MISSISSIPPI ARCHAEOLOGY

..f..

aume 21 Number 1 June 1986

 MISSISSIPPI ARMOLDGY

Vol. 21 June. 1986

filing].
MSSISSIPPI ARCHHEOIBGY

|..
CONTENTS

Comments from the Editor

Patricia Galloway
Rocks. River Channels and
The major objective of this pubiication is to present Jay K. Johnson
information of a basicaiiy technicai nature on fieid work. Prehistory on the Lower
artifact analysis. and archaeoiogicai theory. Contributions are Yalobusha
or
accepted for pubiication without regard to the residence
professionai status of the author. aithoug h Mississ ippi- PP or
M1113 1- K?
III Haft e d Knive
' s 1n
‘ Evan Peacock 2T
oriented articies wiii be given preference. Acceptance of
papers for pubiication is up to the discretion of the editors.
Preparation of manuscripts shouid foiiow the style used in Stylistic Variation in
. .
Histono Choctaw Ceramics Jet ome A. Voss and 43
this issue; arrangement for eiectronic transfer of manuscripts C. Easter Mann
can be made after acceptance of a submission, but
submissions should be made in hard copy form. Line A Compendium of Mississippi
Sam McGahey 53
drawings are preferred for iiiustration. Elugout Canoes Recorded
Since 19?4

The Location of the Nineteenth

James R. Atkinson “ID
Century Choctaw Village of
Wholhey in Chickasaw County
Mississippi
Published semiannually by the I
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
in cooperation with the
Mississippi Archaeological Association
CflhvflVIENTS FRDM THE EDITOR
Patricia Galloway
Patricia K. Galloway. Editor
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Th . .
P1). Box 571 first :f nitfihrasflfikh that ycuhwill notice with this issue is the
Jackson. Mississippi 39205 _
m . , i313"E W111 e several
. chan gas for the better
tmnfimglflg 33“ a more Professionally-produced journal. I
ISSN DT33-775X and ovflflw Ere are closer to doing justice to the
contents
refine or t e nest few issues there will
be additional I
Diem-'5. We have reached another milestone in
that
Johnson's
+ atticl e w"as electronic
‘ ally
are rig tfu ‘5' ' . transmitted. any typos
 —__

2 MSSISSIPPI ARCHAEGLGGY Voi. 2i, No. i

RDCKS. RIVER CHANNES AND PREEIISTORY UN THE

LOWER sameness. __ ..J
Jay K. Johnson LI.[

UPLAHDE

CHANNEL
2
2

Abstract E
The resuits of o. cuituroi resources survey in Leflore || .

it Laue aeauooueo
_ .Jl: .- u”.

County, Mississippi are used to evoiuote current models JudihflndHTlva n

ED

l
-- no.1 -'|.....
' :i- -. 1.. .
dealing with iithic technology, chronoiogy and prehistoric '_'" PEI Ii-EIII‘ #1....

lost- sh Lag;

CREEK

ABANDD
.i I:
river stages. :'l-l1I'i'. ll

I ”I" L'i' 'Iifililli --'||

'11 {Hr !' l-
J EHEI I.“

LIEHTL INE LAKE

Introduction lqfiflfiiih

TEDC
.WWHTfi
Between August '1" and August 1?. 1934. the Center for .1""llii1'i!'i'lglaiii1'ilili

EAYDU
'lil
Archaeological Research at the University of Mississippi r Isiliidiii" ""F
'
_

HILE!
conducted an archaeological survey of the first twelve miles

A
1
Fl

.1
i
\
of the Yalobusha River from its junction with the

' f

HA
MclhiT
Tallahatchie River near Greenwood to a point just above the
Avalon bridge. This project was funded by the Vicksburg
District of the Corps of Engineers in preparation for
channel improvement. Excepting a portion of the east bank
near Whaley, the survey area is entirely within Leflore
County. Carroll County contains the remainder. The survey
corridor was marked by a 300 foot right of way on both
sides of the current channel. This included all of the major
types of land surface to be found in the delta. Moreover,
many of the channel changes which preceded the current
drainage pattern for the alluvial valley are reflected in the Lu
'1
local topography. One isolated find, two new sites, and d.
.I

three previously recorded sites were visited during the 9*ru3eo e To

survey (Table 1).

