A Multivariate Analysis of the Fristoe Burial Complex in Southwestern Missouri

Abstract

This paper presents the result of an analysis of 24 burial mounds and cairns in southwest Missouri. All of the sites belong to the Fristoe Burial Complex with an estimated age of A. D. 500 to A.D. 1000. Data selected for analysis consisted of 41 traits distributed in varying numbers among the sites. In order to observe relationships between sites, a Q-type factor analysis was used. An orthogonal rotation yielded five factors. Three factors are discussed. Factors 2 and 5 are not discussed because of the small number of sites explained by them. Factor 1 loads heavily on eight sites and Factors 3 and 4 each on seven sites. Seventeen of the 24 sites are explained by the three factors which are hypothesized to represent three distinct temporal groupings. Factor 1 is thought to depict a late grouping based on trade relationships between the Gulf Coast and the Ozark Highlands. Factor 4 appears to be a grouping of Late Woodland elements, and Factor 3 possibly represents a set of Mississippian and Late Woodland elements. Results of the analysis allow us to hypothesize three temporal groupings within the Fristoe Burial Complex. The results further indicate that factor analysis can be used as a technique to order archeological materials and generate hypotheses.     

Archeological Investigations at the Spawn Mound, 39LK201, Lake County,South Dakota

Abstract

The Spawn Mound, 39LK201, overlooking Brant Lake in eastern South Dakota, appears to be a Plains Woodland burial mound later used by historic Dakota for secondary interments. The 1966 excavations revealed two burial pits believed to be contemporaneous with the erection of the mound, which were assigned to the Plains Woodland component, and a third pit at the center of the mound which has been assigned to the historic Dakota. Each of the Woodland burial pits contained at least three individuals buried in the flexed position. The intrusive pit contained the remains of at least two individuals, apparently “bundle” burials. These intrusive burials were accompanied by European trade items.

On the basis of the limited ceramic material from the mound, including one rim sherd of the Ellis Cord Impressed type, as well as various lithic materials recovered in the mound fill, the Plains Woodland component has been tentatively assigned to the Loseke Focus. The historic burials would appear to date between A. D. 1800-1850.     

Comments On the Preceramic in Missouri*

Abstract

In the Plains periphery of the Central Area, Missouri, extensive preceramic remains are found. Well recognized complexe s with Paleo-Indian connections are Nebo Hill, Sedalia, Graham Cave Levels 6-4, andArnoldResearch Cave. Radiocarbon dates range from 7738 B. C. to 4322 B. C. Other preceramic complexes described from excavations include the Hatten Mound component and the Lincoln County burial site, in the Northwest Prairie; Blackwell Component A in the Ozark Highland; and the Jakie L2 and L3 components dated at 5112 B. C. to 4422 B. C. in the Southwest Drainage. Surface collections from all areas indicate preceramic occupations.     

The Boundary Mound Group (32SI-1): An Eastern Woodland Complex in North Dakota

Abstract

This site represents the first systematic investigation of a mound on the Missouri River in North Dakota. The mound group consists of 3 mounds on the North Dakota - South Dakota state line several miles southeast of Ft. Yates, South Dakota. The mounds are from 1-3 feet high and about 80’ in diameter. The reports covers the investigation of one of the mounds which had been partially removed by a railroad cut. Three excavations were carried out (1) along the edge of the railroad cut, (2) thru the center of the mound, and (3) an exploratory test pit east of the north end of center cut.

In the center of the mound was found the remains of a log covered tomb 10 x 12 feet containing 5 burials and a number of artifacts.

The Boundary Mound group suggests the presence of a Woodland group extending from eastern North Dakota to the Missouri River. This complex tenatively cross-dated at about 1000 A.D. is present but rare along the Missouri in South Dakota.     

