities involving supra- household
integration may have been scheduled to correspond to those portions of the year
when lowland habitats were inaccessible.
The Mann site itself occupies a unique position within the preliminary settlement
pattern model developed here. This site, located on a flood-free, high terrace
landform, served both corporate-ceremonial and domestic functions. The scale and
complexity of mound and earthwork construction, mortuary programs, and non-mortuary
ceremonialism at the Mann site is rivalled in the Midwest only by the classic
Ohio Hopewell sites of south-central Ohio. At the same time, four seasons of survey
and test excavation at the Mann site have documented domestic habitation debris
including high densities of processing pits, storage pits and deep midden accumulations,
on a scale certainly unparalleled by any of the Ohio centers, and perhaps by any
contemporary site in the Midwest.
The present study has documented functional and locational variability in the
Mann phase, and future research is intended to develop a truly systemic model
of Mann phase settlement. [return to 1992 abstracts menu][continue to next]