Abstracts of Research (1998)

• 1998 excavations at the Heaton Farm site, 12Gr122. Paper presented at the 114th annual meeting of the Indiana Academy of Science. Park Tudor School, Indianapolis, IN, 30 October 1998.
  
  The Heaton Farm site (12Gr122) is large, multi-component habitation that includes a Late Prehistoric component dating from the late thirteenth to early fifteenth centuries. Pottery from two distinct Late Prehistoric ceramic traditions has been identified at the site, and structures representing at least two different construction styles are also present. This paper presents preliminary results of the 1998 excavations, with special attention to the relationship between the two types of material culture recovered. This summer, excavation of two previously identified structures was completed, and the remains of two new structures were identified. Four 1 x 10 meter trenches located at the limits of the village suggest that no defensive fortification surrounded the buildings.
  
  
• Preliminary data on Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Plant Procurement Strategies in Southern Indiana. Paper presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Midwest Archaeological Conference. Ball State University, Muncie, IN, 24 October 1998.
  
  This paper compiles the limited data available for plant-related subsistence practices in south-central Indiana during Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric times. Botanical remains from Newtown, Allison-LaMotte, Albee and Oliver phase sites are examined. Comparison with data from adjacent areas suggests that, while inhabitants of south-central Indiana participated in many of the broader temporal trends seen in the Eastern Woodlands, they also engaged in practices unique to the area. In addition to a transition from native crop horticulture to farming practices based on corn, the Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric periods in this area see a decline in the archaeological visibility (and perhaps also actual use) of nut resources and cucurbits and an increase in the intensity of agriculture.
  
  
• Notes on Late Woodland Plant Use in Southern Indiana. Paper presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Seattle, WA, 28 March 1998.
  
  Until recently, our understanding of Late Woodland plant use in Indiana has been largely the result of interpolating archaeobotanical data from sites in Ohio and Illinois. Excavation of Allison-LaMotte, Albee and Newtown components from sites in the southern half of the state have yielded data on uses of plants by Late Woodland peoples. This paper presents the results of archaeobotanical analysis in regional context, with special attention to the cultivation of native starchy-seeded plants and the introduction of maize as a staple crop.