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.     

Settlement Pattern Variability in Brush Creek Valley,Platte County,Missouri

Abstract

During the summer of 1971, a field party from the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Kansas conducted an intensive archaeological- ·survey along Brush Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River four miles west of Parkville, Missouri. Data collected during this survey provides a preliminary characterization of the local environmental setting and a comparativecontrastive statement on prehistoric settlement pattern variability from the Early Archaic to the Steed-Kisker phase.

Topographic, geological, and botanical features of importance in establishing the parameters of effective biophysical environments for prehistoric occupants are summarized, and four resource zones tentatively identified: an upland prairie zone, an oak-history forest zone, a river-bottom forest zone and the Missouri River itself. Although the time depth for these resource zones is unknown, their presence throughout the history of man’s presence is a possibility.

Aspects of the human occupation and utilization of Brush Creek valley, which began as early as 8000 B.C., are viewed as adaptations to the local environmental setting. During the Archaic period (8000 B.C.-A.D. 1), £rush Creek valley was apparently exploited by hunters and gatherers who established short-duration camps. A large and probably permanent village was established during the period of Kansas City Hopewell occupation (A.D. 1-500), although small, temporary, camps were also in evidence. The Late Woodland occupation (A.D. 500-1 000) is marked by small sites with little evidence of any long term occupation. The final occupation of the valley, by Steed-Kisker peoples (A.D. 1 000-1250), is characterized by a pattern of many small homesteads occupied by populations who made their living through a combination of hunting, gathering, and horticulture.     

Genetic identity of endangered massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus sp.) in Missouri

An important application of DNA-based genetic techniques in conservation genetics is to establish the taxonomic identity of individuals whose ancestry is uncertain, especially those from declining populations. Massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) in Missouri currently persist in three isolated populations and have been classified as eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (S. c. catenatus), which is a candidate for listing as a Federally Threatened or Endangered species. However, previous morphological evidence has suggested that these snakes are either hybrids between the eastern massasauga (S. c. catenatus) and the non-threatened western massasauga (S. c. tergeminus) or are pure S. c. tergeminus. Here, we analyze microsatellite DNA and mtDNA variation to assess the taxonomic identity of individuals from two of the three populations specifically those found in Holt and Linn Counties, Missouri. Population and phylogenetic analyses strongly support the conclusion that snakes in both populations are genetically most similar to reference S. c. tergeminus individuals from Kansas and are not related to S. c. catenatus individuals from Illinois and Ohio. These results argue that the current classification of these snakes as endangered S. c. catenatus is unwarranted and hence that the overall range-wide numbers of S. c. catenatus are less than previously estimated. Nonetheless the Missouri populations, while not part of the federally listed taxon, are strongly deserving of protected status at the state level because of their rarity within the state.     

Systemic Change and Lithic Debris: The Nine Mile Creek Survey

Abstract

Data from 55 archaeological sites located during the course of a survey of a portion of Nine Mile Creek northeast of Lawrence, Kansas were analyzed as the focus of a seminar at the University of Kansas in 1969. The recognition of significant variation in lithic debris samples from the Nine Mile Creek sites resulted in the development of a seriational procedure and an explanatory model in terms of temporally changing subsistence patterns.     

Phenological adaptations of a colonizing insect: The southwestern corn borer,Diatraea grandiosella

