Hunter-Gatherers, Mobility, and Technological Organization

148 Pages·2016·9.26 MB·English

by  Philip James Carr

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Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School
5-1995
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Philip James Carr
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss
Part of the Anthropology Commons
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Carr, Philip James, "Hunter-Gatherers, Mobility, and Technological Organization: The Early Archaic of East
Tennessee. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1995.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4009
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To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Philip James Carr entitled "Hunter-Gatherers,
Mobility, and Technological Organization: The Early Archaic of East Tennessee." I have examined
the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be
accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a
major in Anthropology.
Walter E. Klippel, Major Professor
We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance:
Charles Faulkner, Jeff Chapman, Jan Simek, Thomas L. Bell
Accepted for the Council:
Carolyn R. Hodges
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Philip
James Carr entitled "Hunter-Gatherers, Mobility, and
Technological Organization: The Early Archaic of East
Tennessee." I have examined the final copy of this
dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be
accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in
Anthropology.
Professor
We have read this dissertation
and recommend its acceptance:
Accepted for the Council:
Associate Vice Chancellor and
Dean of the Graduate School
HUNTER-GATHERERS, MOBILITY, AND TECHNOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION:
THE EARLY ARCHAIC OF EAST TENNESSEE
A Dissertation
Presented for the
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree·
...T he University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Philip James Carr
May, 1995
Copyright � Philip James Carr, 1995
All rights reserved
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DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated in the memeory of my grandfather
Louis Bertram Carr
"Gramps"
who inspired my interest in archaeology
and
helped me believe I could accomplish anything .
..-- -·
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Without the guidance, support, and help of a number of
individuals, this dissertation would never have been completed. My
committee, Drs. Tom Bell, Jeff Chapman, Charles Faulkner, Jan Simek
and chair Walter Klippel, provided all of these things and more.
They read chapters early and were always willing to accormnodate my
schedule. Although unsure of the specifics of lithic analysis, Dr.
Bell showed great enthusiasm and provided important insight into my
research. Immense thanks are due to Dr. Chapman for allowing
access to the collections analyzed here and for his personal
perspective on archaeology and the Early Archaic. If I ever become
a good writer and editor, it will be due to the patience and skills
of Dr. Faulkner. Also, Dr. Faulkner has always been willing to
share his great depth of knowledge of archaeology and southeastern
prehistory. Dr. Simek effectively provided alternate perspectives
on the way that I approached both lithic analysis and the
archaeology of hunter-gatherers. Dr. Walter Klippel has served as
my mentor for a long time. He has put up.with me and stuck with me
through thick and thin. · Dr. Klippel has taught me many things
about archaeology and the profession. Thanks to him, I will always
think about "how are you going to· make it work." For all of this,
I am extremely grateful.
· I would also like to thank a number of individuals who did not
serve on my committee but went over and beyond the call of duty in
helping me solve my problems. Dr. Larry Kimball provided data,
insight, and his perspective on the Early Archaic at Tellico. Dr.
Randy Daniel shared his dissertation work with me at a time when it
was sorely needed.- Dr. Al Goodyear shared his insights into the
Early Archaic of the southeast and South Carolina in particular as
well as into.lithic analysis and hunter-gatherers. I could talk to
Dr. Goodyear for hours on these topics and want to thank him for
the time he spent me with me during my week at the Institute.
Danny Olinger provided access to TVA lands for the investigation of
chert sources and the collecting of chert .sa_ mples. Andrew Bradbury
deserves special thanks for always having the time .·to ·listen to me
brainstorm about my findings and to provide important insights into
those findings. Andrew is a too cool lithic dude! I also want to
acknowledge the support of fellow graduate students in the
Anthropology Department, especially Sean Coughlin.
I want to thank Mcclung Museum for providing access to the
Tellico col.lections and space to carry out my analyses. The
University of Tennessee Anthropology Department provided computer
time for statistical analyses. The artifacts analyzed in this
study were excavated and originally analyzed under a series of
contracts with the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Park
Service, and the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.
Without that original support, the research presented here would
not have been possible.
I have been blessed with a caring and giving family. My
mother and father deserve special thanks for the support and
interest they have shown in my graduate career in archaeology.
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From weekly phone calls, to visits to sites during the summers, I
always knew someone was thinking of me. My grandparents, brother,
sister, aunts, and cousins are all very special people who have
helped me· in numerous ways. My boys, Chris and Nick, provided help
of a different source. They were always ready to distract me with
trips to the comic-book store, movies, videos, and card games. For
this, I may retain some sanity. I cannot put into words the
tremendous help I received from my wife and the innumerable things
she did so that I could finish this thing. I know without her
help, I would have given up long ago.
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ABSTRACT
Behavioral variability exists in past hunter-gatherer lifeways
but there is no simple means to study this variability and gain an
understanding of past hunter-gatherer lifeways and culture change.
Previously, archaeologists have depended, in large part, on
ethnographic accounts to make inferences concerning past hunter­
gatherer behavior. However, the revisionist debate and evaluations
of the role of hunter-gatherer ethnography for archaeological
interpretation point to the problems caused by an overemphasis on
ethnographic data.
One solution is that archaeologists begin to examine
prehistoric hunter-gatherer settlement-mobility patterns. Mobility
is a behavior that is related to both social and economic
strategies so it provides an initial means of investigating these
two areas of behavior. The documentation of prehistoric
settlement-mobility patterns is a useful research strategy for the
investigation of hunter-gatherer lifeways and changes in hunter­
gatherer behavior.
In this study, an organization-of-technology approach guided
the analysis of the chipped-stone assemblages recovered in the
excavations of the Early Archaic components excavated during the
Tellico Archaeological Project. The study of these assemblages
provides something of a unique opportunity to examine the potential
for change in hunter-gatherer lifeways.
The emphasis of the analyses was the flake debris but
published stone tool and feature data were important to the
conclusions reach�d in this study. Based on this study, it is
suggested that patterns of technological organization appear
generally similar over the Early Archaic, but there are apparent
changes in settlement-mobility strategies. For example, the Lower
Kirk occupation at Icehouse Bottom is suggestive of a forager
settlement mobility system while a number of the Upper Kirk
assemblages appear quite similar and fit expectations for collector
base camps. Also, patterning is revealed in a comparison of the
Tellico assemblages . with other Early Archaic sites in the
southeast. One such is the low occurrence of unhafted bifaces in
the Tellico assemblages. Another pattern is the similarity between
the Haw-River Palmer and Hardaway assemblages. Finally, it is
suggested that the reanalysis of existing archaeological
collections can play a significant role in the advancement of
archaeological knowledge.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Introduction .................................... 1
II. Hunter-Gatherers and Mobility .................. 12
III. Technological Organization ..................... 31
IV. Models of Early Archaic Settlement in the
Southeast ....................· . ................. 52
V. The Early Archaic Environment of East
Tennessee ...................................... 69
VI. Materials and Methods .......................... 76
VII. Results ........................................ 87
VIII. Summary and Conclusions ....................... 116
REFERENCES ............................................... 121
VITA_ ......... ..................... ._ ............... .. ........... 137_ .
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