Middle Mississippi Exploitation of Animal Populations

248 Pages·11.206 MB·English

by  by Bruce D. Smith

ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS
MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
NO. 57
MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI EXPLOITATION
OF ANIMAL POPULATIONS
BY
BRUCE D. SMITH
ANN ARBOR
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 1975
© 1975 by the Regents of the University of Michigan
The Museum of Anthropology
All rights reserved

ISBN (print): 978-1-949098-04-4
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-951519-14-8

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FOR MY MOTHER AND FATHER

PREFACE
This publication is a somewhat revised and shortened version of a doctoral
dissertation submitted to the University of Michigan in 1973.
The initial step in a study such as this is the identification and pre
liminary analysis of faunal samples recovered from archaeological sites. A
number of individuals kindly provided access to faunal collections, while
others provided assistance in the process of identification. Dr. Gerald Smith,
Memphis State University, granted access to the Chucalissa site faunal sample,
and provided information concerning the excavational history of the site. Dr.
Paul W. Parmalee, then with the Illinois State Museum, granted access to the
Banks site materials, provided space for analysis, and aided in the iden tifi
cation of fish remains from the Banks site. Dr. Carl Chapman of the Univer
sity of Missouri, and David Evans of the Missouri Archaeological Survey
granted permission to analyze the Lilbourn materials discussed here. John
Cottier provided information concerning the excavational history of the site.
B. Miles Gilbert generously provided work space and access to the comparative
collections of the Zooarchaeological laboratory at the University of Missouri.
Gregory Waselkov did the preliminary identification of the animal bones
recovered from structure 25 of the Lilbourn site (Waselkov, 1972). Dr. John
Walthall of the University of Alabama did the preliminary identification of the
animal bones recovered from the Powers Fort site. Dr. Gerald Smith of the
Division of Fishes of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, gener
ously provided working space, granted access to comparative collections, and
identified many fish bone fragments recovered from the Lilbourn, Snodgrass,
Powers Fort, and Gooseneck sites.
My dissertation committee, which consisted of Dr. James B. Griffin,
chairman, Dr. Kent V. Flannery, Dr. Richard I. Ford, and Dr. Dale R.
McCullough contributed in a variety of important ways to this study. Their
encouragement, guidance, and constructive criticism has been greatly appre
ciated.
The manuscript was edited by Ms. Mary Coombs, of the Museum of
Anthropology of the University of Michigan. Her suggestions, questions, and
v
vi MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI EXPLOITATION
careful attention to accuracy have contributed in many important ways to a
more accurate and more easily understood publication.
Financial assistance for the field research and the initial steps in gather
ing data from various sources was provided by the National Science Founda
tion Grant GS 3215 and by the Museum of Anthropology of the University of
Michigan. These funds were administered by Dr. James B. Griffin and were for
a study of the Powers Phase Mississippian society in southeast Missouri under
the field direction of Dr. James E. Price. Financial assistance during much of
the research and writing stages of the dissertation was provided by the Horace
H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies.
I would also like to acknowledge the patience and understanding of
Martha Johnson Smith, who put up with my madness during the writing of
this study, and who sacrificed many evenings and weekends as a result.
CONTENTS
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
I. INTRODUCTION
"Middle Mississippi" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Cultural Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Shortcomings of Prior Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Description of Sites Being Analyzed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
II. EXPLOITATION OF ANIMAL POPULATIONS
Primary Prey Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Selective Reconstruction of Biotic Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
White-tailed Deer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Raccoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Class Pisces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Migratory Waterfowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Wild Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6
Beaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Opossu1n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Rabbits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Snapping Turtles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Domestic Dog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I 02
Squirrels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II 0
Black Bear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Wapiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
III. PATTERNS OF EXPLOITATION
Seasonality of Exploitation 121
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