Abstracts of Research
by Leslie L. Bush
- How Corn Woman came to the people: an archaeological perspective.
Paper presented at the Seventh Annual Woodland National Conference on Great
Lakes Native American Culture. Angola, IN, 28 October 1997
In Native stories told in what is now the southwestern United States, corn
was already present on the earth when people arrived, or was given to them
by the Creator at the Emergence. Eastern tribes, however, tell of a time before
corn; their stories include tales of how Corn Woman came to the people. Not
surprisingly, archaeological evidence shows a much greater antiquity for corn
in the southwest, with corn entering the eastern woodlands in the first centuries
of the common era and being taken up as a staple crop between AD 800 and 1200.
This paper reviews the archaeological evidence for the appearance of corn
in the eastern woodlands and its transformation into a dietary staple. New
data on the uses of corn by native peoples of what is now Indiana during the
critical period AD 500 - 1200 are also presented.
- How much is enough? An experiment in flotation sampling from west central
Indiana. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology. Nashville, TN, 6 April 1997. Also presented in essentially the
same form at the 113th annual meeting of the Indiana Academy of Science. Rensselaer,
IN, 31 October 1997
Several features excavated recently at the multi-component Heaton Farm site
(12 Gr 122) appeared to contain deep, homogeneous feature fill. This paper
discusses the results from a sampling strategy in which flotation samples
were taken from arbitrary 10cm levels within what appeared to be homogeneous
cultural strata of up to 70cms. Results of botanical analysis from these arbitrarily
defined strata are compared to samples taken from features that contained
clearly discernable cultural strata or zones. The results suggest strategies
for efficient flotation sampling and for comparing the distribution of botanical
remains to that of other artifact classes.
- Botanical remains from the Crouch site. Paper presented at the 112th
annual meeting of the Indiana Academy of Science. Greencastle, IN, 8 November
1996.
Recent excavations at the Crouch site (12 Jo 5) have revealed a high density
of Late Prehistoric features and a ceramic assemblage dominated by shell-tempered
pottery. While the novelty of the ceramic assemblage for central Indiana is
not entirely reflected by the site's botanical remains, analysis from a limited
number of feature contexts supports other lines of evidence in suggesting
that 12 Jo 5 represents the storage facility of an agricultural group. In
addition, several fragments of wild rice (Zizania aquatica) were recovered
from the site.
- Plant foods from three "menus": botanical remains from 12 Hu 1022, a
historic Miami habitation site near the Forks of the Wabash. Paper presented
at the SHA Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology. Cincinnati,
Ohio, 6 January 1996.
Also presented in abbreviated form as Historical and archaeological evidence
for indigenous plant use: an example from the Forks of the Wabash at the
111th annual meeting of the Indiana Academy of Science. Indianapolis, IN,
3 November 1995.
Historical accounts of indigenous uses of plants are incomplete and sporadic
even as late as the early nineteenth century. Botanical remains from historical
archaeological sites, while also an imperfect source of information, can help
provide more complete documentation of indigenous uses of plants. A comparison
of historical records and the archaeobotanical remains from an early nineteenth
century Miami village at the Forks of the Wabash show significant differences
between the archaeological and historical databases. While the two generally
coincide on Miami agriculture, historical records tend to omit wild plants,
and important but delicate dietary elements such as roots and tubers tend
not to be preserved in the archaeobotanical record. In addition, the archaeobotanical
remains show that Miami generally retained their indigenous foodways, even
as other aspects of their material culture changed rapidly in the face of
European encroachment.
- Archaeobotanical remains as indicators of site structure at Cox's Woods
(12 Or 1). Paper presented at the 40th annual Midwest Archaeological Conference.
Beloit, WI, 28 October 1995.
Recent investigations at the Cox's Woods site in Orange County, Indiana have
demonstrated that the remnants of an earthen embankment still visible on the
site were associated with a 14th century Oliver Phase village. Flotation samples
from the site provide information about Oliver agricultural practices, diet
and possible medicinal uses of plants. In addition, analysis shows that processing
waste and cooking waste were generally deposited in different parts of the
site. Thus botanical remains at Cox's Woods can be used to infer the original
shape of the village, even though much of the earthen enclosure no longer
exists.
- Archaeology in plain view. Paper presented at the 28th annual Chacmool
Conference. Calgary, Alberta, 11 November 1995.
In May and June 1995, the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana
University conducted archaeological investigations at a prehistoric site just
a few yards from a busy state highway. The site location challenged us to
work simultaneously with diverse "publics", each with its own set of expectations
-- and misconceptions -- about archaeological practices: the local press,
artifact collectors, the county historical society, amateur archaeologists,
the lay public, and field school students encountering excavation for the
first time. In this paper, I evaluate the success of our months-long effort
to effectively communicate with different groups and discuss the sorts of
ethnographic information that successful archaeologists require even when
working close to home.
- Archaeological correlates of sugar maple exploitation. Paper presented
at the 110th annual meeting of the Indiana Academy of Science. South Bend,
Indiana, 3 November 1994.
Because it leaves few direct traces in the archaeological record, the practice
of maple sugaring has long intrigued archaeologists. In prehistoric studies,
the issue is further complicated by the fact that authorities disagree about
the exact nature of aboriginal maple exploitation (i.e., whether maple sap
was sugared or made into syrup). This paper represents a systematic attempt
to understand how and where prehistoric maple exploitation sites appear archaeologically,
in the hope that information about indirect traces of maple exploitation will
prove useful in recognizing such sites. Historical documents, experimental
evidence, and middle range theory are employed to determine necessary (but
not sufficient) conditions for believing that maple exploitation may have
taken place at a particular site. Special attention is paid to diagnostic
elements of site location, community structure, human remains, artifacts,
ecofacts, features and iconographic motifs.
[return to Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology
List of Publications]
[return to Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology Home]