The Alkire Mound (32SI200)

Abstract

The Alkire Mound Site, located on the west bank of the Missouri River in southernmost North Dakota, appears to be one more manifestation of the Woodland occupation of the northern Plains. The low earthen mound, some 90 feet in diameter at the time of excavation, was built over a log-covered burial chamber which contained five bundle burials and one extended innumation. The artifact yield was negligible, but the one projectile point found is of the sort usually associated with Woodland manifestations in the area. Estimates of the labor required to build the mound indicate that the people responsible for its construction had an economy which permitted spending an appreciable amount of time in nonsubsistence activities.     

A Human Skeleton From The Anthony Site, 14Hp1, Harper County,Kansas

Abstract

Measurements, indices and selected non-metric observations are presented for an adult female, the only human skeletal material recovered from the 1959-60 excavation of the Anthony Site, 14HP1. Comparison with other American Indian populations from the same geographic region suggests that the Anthony female is morphologically related to the Caddoan groups.     

A Green Pigment from North Dakota Burial Mounds

Abstract

A clayey, green pigment was found in association with human interments in 3 mounds at the Boundary Mound site (32S11) on the Missouri River 16 miles downstream from Fort Yates, North Dakota.

Samples submitted to the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. were identified by microscopic and chemical analysis as Greensand, a sedimentary deposit containing greenish grains of glauconite. The nearest present day exposure appears to be just south of Wessington Springs, in Jerauld County, South Dakota. This report is the first identifi - cation of greensand as a pigment mineral.     

Early Caddoan Subsistence Strategies,Sabine River Basin,East Texas

Abstract

Well preserved faunal and floral materials recovered from the Taddlock and Spoonbill sites in the Sabine River Basin of East Texas provide one of the first opportunities to document the subsistence strategies of sedentary hamlet occupations during the Early Caddoan period. The Taddlock site, dated ca. A.D. 940-1000, has a large faunal assemblage indicating a generalized and balanced exploitation of small and large mammals, reptiles, and fish. The two components at Spoonbill, dated ca. A.D. 970 ±65 and A.D. 1260±65, are characterized by an extensive floral sample of wild plant foods, seeds, and maize. At both sites, maize constitutes less than 10% by weight of the total plant food remains. The Early Caddoan inhabitants exploited a wide variety of animal and plant food, but at this time maize was likely one of several main sources of food energy rather than the focus of a specialized economy.     

Abundance and Impact on Soil Properties of Cathedral and Lenticular Termite Mounds in Southern Indian Woodlands

Despite the acknowledged roles of termites in tropical ecosystems, the majority of published studies of epigeal mounds still address the African fauna and are principally concerned with spatial patterns and putative inter-colony competition, rather than the links between parent soil properties and mound establishment. Further, information about the effects of habitat disturbance, and especially fragmentation, is lacking. This study assessed the abundance and distribution of the cathedral- and lenticular-type aboveground mounds of fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae), which are a common feature of South Indian woodlands, in relation to soil properties (vertisol vs. ferralsol) and habitat fragmentation (forest vs. highway margins). Mound abundance averaged 3.5 (standard error, SE 0.8) ha^?1 (cathedral) and 12.9 (SE 2.1) ha^?1 (lenticular), but was not influenced either by soil properties or disturbance. However, the volume of soil stored in the mounds varied between 27 (SE 8) m³ ha^?1 (ferralsol) and 47 (SE 6) m³ ha^?1 (vertisol). At the watershed scale, such volumes are equivalent to a 3.1-mm layer of soil if spread evenly across the landscape, roughly the same as the estimated erosion over the life of a typical mound. Significantly more nutrients were stored in lenticular mounds, especially on the vertisol, but the significance of these at the ecosystem level was considered small. In conclusion, this study suggests that termite mounds, and especially lenticular mounds, have a significant impact on soil dynamics at the watershed scale but a limited impact on the distribution of C and nutrients.     

