Ian W. Brown

Calumet Ceremony in the Southeast and Its Archaeological Manifestations

An extremely important institution among the Indians of the Southeast in the historic period, the calumet ceremony was first recognized by French adventurers in the Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region in the mid-seventeenth century. By the end of the century the ceremony was universal among Lower Mississippi Valley groups. A major focus of calumet literature in recent years has been on the timing of and the mechanism for the introduction of this ceremony in the Eastern Woodlands. Some have argued for prehistoric roots, while others have supported a historic development. A study of the spatiotemporal distribution of catlinite pipes is one way to address these issues, because such pipes are the principal archaeological expression of the ceremony. This paper focuses on the two most common catlinite pipe forms: disk pipes and elbow pipes. Overall, both forms are rare in the Southeast, but relatively they are widespread. The disk type has the greatest range and is also the earlier of the two forms, primarily being found during the protohistoric period. It is proposed here, however, that calumet introduction was coincident with the elbow catlinite form that first appeared in the Southeast in the midto-late seventeenth century. It is believed that calumet ceremonialism was spreading into the southern portion of the Lower Mississippi Valley at about the same time as the first French explorers were entering the area from the north.

Temporal Models in Prehistory: An Example From Eastern North America [and Comments and Reply]

This paper deals with the topic of defining a sequence of time units for any specified archaeological area, that is, the topic of constructing temporal models in prehistory. Despite the fundamental necessity for temporal models in modern prehistoric archaeology, no generally agreed-upon, coherent set of principles is currently available to assist archaeologists in the task of temporal model formulation. Accordingly, after a brief historical review of the development of temporal models in prehistory, this paper offers a set of four basic principles to be followed in formulating such models. To illustrate the applicability of these principles, they are applied to a specific archaeological area, the Eastern Woodlands of North America, for which a new temporal model is thus presented. Additional purposes for presenting a new temporal model for Eastern North America prehistory are to stimulate a critical reevaluation of the current status of a number of basic concepts, such as Archaic and Mississippian, and to provide an up-to-date synthesis of Eastern prehistory.

Recent trends in the archaeology of the southeastern United States

The archaeological literature pertaining to the southeastern United States is examined for the 5-year period between 1988 and 1992 inclusive. Research traditions identified in an earlier article by Patty Jo Watson (Southeastern Archaeology 9: 43–54, 1990) as characteristic of the Southeast in the previous half-century are considered in light of recent contributions. Topics examined include Mesoamerican connections, trade, pottery typology, historical archaeology, subsistence studies, bioarchaeology, and lithic artifact research.

Certain Trends in Eastern Woodlands Salt Production Technology

Abstract From the Late Woodland period until the end of the eighteenth century, the American Indians of the Eastern Woodlands produced salt by evaporating brine in ceramic containers. These vessels, often termed saltpans, exhibited a range of variability in size, form, and surface treatment. Data from eight salt-making localities discussed here support the idea that in parts of the Deep South bowls and jars were preferred over thicker basin-shaped vessels, but this does not seem to have been the case throughout the rest of the Eastern Woodlands. While there is some evidence to suggest that salt bowls and jars were supported over a fire using clay pedestals and that salt was traded in small cups, or augets, very few of these ceramic forms have been identified thus far in eastern North America.

The Morgan Site: An Important Coles Creek Mound Complex on the Chenier Plain of Southwest Louisiana

The chenier plain of southwest Louisiana supported a relatively dense population in the Coles Creek period. The Morgan site, located on the Pecan Island chenier, was a major center for the local inhabitants in Middle and Late Coles Creek times (c. AD 800–1000). Recent excavations at this site by the Lower Mississippi Survey resulted in the delimitation of the site, revealing areas of intensive occupation. A rich midden was tested to work out temporal changes in the local ceramics of the Coles Creek period. The excavation techniques employed enabled us to distinguish micro-evolutionary changes within the Baytown Plain rim mode assemblage recovered at Morgan. Determining such changes within the ceramics of the Coles Creek period has contributed to the relative dating of the Morgan mounds. The excavation methods presented here provide a means for ascertaining which Coles Creek components in the region were occupied contemporaneously. This information is fundamental to further studies on settlement and subsistence in the chenier plain.