Two of these sites were evaluated to be of National
Register significance. The Civil War earthwork at Fort
LeFlore (ELK-633) was nominated to the National Register
of Historic Places in 19?9. These low embankments are
relatively intact and give graphic testimony to the strategy
devised to defend against Union advance down the
Yalobusha. The extensive pre Civil War and minimal
prehistoric components at the site are much less intact,
being located entirely within a cultivated field. Project figure 1. Physiogruphic features and prehi
storic sites in
right-of-way lines have been altered to avoid all impact to the survey area (after Soucier 19??:.Fig.
12).
the site.
 4 MSSISSEPPI ARCHAECJLOGY
Vol. 21, No. l
S
Table l. Sites from the Lower Yolohusho Survey.
Lf-SIE) (river mile 9.?) was exam
ined. Both banks were
Site Field walked using at least two tran
National sects which paralleled the
Number Designation river. In areas which were unde
Phase* Register r cultivation, the ground
surface was carefully examined
for artifacts. Shovel tests
were used in those places whe
re the ground surface was
22—Lf-683 Point Leflore obscured by vegetation. Thes
P,H X e shovel tests were confine
areas where sites wer d to
e likely to occur, that
22—Lf—545 levees is, the natural
Stein Site L1H and other elevated features
. Actually, most of the
areas which are likely to be
the location of a prehistoric
isolated Find YB—i .._ site are under cultivation, sinc
e these are the higher
elevations. All of the sites
which are reported for the
EE—Lf-EBE YB—E survey area are on cleared land
LW .
Once a site was located, an
extensive surface collection
EE—Lf-Eai YB—S LW
was made. Since most of the sites
area, a complete surface coll
cov er a relatively large
ection was not practical.
22—Lf—512 Whaiey Site Instead, the surface materia
EW, MW, LW, M X l was sampled by walking eve
third row from one edge of ry
the site to the other. All the
*Chronologicai chases; H-historic, P-generai prehistoric,
material within each row was
collected. This was possible
EwhEarly Woodland, MW—Mlddle Woodland, every site except Whaley, whe at
LW—Late Woodland, re the sire of the site and
M—Mississiooi. the density of the cultural
material made this approach
impractical. Instead, the who
le site was searched for
The Whaley site {22~Lf—512) is also alrea diagnostic artifacts including
dy on the rim sherds, bifaces, and all
National Register of Historic Places. flakes. A comprehensive surface
Subsurface tests sample was also recovered
conducted during this survey document by picking up all the materia
ed the depth and l in alternating rows in the
integrity of the deposit at that site. northeast portion of the site.
Also, the settlement
pattern which was developed using the Shovel tests were used to
Yalobusha data. search for subplowxone
supports the evaluation of the site’s deposits at all sites. These
significance. lfilhaley tests were located in the area
contains information which would be of greatest concentration in s
essential in testing and the distribution of surface
interpreting this pattern. The western material. Artifacts were con
edge of the survey fined to the plowxone at all
area crossed the eastern edge of the except the Whaley site. sites
site. Project plans
have been altered to avoid any dama A manual posthole digger was
ge to this important used to sample the vertical
site. distribution of material at
1Whaley. Three holes were
The remaining three sites actually fall at 25 m intervals, beginning located
just outside the . at the east edge of the site
survey area, but their inclusion in the Yalobusha and bisecting the large mound.
samp
le Test 1 was situated two
was critical in the analysis which estab meters from the tree line and
lished the research approximately three meters
potential of Whaley. from the boundary between the brai
ded land surface and
the Yalobusha River deposits.
Test 2 was located at the top
Field Methods of the mound. Test 3 fell just
to the west of the mound.
All of the survey area below the poin Each test hole was 2i) cm in
t where the Little diameter. Ten centimeter
Tippo Bayo u enters the Yalobusha at the Whaley levels were used and all materia
site (22- l was sifted through 1M
inch screen. The technique prov
ed to be economical; the
 6 MSSISSEPI ARCHAEE-‘LGGY Vei. 21, Na. 1

three tests teak three peeple cne day. Hewever, there are
same limitaticns. It is impessible tc dig deeper than abcut
1.3 m, since the handles can net be cpened wide encugh ta
grasp the scil at this depth. Care must be taken tc aveid '
ccntaminatien frcm the sides in the deeper levels. Finally,
FWWv—m'r—ujv—q—
scil teature is critical. Fcr example, the mcund fill at