Summary The developmental rate, critical photoperiod, and diapause intensity were determined for three populations of the southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella, from Missouri, Mississippi and Kansas. Mississippi larvae grew at the highest rate and Missouri larvae grew at the lowest rate. The zero developmental temperatures (°C) for the Missouri population were estimated from regression lines as follows: 10.5° (eggs), 10.8° (diapausing larvae), 13.3° (non-diapausing larvae) and 11.4° (pupae). The required heat units were: 85° (eggs), 588° (diapausing larvae), 333° (non-diapausing larvae) and 149° days (pupae). However, the observed low temperature limit for larval growth under constant temperature regimes was approximately 17°C.The critical day lengths for diapause induction observed at 25°C were: 15 h 11 min (Missouri); 15 h 20 min (Mississippi); and 15 h 22 min (Kansas). The photoperiodic response of the Mississippi larvae was more or less retained at 30°C, whereas the response of the Missouri larvae was completely suppressed at this temperature. Diapause was most easily terminated in the Kansas larvae. The most intense diapause was observed in the Mississippi larvae.Model seasonal life cycles of the three geographic populations were constructed using photothermograms. Although the models showed good agreement with the field situation for the Missouri and the Kansas populations, some unknown factor(s) remains to account for an extremely long critical photoperiod in the Mississippi population.Contribution from the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, as journal series no. 9001     

The possible role of uric acid in the ecology of Histoplasma capsulatum

Summary The results of this study indicate thatHistoplasma capsulatum in its saprophytic form is able to utilize the major nitrogenous constituent of avian manure as a nitrogen source. In addition, the enzymes responsible for the pathway of uric acid degradation to inorganic nitrogen have been demonstrated in cell-free systems. These enzymes include uricase, allantoinase, allantoicase, and urease. The uricase ofHistoplasma appears to be a cell wall or cell membrane-associated enzyme, while the other enzymes were located in the soluble portion of cell-free extracts. Cell-free extracts ofCryptococcus neoformans are actively uricolytic.It is suggested that this ability ofH. capsulatum hyphae to utilize uric acid and related compounds as growth substrates may in part explain the indisputable ecologic association of this pathogenic fungus with avian and possibly chiropteran-associated soils and habitats in those areas endemic for histoplasmosis.From the Research Laboratories, Veterans Administration Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, the Department of Biology, University of Missouri at Kansas City and the Department of Microbiology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas. Supported by VA-8200 funds.Portion of a Thesis presented by the senior author to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Missouri at Kansas City as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts.     

Testing the Modified Initial Middle Missouri Variant

Abstract

Taxa in the Middle Missouri subarea are differentiated largely on the basis of cultural content and time; thus, the creation of a new taxon (the Modified Initial Middle Missouri Variant of the Middle Missouri Tradition) implies change within the Initial Middle Missouri Variant - change which is implied but not documented. The objective of the present study is to examine the validity of the new taxon. The analysis relies primarily on ceramics, supplemented by a new series of radiocarbon dates. The investigation failed to support the hypothesized ceramic tradition change, and the radiocarbon dates suggest these sites do not fit the Modified Initial Middle Missouri time period. This study concludes the Modified Initial Middle Missouri Variant is not a valid taxon.     

An Analysis Of Four Survey Collections From Armstrong County,South Dakota 39Ar2 (No Heart Creek Site), 39Ar4, 39Ar5 And 39Ar 7

Abstract

The materials collected from four sites on the Little Bend of the Missouri River are described and analyzed. In the conclusion, these manifestations, referred to as the No Heart Creek complex, are compared to seven other sites along the river in north.-central South Dakota. The sites are related to the Le Compte Focus and are characterized by a distinetive settlement pattern.     

Salvage Archaeology at a Site Near Fort Thompson. South Dakota

Abstract

Construction of dams and reservoirs along the Missouri River has resulted in an accelerated program of archaeological field-work. Many sites have been surveyed, numerous others tested, and a lesser number extensively excavated. Surveys and test excavations will add to previously gathered data in terms of the geographical distribution of diagnostic artifacts, speculative routes of migration and cultural diffusion. The minutiae from the tested sites may offer reasons for the re-evaluation of established concepts or they may strengthen current archaeological interpretations.

The Farm School site, reported here, received limited tests. The artifact inventory suggests the presence of 2 ceramic components and contributes to information regarding the Fort Thompson and Campbell Creek foci in South Dakota.     

