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Questioning the Native American Population Rebound in the Horseshoe Lake Watershed from AD 1500 to AD 1700

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2020

B. Jacob Skousen Open the ORCID record for B. Jacob Skousen [Opens in a new window]  and
Michael Aiuvalasit Open the ORCID record for Michael Aiuvalasit [Opens in a new window]
B. Jacob Skousen*
Affiliation:
Illinois State Archaeological Survey, University of Illinois, 209 Nuclear Physics Lab, 23 E. Stadium Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
Michael Aiuvalasit*
Affiliation:
Illinois State Archaeological Survey, University of Illinois, 209 Nuclear Physics Lab, 23 E. Stadium Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
*
(bskousen@illinois.edu, corresponding author)
(mja11@illinois.edu)
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Abstract

White and colleagues (2020) have argued that after Cahokia's AD 1400 decline, the native population in the Horseshoe Lake Watershed rebounded beginning in AD 1500 and peaked around 1650, and that the native groups populating the area were members of the Illinois Confederation. These arguments are based on a population reconstruction obtained from fecal stanol concentrations from Horseshoe Lake sediment cores and regional historical, archaeological, and environmental data. We argue that their interpretations are problematic because they discount extensive regional archaeological and historical datasets and do not consider alternative hypotheses that could explain high levels of fecal stanol concentrations in lake sediments.

White y colaboradores (2020) han discutido que después de la disminución de Cahokia en el año 1400 dC, la población nativa en la cuenca del Lago Herradura resurgió, empezando en el año 1500 dC y llegó al punto más alto cerca del año 1650, y que la población nativa era miembro de la Confederación Illinois. Estos argumentos se basan en una reconstrucción de la población obtenido por concentraciones de estanol fecal encontrados en núcleos de sedimentos del Lago Herradura y en datos históricos, arqueológicos y ambientales regionales. Discutimos que sus interpretaciones son problemáticas porque descuentan extensos conjuntos de datos arqueológicos e históricos regionales y no consideren hipótesis alternativas que podrían explicar los niveles altos de concentraciones de estanol fecal en los sedimentos del lago.

Keywords

Cahokiafecal stanolsprotohistoryIllinois ConfederacyCahokiaestanoles fecalesprotohistoriaConfederación de Illinois
Type
Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 86 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 199 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology

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References

References Cited

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