20
40
30
95
2T

2d4
'—

Whaley is extremely sandy, making it difficult ta remeve the

13
sail since it flaws cut cf the blades. It seems likely that
[I

D
extremely wet scil weuld pcse the same prcblem.
In spite cf these difficulties, a stratified sample cf 344

12

3
artifacts (Tables 2 tn 4) was reccvered. These data give a
|
clear picture cf the subsurface pctential cf the site. Far

11
Site.
1

1O
example, althcugh Test 2 had ta be abandoned befcre the
submeund depcsits were reached, it dues say scmething

10

1
Whale};
Tabie 2. Artifacts reacvered frem Test 3, Waiey Site .

105492876913
LEVELS

18
B

18
LEVELS

1,

1
7
1 2 3 4 5 E T 8 TDTAL

10
Test

3
Flakes

17
DES

5
1

from
him—I—t

3 15

58
D89 1

2
4
Thermal Shatter

6
.._.|,

25
—..L

—L

recovered
Sandstone

3
1 1 2

2
3

11
Sherds

4
4
Baytcwn

7
2

31
3 4
DMCD

1
Daub

2
2

6
10

42
TOTAL 0 5 3 D 1

Artifacts

Shatter
abcut mcund ccnstructicn. The relatively small amcunt of
material alcng with the sail teature cbservaticns indicate

Sandstene

Baytcwn

HlStGrlC
that the meund was ccnstructed using sandy fill frem the

Thermal
3.

Flakes

Shards
Mlss.
active levee cf the adjacent Yalcbusha River rather than

Blank.
0812

Shell

TOTAL
DB1
D83
DEE
use
BBQ

Daub
Table

Bane
material from the site. The absence cf shell tempered sherds
from the mcund fill suggests that the meund may have been
ccnstructed early in the lviississippian eccupatien at the site.
Of caurse, the sample is small and an eaamjnaticn cf the
submcund depcsits weuld pravide mere cenclusive infermatian
abcut the ccnstructicn sequence.
3 M33123SIPPI ARCHAEOLGGY Vol. 21, No. I 9

Table 4. Artifacts recovered from Test 2, Whale}!r Site. occurs in level 5, which is also the level which produced
the most material including shell and bone. The shells are
LEVELS fresh water mussels. Only hinges were counted. The bone
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TOTAL includes small fish vertebra, turtle, small mammal, and
deer. There is the suggestion that the peak period for the
Flakes use of shellfish may have been the Woodland. Daub, on the
DES 1 1 other hand, is much more common in the upper levels,
DEB 1 indicating the possibility that the structures from which it
Us? 1 came may have been Mississippian. The test is near the
DEB 1 mound and there is a concentration of daub in the vicinity
BBQ 2 1 of the mound on the surface. One final observation about
D810 1 1 Test 1: a relatively large amount of material was recovered
0812 1 1 considering the size of the sample. A one meter square test
Thermal Shatter 1 1 3 pit with the same artifact density would produce ’IJTO
Shards artifacts.
Mississippi
JMMUIM

ALL—Lu:

Baytown E Physio grophy

”hi-mm

Mulberry Cr. ”1.44.... Although to an outsider like me the Mississippi River

«FLU:

Daub floodplain may appear to be nearly flat, the low relief is

.a

Bone readily apparent to a native. Any local resident can point

Shell
TOTAL 17 15 16 18 6 they have seen the area flooded when only the high spots
Tests 1 and 3 give some idea of what the submound
deposits should look like. They corroborate the surface
indication that the intensity of occupation decreases as you
move away from the river. There was a marked change in
soil color when the tests reached the bottom of the midden.
The midden is nearly black and it rests upon a reddish
clay loam. The boundary in Test 3 occurred at 57 cm, while
the midden in Test 1 continued to 95 cm. Both of these
boundaries are documented by a drop in artifact frequency
in the tables.
Test 1 was located on the highest part of the site in one
of the highest concentrations of surface material. Not only
do the data indicate that a good portion of the deposition is
undisturbed, but there is also a suggestion of cultural
stratigraphy. Most of the Mississippian sherds
first two levels, while most of the Baytown material is found
below that. The major concentration of Baytown Plain sherds
.1.
out the high spots in any field because, in most cases,
were dry. This must have been an important aspect of the
prehistoric perception of the landscape, since artifacts are
usually confined to the areas of greatest elevation within
each zone.
The subtle differences in elevation are important to the
archaeology of the area for another reason. They record the
sequence of changes in river flow patterns, which are
critical in interpreting the chronology and settlement pattern
of the region. It would be difficult to name another area in
the Southeast where changes during the Holocene have been
as extensive as in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The
implications are clear. The archaeology can only be
understood in terms of a reconstruction of the development
of regional and local drainage systems.
Fortunately, the Mississippi River channel sequence has
been modeled. Fisk (1944) provided the first and most
come from the comprehensive attempt to work out the chronology of events
which produced the present day overlay of channels and
channel scars. His sequence was updated and simplified by
 10 MSSISSH’PI ARCHAEGLDGY
Saucier (19134}. Although there are many points of
disagreement between the two schemes, they agree
outline. in addition to the general model, Saucier (19??)
also
did a detailed study of the lower Yalobusha. His
was an interpretation of the local drainage history in order
to set the Teoc Creek site in proper chronological and
environmental perspective. Finally, Smith (I???) has revised
the physiographic maps of the Yasoo Basin, classifying the
land into broad categories like point bar, braided surface,
and levee.
The Teoc Creek report model provides a readily
applicable framework in which to set the survey data.
Saucier (IQTT:93~10T) outlines the alluvial chronology of the
lower Yalobusha using five lettered stages. The oldest land
surface in the area is the braided surface south of Little
Tippo Bayou, west of Whaley and the Yalobusha River, and
north of IElld Orchard Lake. The first of the major
Mississippi River channels probably flowed through the area
between 9000 and T500 years ago. The abandoned channel
which contains McIntyre Lake and Little Tippo Bayou marks
the course of this channel in the survey area. Saucier calls
this the McIntyre Lake abandoned channel (Figure I).
The Mississippi River returned to the survey area about
4800 years ago (Stage A). This channel entered the survey
area from the southeast, flowed north to within a mile of
the McIntyre Lake abandoned channel, then made a broad
loop and turned south near Lightline Lake. The Mississippi
River subsequently cut off this channel, moving to the west
and flowing through the Bid Orchard Lake oabow. Teoc
Creek flowed through the eastern leg of the recently
abandoned
channel, which Saucier refers to as the Palusha
Bayou abandoned channel (Stage B). At about the same
time, the combined flow of the Yalobusha and Tallahatchie
Rivers flowed through the McIntyre Lake abandoned
channeL
The last major channel of the Mississippi River in the
Greenwood vicinity was formed when the river abandoned
the Old Orchard Lake channel, moving further south to
create the channel through which the Tallahatchie River
flows today. Following this, the Yalobusha—Tallahatchie River
broke through the outside of the bend in the McIntyre
Lake-
—;
Vol. 2i, No. l 11
abandoned channel to flow south and join Teoc Creek
in broad in the
eastern arm of the Palusha Bayou abandoned channel
(Stage
C). This new channel cut the McIntyre Lake abandoned
goal
channel levee at the point where the Whaley site
(ELLE-512)
is located. Although it is possible that the site
was
occupied prior to the relocation of the channel,
its situation
eaactly at the edge of the Yalobusha—Tallahatchie
channel
suggested that it was located to take advantage
of prosimity
of the active channel, the abandoned channel, and
the
elevation provided by the natural levees of both channe
ls.
At about 2300 B.C., according to Saucier’s reconstruc-
tion, the Mississippi River abandoned the eastern
meander
belt and established its current channel. The
flow of the
Yalobusha-Tallahatchie River diverted from the
east to the
west leg of the Palusha Bayou abandoned channe
l, and Teoc
Creek turned to flow north and join the
combined rivers
near the location of the Teoc Creek site (Stage D). The
Yaiobusha—Tallahatchie flowed near the outside
of the curves
of the Palusha Bayou abandoned channel in the
vicinity of
