Gulf Coast Archaeology: The Southeastern United States and Mexico

433 Pages·2005·19.5 MB·English

by  Nancy Marie White

Gulf Coast Archaeology
The Southeastern United States and Mexico
Edited by Nancy Marie White
university press of florida
Gulf Coast Archaeology
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Gulf Coast Archaeology
The Southeastern United States and Mexico
Edited by Nancy Marie White
University Press of Florida
Gainesville/Tallahassee/Tampa/Boca Raton
Pensacola/Orlando/Miami/Jacksonville/Ft. Myers/Sarasota
Copyright 2005 by Nancy Marie White
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved
A record of cataloging-in-publication data is available from
the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-8130-2808-8 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-8130-3610-6 (eBook)
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency
for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M
University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University,
Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of
Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of
North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables xii
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
1. Prehistoric Connections around the Gulf Coast 1
Nancy Marie White
2. Rivers in the Sea: The Gulf of Mexico as a Cultural Corridor
in Antiquity 56
S. Jeffrey K. Wilkerson
3. A New Look at the Gulf Coast Formative 68
Randolph J. Widmer
4. Mound Builders along the Coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern
United States 87
Patricio Dávila Cabrera
5. Sea-Level Rise and Fluctuation on the Central Texas Coast: Exploring
Cultural and Ecological Correlates 108
Robert A. Ricklis and Richard A. Weinstein
6. Dumps and Piles: Site Structure and Settlement Patterning on the Mid
and Upper Texas Gulf Coast 155
E. Frances Gadus
7. Late Holocene Environments and the Archaeological Record of the South
Texas Coast 178
Karl W. Kibler
8. Broader Continental Connections through the Gulf Coastal Plain
of Texas 197
Karl W. Kibler
9. Paleoagriculture on the Gulf Coast: Two Possible Cases of the Classic
Period, Central Veracruz, Mexico 205
Annick Daneels, Fabio Flores, Emilio Ibarra, Manuel Zolá
10. Perspectives on Variation in Olmec Settlement and Polity Using
Mississippian Models 223
Christopher A. Pool
11. Characteristic Elements Shared by Northeastern Mexico and the
Southeastern United States 245
Diana Zaragoza Ocaña
12. Wind Jewels and Paddling Gods: The Mississippian Southeast in the
Postclassic Mesoamerican World 260
Alice Beck Kehoe
13. The American Formative Revisited 281
John E. Clark and Michelle Knoll
14. Discontinuities, Common Foundations, Short-Distance Interactions, and
Sporadic Long-Distance Connections around the Gulf of Mexico 304
Nancy Marie White
Bibliography 321
List of Contributors 387
Index 389
Figures
1.1. The Gulf of Mexico region 2
1.2. Texan Indian chief and Mayan prince in Kings of the Sun 4
1.3. View of the Gulf of Mexico from northwest Florida 6
1.4. Environmental zones around the Gulf of Mexico 8
1.5. Currents in the Gulf 9
1.6. North Gulf Coast environments 10
1.7. Prehistoric canoe bows 13
1.8. Distribution of obsidian finds in east Texas and the eastern United
States 22
1.9. Distribution of fiber-tempered pottery in the southeastern United
States 24
1.10. Distribution of Archaic mounds and earthworks in the southeastern
United States 26
1.11. Distribution of Early and Middle Woodland mounds in the southeastern
United States 27
1.12. Distribution of Late Woodland, Mississippian, and Caddoan mounds
in the southeastern United States 28
1.13. Southeastern Mississippian platform mounds at Lake Jackson and
Moundville 30
1.14. High-status Fort Walton (Mississippian) burial in Lake Jackson
Mound 3 32
1.15. Schematic maps of southeastern Mississippian temple mound centers
at Lake George, Bottle Creek, and Lake Jackson 33
1.16. Schematic maps of southeastern Mississippian temple mound centers
at Moundville and Spiro 34
1.17. Schematic map of El Tajín 37
1.18. Las Flores Mound A 38
1.19. Stone pyramid at Tamuín 39
1.20. Castillo de Teayo pyramid 40
1.21. Pyramid of the Niches at El Tajín 41
1.22. Bas-relief carving in South Ball Court at El Tajín 42
1.23. Two stone pyramids at Zempoala 43
1.24. Miniature stone pyramids in cemetery at Quiahuiztlán 44
1.25. Some historic Native American cultures around the Gulf of Mexico 47
1.26. Late prehistoric ceramics from the Huasteca, the lower Mississippi
Valley, and northwestern Florida 48
2.1. Important site locations in northern Veracruz 59