Temporal And Geographic Patterning of Relative Head Height in The Central Plains And Middle Missouri Areas

Abstract

Temporal and geographic patterning of vault height evaluated as the Auricular Mean Height Index is examined in samples of crania from the Central and Northern Plains. Crania are placed into two large categories: one consisting of historic Caddoan speakers and their ancestors, the other of Mandan speakers and their ancestors. Woodland crania from the Central Plains and Middle Missouri areas are added to their respective groups for part of the analysis. Time consistently shows a strong relationship to Auricular Mean Height Index; geographical latitude is equivocal but does exhibit a relationship to the vault height index in Central Plains-Caddoan without Woodland. Auricular height decreases with the passage of time and increases as one proceeds northward. The analysis further shows that Central Plains Caddoan groups have higher vaults than Middle Missouri-Mandan crania at a given point in time and space. That cranial morphology is different in the groups supports the notion that gene pool differences are responsible. The causes of decreasing head height through time are unknown.     

Recent benthic foraminiferal assemblages from cold-water coral mounds in the Porcupine Seabight

Cold-water coral ecosystems are characterised by a high diversity and population density. Living and dead foraminiferal assemblages from 20 surface sediment samples from Galway and Propeller Mounds were analysed to describe the distribution patterns of benthic foraminifera on coral mounds in relation to different sedimentary facies. Hard substrates were examined to assess the foraminiferal microhabitats and diversities in the coral framework. We recognised 131 different species, of which 27 prefer an attached lifestyle. Epibenthic species are the main constituents of the living and dead foraminiferal assemblages. The frequent species Discanomalina coronata was associated with coral rubble, Cibicides refulgens showed preference to the off-mound sand veneer, and Uvigerina mediterranea displayed abundance maxima in the main depositional area on the southern flank of Galway Mound, and in the muds around Propeller Mound. The distribution of these species is rather governed by their specific ecological demands and microhabitat availability than by the sedimentary facies. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from coral mounds fit well into basin-wide-scale distribution patterns of species along the western European continental margin. The diversity of the foraminiferal faunas is not higher on the carbonate mounds as in their vicinity. The living assemblages show a broad mid-slope diversity maximum between 500 and 1,300 m water depth, which is the depth interval of coral mound formation at the Celtic and Amorican Margin. The foraminiferal diversity maximum is about 700 m shallower than comparable maxima of nematodes and bivalves. This suggests that different processes are driving the foraminiferal and metazoan diversity patterns.     

A Late Archaic Burial From Southwestern Texas

Abstract

A unique rockshelter burial in southwestern Texas contained a 35 year old male placed in asitting position in a pit lined with matting. Remains of a woven stick and grass structure were over the burial pit. Affiliation is late Archaic and dates ca. 200 B.C.-A.D. 200.     

Spatial variability and abiotic determinants of termite mounds throughout a savanna catchment

Termite mounds contribute to the spatial heterogeneity of ecological processes in many savannas, but the underlying patterns and determinants of mound distributions remain poorly understood. Using the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), we mapped the distribution of termite mounds across a rainfall gradient within a river catchment (～ 27 000 ha) of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We assessed how different factors were associated with the distribution and height of termite mounds at three spatial scales: the entire catchment, among three broad vegetation types, and on individual hillslope crests. Abiotic factors such as the underlying geology and mean annual precipitation shaped mound densities at broad scales, while local hillslope morphology strongly influenced mound distribution at finer scales, emphasising the importance of spatial scale when assessing mound densities. Fire return period had no apparent association with mound densities or height. Mound density averaged 0.46 mounds ha^?1, and exhibited a clustered pattern throughout the landscape, occurring at relatively high densities (up to 2 mounds ha^?1) on crests, which are nutrient‐poor elements of the landscape. Mounds exhibited significant over‐dispersion (even spacing) at scales below 60 m so that evenly spaced aggregations of termite mounds are embedded within a landscape of varying mound densities. The tallest mounds were found in dry savanna (500 mm yr^?1) and were positively correlated with mound density, suggesting that dry granitic savannas are ideal habitat for mound‐building termites. Mound activity status also varied significantly across the rainfall gradient, with a higher proportion of active (live) mounds in the drier sites. The differential spacing of mounds across landscapes provides essential nutrient hotspots in crest locations, potentially sustaining species that would otherwise not persist. The contribution to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning that mounds provide is not uniform throughout landscapes, but varies considerably with spatial scale and context.     