Polyhedral Cores from Northeastern Kansas

Abstract

Basic data are offered on the presence of polyhedral cores from the surface of several sites in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, not heretofore reported.     

The origin and paleoecologic significance of the trace fossil Asteriacites in the Pennsylvanian of Kansas and Missouri

The trace fossil Asteriacites, recorded in Cambrian to Recent shallow- and deep-marine facies, is traditionally interpreted as the resting trace of asterozoans. Well-preserved specimens of A. lumbricalis are abundant in Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) shallow- and marginal-marine siliciclastic deposits of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Detailed morphologic analysis of these specimens suggests that they record the activities of mobile epifaunal ophiuroids. Evidence of a brittle star (ophiuroid) producer rather than sea star (asteroid) is provided by (1) trace-fossil morphologic features reflecting the anatomy of the producer (e.g., well-differentiated central structure, slender vermiform arms) and ophiuroid burrowing technique (e.g., proximal arm expansion, arm branching), and (2) mode of occurrence (e.g., gregarious behavior, horizontal and vertical repetition). Vertical and horizontal repetition produces complex aggregates of A. lumbricalis that are interpreted either as escape structures (fugichnia) or as feeding structures, respectively. Ophiura texturata is proposed as a modern analogue for the A. lumbricalis producer, based on inferred life habit and feeding behavior. Asteriacites lumbricalis is present in two different intertidal trace-fossil assemblages. The first assemblage is characterized by high diversity and records tidal flats developed outside of embayments under normal marine conditions. The second assemblage consists of A. lumbricalis together with a few other ichnotaxa and represents a depauperate association that developed in restricted tidal flats within an embayment or estuarine setting. This challenges the conventional view of Asteriacites as a normal-marine salinity indicator. Some echinoderms, and particularly asterozoans, penetrate and inhabit modern environments of depressed salinity. The presence of Asteriacites in Pennsylvanian marginal-marine facies of Kansas and Missouri provides evidence that ophiuroids had adapted to brackish-water conditions by the late Paleozoic.     

A Tentative Cultural Sequence for the Snyder Site,Kansas

Abstract

Prior to the past decade documentation for the Archaic period in Kansas has not been substantial. One reason evidence has been slow in emerging is the discovery that Archaic sites are often buried under several feet of overburden, maKing their detection difficult. The Snyder site (14BU9), north of ElDorado in Butler County, Kansas, is such a site. Four tentative phases are defined: Butler, Walnut, El Dorado, and Chelsea.     

Some Neglected Western Ozark Radiocarbon Dates

Abstract

Thirteen radiocarbon dates from mound and habitation sites, and from late Quaternary spring deposits in the western Ozarks of Missouri are published here, several of them for the first time.     

Two Nebraska Culture Storage Pits from Doniphan County,Kansas

Abstract

The materials from two Nebraska culture storage pits located in Doniphan County, Kansas are described. Comparisons made with the pottery and stone artifacts from previously-described Nebraska culture sites show a considerable resemblance.     

Cattle grazing in CRP grasslands during the nesting season: effects on avian abundance and diversity