Neill site. It created the natural levee within the
channel
plug on which sites YB-E (EZ-Lf-GSZJ and YB-S (Elli-
631}
are located. Therefore, these sites must postdate
this
channel.
The region assumed its final drainage pattern when
the
Tallahatchie and Yalobusha Rivers split (Stage E). The
Yalobusha remained in the approsimate location
of the
combined channel but shifted to the south of
sites YB-E and
HEB—3. The Tallahatchie River occupied the younge
st
Mississippi channel. The two now join at Point Leflore {22-
Lf—633). The Stein Site (22—3446), located slightly uprive
from this junction, should have been occupied after
r
the
split of the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha Rivers,
since it is
located on a natural levee of the Yalobusha. Recap
itulating
the site sequence as suggested by Saucier’s
reconstruction
and the first formation of the land surfaces upon
which
they lie, the Whaley cite (22-H-512) should be earlies
t,
followed by YB~2 (mar-632) and YB-S (ZZ-Lf—dfill. The
Stein site (22-Lr-546) should be last to be occupied.
w
12 MSSISSEPPI fiRGHAEOIOGY
Previews Archueeiegicui Research
The Yaaee Basin has been the scene ef a great deal ef
the archaeelegical research in the Seutheast. Prejects have
ranged in size frem the landmark Lewer Mississippi Survey
tn the small, ene-day sewage lagcen surveys ef teday. This
brief everview will emphasize the large prejects and these
smaller prejects which are directly relevant te the
interpretatien cf the data recevered en the lewer Yalebusha.
C.B. Meere (1903) led ene ef the earliest and must
extensive archaeelegical surveys ef the Yaaee Basin,
traveling up the Yaaee River as far as Leflere Ceunty,
nerth ef Greenweed. He discevered and excavated a small
meund en the Yalebusha River near its junctien with the
Tallahatchie. It is likely that this was the Stein site (EB-if-
546). Altheugh the meund is gene, a fair ameunt ef surface
material remains.
The early werk cf the Lower Mississippi Survey
emphasized the upper Yaaec Basin. Greenweed and the
survey area falls en the seuthern edge ef the regien and
cnly ene ef the sites recerded by Phillips, Ferd, and
Griffin [1952) is included in the present site sample. The
Whaley site [ZE-Lf-SIZ} is designated as ld—P-Z in the
Harvard system. They place the site in perieds C and D
rCLate Baytewn), classifying it as a small ceremenial center
with twe rucunds (Phillips, Ferd, and Griffin 1952:57. 321).
The Lewer Mississippi Survey centinued te werk in the
Yaace Basin. C'ne ef the majer preducts cf this werk is the
menumental Lewer Yaace Basin repert (Phillips 19370). Once
again, hdwever, the Yalebusha survey area falls just eutside
the acne cf majer censideratien. And, ence again, Whaley is
the enly site in the survey area te be mentiened. Phillips
(19m: Figs. 445, 441) places the site in twe phases,
Deasenville—Bayland and Quitman. The latter is a Mississippi
Peried phase, which he established en the basis ef
admittedly inadequate data te fill in a gap in the site
distributienal map which centers in the middle cf the
Tallahatchie drainage. The Tecc Creek site (22—Cr-5fl4) and
the Neill site (ZEv-Sflfl) fall just cutside the survey area
near the junctien ef Teec Creek and the Yalebusha River.
Beth were assigned tn the Peverty Peint peried, Jaketewn
phase by Phillips (1990:3913, partially en the strength cf
Veil. 21, Ne. l 13
the unpublished werk at these sites which began
in 1956
(Cennaway, McGahey, and Webb 199?). Research, including
surface cellecting, backhee trenching, cere sampling, and
hand eacavatien, cencentrated en the Teec Creek site, and
this site has previded a great deal ef eur infermaticn abeut
the transitien frem Archaic te Weedland in the Yaaee Basin.
Beth sites are lecated en the levee ef the abandened
Mississippi River Channel which Saucier (19??) called
the
Palusha Bayeu channel. The Tecc Creek assemblage
is
almest entirely Peverty Peint Peried, while Neill
centains a
fair ameunt ef fiber tempered, Early 1Weedland mater
ial.
Radiecarben data, cultural material, and grain
size data
derived frem the ceres at each site suggest te
Saucier that
the initial eccupatien at Teec Creek eccurred during
Stage
B, while Neill was feunded during Stage C in his
sequence
fer the area. '
A cultural reseurces survey ef the prcpesed lecatie
n ef
levees en Teec Creek and the lewer Yalebusha
River
(Therne 19??) resulted in the full scale eacavatien ef the
Lightline Lake site (ZE-Lf-SU4) which is situated en the
seuth side cf Tecc Creek abeut TDD m frem its
jinctien with
the Yalebusha River. The primary eccupatien at the
site is
Baytewn with a small ameunt ef earlier and
later material
l:Mergan and Raspet 19T9). One Middle Archaic prejectile
peint and several ArchaicuEarly Weedland types
preceded the
heaviest eccupatien at the site. A small number
ef fiber
tempered sherds were alse funnel. The site is lecated
en a
natural levee whese erientatien suggests that it
may have
been preduced by Tecc Creek during Stage D. The
cembined Yalebusha-Tallahatchie flewed threugh the
area
. during the preceding stage, and it appears frem the
Saucier
maps (19??: Figs. 10, 11) that the earlier channel flewed
acress the site lecatien. Hewever, the maps are ebvieusly
net meant te be detailed depictiens ef precise channe
l
lecaticns. Lightline Lake, like many ef the sites in
the
survey area, lacks evidence cf an intensive Mississippian
ccmpenent.
Recent surveys ef the Sand Creek preject right-efdway
tn the east ef the preject area in Carrell and Leflere
Ceunties Mann 1976; Atkinsen 1931) failed te preduc
e
evidence fer significant aberiginal utilisatien ef the area.
—_————
—T——