A Woodland Burial from Boney Spring,Missouri

Abstract

A secondary burial from a peat layer adjoining the spring feeder at Boney Spring, Benton County, southwestern Missouri, is identified as a young adult male, interred about A.D. 50. The burial, associated with Early Woodland materials in the peat bed, was less than one meter from the edge of the spring feeder in deposits once saturated with water - suggesting that the burial (and associated Woodland features) was made at a time of reduced spring discharge and, perhaps, during a period of reduced precipitation. The burial is well within the limits of characteristics recorded for eastern Archaic groups, lending support to the hypothesis of continuity between the Archaic and Early Woodland peoples in the American Midwest.     

Odontometric determination of sex at Mound 72, Cahokia

The mortuary context of Mound 72 at the Cahokia site is one of the most unusual ever described in prehistoric North America. Previous skeletal analyses suggested that four large mass graves within the mound contained only female skeletons. However, these findings were complicated by extremely poor bone preservation that limited the number of skeletal observations that could be made. Furthermore, most skeletons were aged in the 15–25 year range, a time when sexually dimorphic bony traits may still be developing. In this study, dental remains were used to examine sex in the four presumably all‐female mass graves in Mound 72. Additional sources of information, including the original field/laboratory notes and new sexing data based on modern standards, were gathered to fully evaluate the dental estimates. Initially, discriminant function analysis was performed on odontometrics using the original Mound 72 sex assignment. Inconsistent results indicated that some of the skeletons may have been misclassified in the original analyses. To overcome this issue, discriminant function equations were generated using a large pooled skeletal sample from two sites in close temporal and geographic proximity to Cahokia. Application of the equations to Mound 72 revealed that each of the four mass burial groups contained individuals classified as male. These assignments were checked against the skeletal remains and the original field/laboratory notes. Discussion centers on how the results affect previous archaeological interpretations as well as the methodological considerations associated with this study. Am J Phys Anthropol 151:408–419, 2013.© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Termite Mounds Increase Functional Diversity of Woody Plants in African Savannas

Fine-scale spatial heterogeneity influences biodiversity and ecosystem productivity at many scales. In savanna systems, Macrotermes termites, through forming spatially explicit mounds with unique woody plant assemblages, emerge as important sources of such heterogeneity. Despite a growing consensus regarding the importance of functional diversity (FD) to ecosystem processes, no study has quantified how termite mounds affect woody plant FD. We address whether termite mounds alter the distribution of functional traits, and increase FD of woody plant communities within Africa’s largest savanna woodland, the 2.7 million km² miombo system. Using plant traits that change according to soil resources (for example, water and nutrients), and disturbance (for example, fire and elephant herbivory), we identified response functional groups and compared relative representation of these groups between mound and matrix habitats. We also asked whether mound and matrix habitats differed in their contribution to FD within the system. Although species representing most functional groups were found in both mound and matrix habitats, relative abundance of functional groups differed between mound and matrix. Mound plant assemblages had greater response diversity to soil resources than matrix plots, but there was no difference in response diversity to disturbance. High trait values on mounds included tree height, leaf nitrogen, phosphorus, and palatability. Species with root ectomycorrhizae dominated the matrix. In conclusion, these small patches of nutrient-enriched substrate emerge as drivers of FD in above-ground woody plant communities.     

