Brian G. Redmond

New evidence for Late Pleistocene human exploitation of Jefferson's Ground Sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) from northern Ohio, USA

Abstract The nature and extent of early human exploitation of late Pleistocene mega-mammals of North America have been vigorously debated; however, direct evidence of predation has been established for a small number of taxa. Until now, evidence of butchering and human utilization of ground sloths has been limited to South America. Osteological and taphonomic analyses of one curated collection of Jeffersons Ground Sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) from northern Ohio, USA, have identified possible butchering marks on one femur. Historical research determined that the skeletal remains were originally recovered from a bog prior to 1915. Metric assessment of the ten skeletal elements identified this sloth as one of the largest individuals on record. SEM analysis of the left femur documented forty-one stone-tool marks, and their pattern and location indicate the filleting of leg muscles. XAD-purified bone collagen from the femur returned an AMS 14C radiocarbon age of 11,740±35 bp (13,738 to 13,435 cal. bp), which is as much as 700 years older than the calculated maximum age for Clovis. Although diminished somewhat by the lack of primary provenience data, these results offer significant evidence for late Pleistocene human exploitation of this North American taxon.

Smudge Pits and Stone “Drills”: The Use of Chipped Stone Tools at Burrell Orchard

Recent investigations by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) identified an extensive Late Archaic occupation at Burrell Orchard (33LN15), located on a promontory overlooking the Black River in northern Ohio. CMNH excavations have documented widespread midden deposits, prepared clay floors, post molds, and pit features including numerous smudge pits. The formal chipped stone tool assemblage is dominated by lanceolate projectile points and bifacial “drills.” High-powered lithic microwear analysis was performed on 28 formal chipped stone tools recovered from the 2008 and 2014 CMNH field seasons. Tool types examined included complete and fragmentary lanceolate points, drills, and other bifaces. The results indicate that many “drills” were actually used to perforate dry hide and, thus, may have held a unique place in the hide-processing activities conducted at the site.

Hopewell on the Sandusky: Analysis and Description of an Inundated Ohio Hopewell Mortuary-Ceremonial Site in North-Central Ohio

Northern Ohio has traditionally been placed at the “periphery” of Ohio Hopewell interaction. The recent discovery of an inundated mortuary-ceremonial site in Sandusky Bay with characteristic Hopewell artifacts, burial treatments, and deposits has stimulated a reexamination of the relationship between northern Ohio Middle Woodland societies and the Ohio Hopewell core. From this locality, known as the Pumpkin site, amateur archaeologists salvaged burials; Flint Ridge chert bifaces, Lowe cluster points and bladelets; a copper celt and beads; and other distinctive Hopewell funerary and ceremonial objects. Pumpkin site burial treatments and artifact forms also show considerable similarities to the Esch Mounds component located just to the east. A single AMS radiocarbon determination of 1840 ± 40 BP (Beta-221575) on human bone collagen places the Pumpkin component securely within the Middle Woodland period. Information from this unique site indicates that local Middle Woodland ties to the Ohio Hopewell heartland were more significant than previously perceived.

Connecting Heaven and Earth: Interpreting Early Woodland Nonmortuary Ceremonialism in Northern Ohio

Most previous studies of Early Woodland ritual and ceremonialism in the Ohio region have focused primarily on Adena mound and earthwork enclosures and their attendant mortuary facilities. Recent investigations of other constructions, such as circular post structures, have demonstrated the feasibility of expanding interpretations of Early Woodland ceremonialism to include nonmortuary contexts. In the southern drainages of Lake Erie, small hilltop enclosures are potentially fruitful localities for the study of (non-Adena) ritual and ceremonialism. Recent investigations at the Heckelman hilltop enclosure reveal nonmortuary-ceremonial activity during the Early Woodland period. Archaeological remains point to the construction of an oval ditch enclosing clusters of freestanding (ritual) poles and pits that exhibit evidence of having been used for preparing and serving ceremonial meals. It is proposed that the Heckelman ceremonial precinct was the site of ritually charged activities bearing important cosmological significance for its users.

Thermoluminescence (TL) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) Dating of Two Burned Clovis Wyandotte Chert Lithic Specimens from Paleo Crossing (33ME274), Ohio, USA

ABSTRACT Paleo Crossing (33ME274), a Clovis site in Medina County, Northeast Ohio, USA, has played an important role in debates on the Pleistocene Peopling of the Americas given its published, and assumed accurate, age of 10,980 ± 75 BP (12,717–13,020 calibrated BP, median age 12,854 cal BP). However, there are still questions surrounding the radiocarbon ages from the site. We aimed to bypass using the association of charcoal with features or artifacts, and instead date the Clovis artifacts directly via luminescence dating. The chronometric results of 9.14 ± 2.18 kya and 8.92 ± 3.03 kya suggest one of two possibilities: (1) there was a fire at Paleo Crossing sometime during the Early Archaic period or, more likely, (2) the inner parts of the lithics were partially bleached, reducing the signal, while they were exposed on the surface.

Terminal Late Woodland Mortuary Ceremonialism, Social Differentiation, and Long Distance Interaction in Northern Ohio: New Evidence from the Danbury Site

Abstract The period from A.D. 800 to 1200 was a time of marked cultural transitions across the Midwest which featured the Mississippian emergence in the west and development of sedentary, tribal societies to the north and east. Recent salvage excavations at the Danbury site, a terminal Late Woodland habitation and cemetery in northwestern Ohio, document the intensified exploitation and storage of aquatic faunal resources and maize and the creation of a large corporate cemetery. Whelk shell ornaments accompanying certain burials point to long-distance interaction with southeastern societies as well as new forms of social differentiation. Preserved fibers of cotton (Gossypium spp.) in the dental calculus of several important individuals reveal previously unrecognized social or economic linkages with societies as distant as the Southwest or northern Mexico. The combined evidence for subsistence intensification, specialized mortuary treatments, and long-distance material exchange at Danbury represent unique local responses to pan-regional socio-cultural transformations.