3.1. Diffusionary model from an introductory prehistory text 69
viii / Figures
3.2. Excerpt from foldout charts in Ford’s Comparison of Formative Cultures
in the Americas 70
3.3. Sea-level curves 77
4.1. Some Gulf Coast mound centers 89
4.2. Routes of hypothesized long-distance cultural interaction 91
4.3. Northeastern Mexico, showing the Huastec region 93
4.4. Huastec region, showing locations of Tantoc and other sites 94
4.5. Prehistoric center of Tantoc 95
4.6. Structure drawings and cross-section of Mound A at Las Flores 97
4.7. Designs painted on plaster floors within Las Flores Mound E 98
4.8. Huastecan earthen mound center at Santa Fé 99
4.9. Chunkey stones or ground stone discoidals from San Luis Potosí 101
4.10. Stone platform and monitor-type pipes from San Luis Potosí 102
4.11. Copper mask from Tamuín 103
4.12. Engraved shell from northern Veracruz and Spiro, showing winged
personage 104
4.13. Southeastern Ceremonial Complex winged personage (bird-dancer)
depicted on copper plates from Spiro and Lake Jackson 105
5.1. The Texas coast 110
5.2. Radiocarbon dates from sites on the central Texas coast and shoreline
shell middens in the Galveston Bay area 113
5.3. Calibrated age ranges from sites in the Baffin Bay area 114
5.4. Radiocarbon dates from sites on the central Texas coast 115
5.5. Correspondence between human occupation on the central Texas coast
and periods of sea-level stillstands 116
5.6. Increase in fish otoliths per unit of excavated shell midden on the central
Texas coast 119
5.7. Late Prehistoric cultural expressions on the northwestern coast of the
Gulf of Mexico 121
5.8. Ceramics of the Rockport phase of the central Texas coast 122
5.9. Common incised ceramic motifs of the lower Mississippi Valley, upper
and central Texas coast 123
5.10. Shell artifacts of the Late Prehistoric period on the central Texas
coast 124
5.11. Bone tools of the Late Prehistoric period on the central Texas coast 125
5.12. Lithic artifacts of the Rockport phase on the central Texas coast 126
5.13. Florida beach locales and archaeological sites 129
5.14. Sanibel and St. Vincent islands, with identifiable beach ridges 130
5.15. Periods of high and low sea level identified along the Florida coast during
the past 3000 years 131
5.16. Dates used to identify the “modified SW/NW Florida curve” and the
Wulfert high-sea stand 132
5.17. Modified SW/NW Florida curve compared to earlier curves 133
Figures / ix
5.18. The Guadalupe Bay site showing excavation units 134
5.19. Excavating Block 3 at the Guadalupe Bay site 135
5.20. Occupation sequences at Guadalupe Bay 136
5.21. East–west profiles in Block 1, showing stratigraphic sequence in the
southeastern part of the Guadalupe Bay site 137
5.22. North–south profiles in Block 3 in the central part of the Guadalupe Bay
site 138
5.23. Close-up view of the Aransas III oyster deposit at the Guadalupe Bay
site 139
5.24. Radiocarbon dates associated with the Aransas II oysters at Guadalupe
Bay 140
5.25. North wall of Unit N90W140, showing the relatively deep Aransas III
oysters 141
5.26. Paleogeographic reconstruction of rivers and San Antonio Bay during the
Aransas I occupation 142
5.27. Paleogeographic reconstruction of rivers and San Antonio Bay during the
Aransas II occupation 143
5.28. Paleogeographic reconstruction of rivers and San Antonio Bay during the
Aransas III occupation 144
5.29. Eastern end of 41CL59, showing the five block excavations of
1997–98 145
5.30. Excavating Block 1 at 41CL59 146
5.31. East wall profile of Unit N102E286 with layer of Rangia and oyster shell
at base 146
5.32. Plan view of one of the oyster piles exposed in Unit N102E290 in Block 1
at 41CL59 147
5.33. West wall profile of Unit N102E290 in Block 1 at 41CL59 showing
oyster shell dump 147
5.34. Plan of the individually plotted oyster shells within Blocks 1 and 2 at
41CL59 showing possible structures 148
5.35. Topographic map and Profile A at 41MG60 150
5.36. The northwestern Gulf Coast, showing inferable patterns of diffusion in
ceramic attributes 153
6.1. The Texas coast, showing areas and sites discussed 157
6.2. Site map for 41HR124, showing excavations 161
6.3. Profiles and photo of Excavation Block 4/5/7 at 41HR124 162–63
6.4. Shell piles and features at 41HR581 164
6.5. Isopleth map of shell pile thickness at 41HR581 165
6.6. Pottery concentration on top of Shell Feature 21 at 41HR581 166
6.7. Accumulation of shell features through time at 41HR581 167
6.8. Site map showing midden areas and excavations at 41CL9 168
6.9. Profile of thick shell dump and photo of Feature 8 (probable baking pit)
at 41CL9 169