The Poafpybitty Site: A Late Nineteenth Century Kiowa Burial From Southwestern Oklahoma

Abstract

This report concerns the excavation of two Plains Indian burials in southwestern Oklahoma, six miles north of Fort Sill. The landowner, herself a Comanche, had been told by her father that the burials were of Kiowas killed near that place by soldiers from the fort in the latter 1800’s. Removal of the grave fill revealed the skeletons of a middle-aged female and a teenaged boy, plus a large inventory of grave goods acquired both by trade and indigenous manufacture.The grave goods confirm that the burials were Kiowas, buried between 1872 and 1875. The burials from this site are compared to other documented Plains Indian burials.     

Lenticular soil mounds in the Kenya highlands

Summary Soil mounds in moist grassland at moderate altitudes in the Kenya Highlands have recently been interpreted as being formed by burrowing molerats. Evidence is presented here that these mounds contain active nests of Odontotermes spp. and are likely to have been built by the termites.     

Authigenic mineralization and detrital clay binding by freshwater biofilms: The Brahmani river,India

This study sought to understand the origin and fate of one of the bitumen mounds found on the bottom of Lake Baikal. These mounds are located at a depth of 900 m beneath oil spots detected on the surface of Lake Baikal (53° 18′24^″, 108° 23′20^″). The two mounds were sampled with a manipulator from a “MIR” deep-water manned submersible. Mature mound No. 8 was subjected to chemical and microbiological studies. Mound No. 3 was subjected only to chemical studies; we failed to perform microbiological analyses of this mound for logistic reasons. Oil spots collected from the water surface, samples of mound No. 3 and No. 8, were subjected to GC/MS analysis. The water contained aliphatic hydrocarbons with chains between C₈ and C₂₃, with the most abundant chain length being C₁₈. Mound No. 3 with the most abundant chain length being C₁₈ actively released oil droplets into the water. It contained 770 mg/g of C₁₃-C₃₂ n-alkanes, with a maximum at C₂₃ (160 mg/g). Mound No. 8 was inactive and contained 148 mg/g of aliphatic C₂₂-C₃₄ n-alkanes, with a maximum at C₂₅. Mound No. 8 also consisted of 3% inorganic matter, 48% unresolved complex mixture (UCM) and less than 1% other compounds (polyaromatic hydrocarbons, isoprenoids, carotenoids, and hopanes). The core of this sample used as inoculate, yielded Rhodococci when cultivated on oil as the only source of carbon. Cultivation of the sample on agar-containing Raymond inorganic medium with crude West Siberian oil as the only source of carbon revealed colonies of these bacteria, which all appeared identical. PCR was performed with DNA isolated from 5 colonies, using primers for 16S rRNA genes. Comparison of the sequences of the 5 PCR products over a length of 714 bp revealed that they were almost identical. Phylogenetic analysis of these homologous sequences showed that they were similar to the corresponding sequences of the genus Rhodococcus. Substrate demands, the morphology of the colonies, and SEM and TEM data confirmed that the isolates obtained could indeed be Rhodococci. All of the isolates could grow in bulk cultures with inorganic medium supplemented with crude oil. Moreover, all of the isolates degraded aliphatic hydrocarbons with lengths between C₁₁ and C₂₉. C₂₃-C₂₉ hydrocarbons were degraded completely. The isolates could grow at 4–37°C. The most unexpected finding was that of the many microorganisms capable of consuming oil, only Rhodococci exhibited this ability in the inactive bitumen mound. The possible mechanisms of how crude oil is transformed into bitumen mounds and mature bitumen are discussed.     

A Statistical Examination Of Caddoan Vessel Design And Shape From The Ben Mckinney Site,Marion County,Texas

Abstract

The statistical analysis reported here was done to set mathematical criteria for typologies of Caddoan ceramics. A fifty-vessel sample was analyzed through contingency table analysis, factor analysis, and canonical analysis to isolate design variables that would be statistically valid for assigning vessels to established types and to delineate statistically significant relationships between design attributes and vessel shape. Further work on this project canbe expected to establish a numerical method for ceramic typology for archeologists working in the Caddo area.