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An Integrated Geoarchaeology of a Late Woodland Sand Mound

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sarah C. Sherwood ,
John H. Blitz  and
Lauren E. Downs
Sarah C. Sherwood
Affiliation:
Environmental Studies, 735 University Ave., University of the South, Sewanee, TN 37383 (sherwood@sewanee.edu)
John H. Blitz
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 19 ten Hoor Hall, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0210 (jblitz@tenhoor.as.ua.edu)
Lauren E. Downs
Affiliation:
Gulf Coast Survey, 418 Mary Harmon Bryant, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (laurenedowns@gmail.com)
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Abstract

The Graveline Mound (22JA503) is a sand platform mound in Jackson County, Mississippi, built on a low, late Pleistocene terrace on the Mississippi Sound. The Late Woodland mound (A.D. 590–780) is composed of local soils, and its presence today is a testament to the ancient builders’ knowledge of earthen construction materials and methods. Central to the study of the mound is an integrated geoarchaeological approach that uses stratigraphy and micromorphology to decipher material source and selection, construction techniques, and periodicity, in combination with more traditional artifacts, revealing the activities that created this ultimately monumental space. The mound was built in three rapid stages beginning with a low earthwork demarcating a ritual precinct used during late spring/early summer. Stage II quickly followed with a series of alternating zoned fills, sealing the space that was then subsequently covered by Stage III, a massive hard red surface that marked the location with a platform mound.

Resumen

Resumen

El túmulo Graveline (22JA503) es un túmulo de plataforma de arena en Jackson County, Mississipi, y está construido en una terraza baja del Pleistoceno tardío en el Mississippi Sound. El túmulo de bosque tardío (590–780 d.D.) está conformado por unos suelos locales y su presencia hoy en día es un testamento al conocimiento de los constructores antiguos de los materiales y métodos de construcción terrenal. Fundamental para el estudio del túmulo es un enfoque integrado geoarqueológico que usa la estratigrafía y micromorfología para descodificar la fuente y la selección de materiales, la técnica de construcción y la periodicidad, combinándolo con artefactos más tradicionales, mostrando las actividades que crearon este espacio últimamente monumental. El túmulo fue construido en tres etapas rápidas empezando con un terraplén bajo que demarca un centro ritual que fue usado durante el final de la primavera y principios del verano. La segunda etapa siguió rápidamente con una la serie de rellenos alternos zonificados que sellan el espacio que posteriormente fue cubierto subsecuentemente por la tercera etapa, una superficie masiva, roja y dura que marcaba el lugar con un túmulo de plataforma.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 78 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 344 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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