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a primary tool for restoring grassland in the United States, in part as wildlife habitat, which has benefited declining grassland bird populations. Among potential mid-contract management practices used to maintain early-successional CRP grasslands, cattle grazing had been prohibited and is currently disincentivized during the primary nesting season for birds (much of the growing season), despite the important role that large herbivores historically played in structuring grassland ecosystems. Conservative grazing of CRP grasslands could increase spatial heterogeneity in vegetation structure and plant diversity, potentially supporting higher densities of some grassland bird species and higher bird diversity. Our objective was to determine the effect of experimental cattle grazing on species-specific relative abundance and occupancy, species diversity, and community dissimilarity of grassland birds on CRP grasslands across the longitudinal extent of Kansas, USA (a 63.5-cm precipitation gradient) during the 2017–2019 avian breeding seasons. Fifty-three of 108 fields were grazed by cattle during the growing seasons of 2017 and 2018 and all fields were rested from grazing in 2019. For all analyses, we examined separate model sets for semiarid western versus more mesic eastern Kansas. Using data from line transect surveys, we modeled relative abundances of 5 songbird species: grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), dickcissel (Spiza americana), eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna), western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), and brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). Grazing had delayed yet positive effects on abundances of grasshopper sparrow in western Kansas, and eastern meadowlark in eastern Kansas, but negative effects on dickcissel abundance in western Kansas and especially on burned fields in eastern Kansas. Somewhat counterintuitively, brown-headed cowbirds in western Kansas were more abundant on ungrazed versus grazed fields in the years after grazing began. In addition, we modeled multi-season occupancy of 3 gamebird species (ring-necked pheasant [Phasianus colcicus], northern bobwhite [Colinus virginianus], mourning dove [Zenaida macroura]) and Henslow's sparrow (Centronyx henslowii); grazing did not affect occupancy of these species. In eastern Kansas, species diversity was highest in grazed, unburned fields. In western Kansas, bird communities in grazed and ungrazed fields were dissimilar, as determined from multivariate analysis. Though regionally variable, conservative stocking of cattle on CRP grasslands during the nesting season as a mid-contract management tool might increase bird species diversity by restructuring habitat that accommodates a greater variety of species and decreasing abundances of species associated with taller, denser stands of vegetation.     

An Analysis Of Ceramics from the Gettysburg Site, 39PO209, Potter County,South Dakota

Abstract

Ceramics recovered from the Gettysburg Site during the summers of 1964, 1965, and 1966 are described and analyzed. A comparison is made with ceramic collections from 19 other sites in the Middle Missouri Valley. Concluding comments demonstrate the relationship of the Gettysburg Site to sites of the Extended Coalescent Horizon.     

Late Woodland In The Kansas City Locality

Abstract

14WYB, situated near Edwardsville, Kansas, is a single-component site representative of terminal Kansas City Hopewell. Comparisons with other components with similar artifact assemblages, which are radiocarbon dated, demonstrates this terminal period to be from ca. A.D. 500 to A.D. BOO, and equivalent to early Late Woodland in the Illinois River Valley. Settlement and subsistence changes are not recognizable at this time, but do occur between A.D. BOO and A.D. 1000, perhaps as reflection of the adoption of agriculture as important to the subsistence base during the late Late Woodland period.     

Projectile Points From Preceramic Occupations Near Fort Thompson,South Dakota: A Preliminary Report*

Abstract

The article describes in detail and illustrates 58 projectile points excavated from five sites within a six mile radius near the Big Bend of the Missouri River.Geological interpretations, as well as typological relationships to previously reported points outside of the region, indicate a local human prehistory of at least 8, 000 years.     

A Tentative Radiocarbon Chronology for the Middle Missouri Tradition

Abstract

Chronology has long been a major concern of researchers in the Middle Missouri Subarea. However, the paucity of radiocarbon dates, as well as the general lack of multiple dates for many components, has hampered comprehensive assessment and interpretation of culture-historical sequences. A large number of radiocarbon dates pertaining to the Middle Missouri Tradition has become available over the last several years, and presently at least 124 dates are available from both published and unpublished sources for 36 components of the tradition. Dates for each radiocarbon-dated Middle Missouri Tradition component in the Big Bend, Bad-Cheyenne, Cannonball, and Knife-Heart Regions – a total of 111 dates for 33 components – are assessed and averaged according to techniques recently advanced by Bruce Rippeteau and Austin Long. Tentative occupational sequences for each of these regions are offered and problems with specific date series are discussed. Dates for components in the Grand-Moreau Region and the James River valley are also discussed, but are not fitted into sequence. Lehmer’s earlier postulation of a gap in the Bad-Cheyenne sequence at about A.D. 1300 is supported by this analysis, and the presence of a similar hiatus is suggested for the Cannonball Region.