14 MSSISSIFPI ARCHAEOIflGY
However, Atkinson and CIT-{ear (1930} conducted a survey of
the Tallahatchie and Yaxoo Rivers at the bend which
contains Greenwood. According to Saucier’s (19??)
interpretation, this channel was originally formed by the
Mississippi River during its last stage in the area. It
should postdate the occupation of the Teoc Creek and Neill
sites. The survey recorded seven prehistoric sites, all of
which had Baytown components. The earliest occupation is
documented by scattered transitional ArchaicfEarly Woodland
projectile points and a few sherds of Wheeler Plain ceramics.
A small number of shell tempered sherds was also
recovered.
Although the sample is limited, the primary occupation in
the lower Yalobusha appears to be Baytown. The area seems
to have been first settled at the very end of the Archaic
and occupation during the Mississippian is limited. There is
the tendency for sites to be located near active channels.
Anoiysis
Patterning in the prehistoric use of the survey area can
best be approached using all of the site data recovered
during the survey. This includes those sites (Stein [BE—Li‘—
545], Yes [ea-Lassa], and YES [12—Lf—631D which fall just
outside the survey area, as well as Whaley (Elf—512) and
Point Leflore (Elf-683]. Therefore the following discussion
is based on the total survey collection and includes
additional site data from other projects whenever possible.
All of the artifacts recovered during this survey will be
stored at the Center for Archaeological Research in Oxford.
Ceramic Analysis: Ceramics have been the major focus
of analysis for most of the archaeological projects which
have
been conducted in the Yaxoo Basin. The two major
monographs for the region (Phillips, Ford, and Griffin 1951;
Phillips 19TH) deal almost exclusively with ceramic typology
and chronology. As a consequence, the Yaxoo Basin
typology is one
of the most detailed classifications in the
Southeast, too detailed for the analysis of the Yalobusha
survey material. The majority of the sherds fall into the
two major Woodland types for the area; atown Plain
and
Mulberry Creek Cord Marked. Phillips (19TH) subdivides
Vol. 2i, No. l 15
these into several varieties based on differences in temper.
Unfortunately many of these variations are nearly impossible
to distinguish unless they are found in association with
other, more diagnostic types. This is often not possible or
useful when dealing with small surface collections.
Therefore, the only varietal designation for plain sherds
which is used in this analysis is atown Plain, var.
Thomas to distinguish sandy textured, grog tempered
paste.
Two other temper classes are present in the sample. A
small number of fiber tempered sherds was found at the
Whaley site. Phillips (19TD:32) expresses doubts over the
sample size, chronological placement, and wisdom of using a
Pickwick Basin type name for this class. The first two
problems have been somewhat alleviated by recent work,
particularly the Teoc Creek report (Connaway, McGahey,
and Webb 19??). As for the confusion which might result
from using a type name from outside the region, it’s hard
to see why fiber tempered sherds should be the exception.
Therefore these will be called Wheeler Plain in this report.
Shell tempered sherds constitute the third major class.
All were found at Whaley. The shellwhich was used for
temper in these ceramics was fairly coarse in all specimens.
None can be classified as Hell Plain, and several extreme
ly
thick sherds were collected. Whaley produced a pottery
disc
made from a Mississippi Plain sherd and a crude rim effigy
in the shape of a bird or reptile head rising from the rim.
Several similarly crude rim effigies have been recovered
from the site by private collectors.
Other than Mulberry Creek Cord Marked, most of the
decorated sherds are from the Whaley site. There are 26
iarto Red Filmed sherds. Three are from YB-3 and the rest
are from Whaley. Whaley also produced two examples of
Parkin Punctate and a single Withers Fabric Marked sherd.
Two sherds from Whaley can be classified as Coles Creek
Incised. Neither show the overhanging lines of classic Coles
Creek. Dne has broad spaced lines and can be classified as
var. Greenhouse while the other has closely Spaced lines
and is probably var. Mott. Finally there is a shell
tempered sherd with parallel lines. It may be either Mound
Place Incised or Barton Incised.

__—
15 MSSISSEPPI ARCHAEGLUGY
Veil. 2i, Ne. l 1?

Table 5. Ceramic sample free: the Feiebushe River 1933). the Little Tallahatchie River (Jehnsen 198a). the
survey. ' Upper Yecena (Jehnsen n.d.) and Line Creek (Jehnsen at
ei. 1934). All ef these preyide a bread framewerl: in
Class Ceunt
which te place the Yalebusha lithics.
Flakes are classified using a twe-dirnensienal paradigm
Fiber Tempered (Table 6:]. Each dirnensien is designed te place the flake
Wheeler Plain 5 within the preductien trajectery. Rews are defined en the
Greg Tempered
basis ef platferm cenfiguratien while celurnns use the ameunt
Baytewn Plain var. U 4T8 ef dersal certes te differentiate the artifacts.
Baytewn Plain var. Themes 5
Mulberry Creek Cerd Marked 133 Table 6. Blake ciassificetien.
Larte Red Filmed 26
Celes Creek lncised var. Greenheuse 1
Platferm
Celes Creek incised var. Mett 1
Cenfieuratien >?5% s?5% Ne Certer
Withers Fabric Marked 1
Shell Tempered
Mississippi Plain 190
has has has
MISSING T3 108 T83
Parkln Punctate 2
Meund Place incised 1
DE

4'1.
D85 D85
TOTAL

i. l
- 893 Certer 28 29

The tetal shard sample frem the Yaiebusha survey (Table Q53 DEE D83

_.|.
96 106

CD
IA
5) cenferms tn the chrenelegical espectatiens fer the area,
that is, there is an abundance ef Late Weedland material,
seme Mississippian, and a little Early Weedland. The Early
D310 QE11 flfilg
> 2 23 35 49
Weedland and Mississippian sherds are all frem Whaley. The
remaining ceramic samples are all Weedland.
Early stage debitage eccurs in the upper left hand
Ethic Analysis: Like must cf the chipped atene teels
pertien ef the paradigm and later stage flakes are classified
frem western Mississippi, the Yalebusha artifacts are made
in the lewer right hand cells. When cells DB4 threugh DEE
entirely frem the caramel—celered grayels which are feund at
are censidered te be early stage categeries, there is a clear
the beundary between the Pleistecene terraces and the lease
depesits aleng the bluffs which line the eastern beundary ef
relatienship te distance frem the seurce (Table T).
Escepting the Uppessurn Bayeu sample, there is a linear
the Mississippi alluvial valley. The chipped stene artifacts
drep eff. That is, the twe seurce area assemblages, Natchez
frem the nearby Lightline Lake site (Raspet 19??) were ene
ef the data sets used in develepiug a classificatien ef teels Bluffs and little Tallahatchie River, centain the largest
based en these reseurces (iehnsen and Raspet 1936}. Since prepertien ef early stage debitage while the twe meat
that time. the typelegy has been used te analyse material distant nen-seurce area assemblages centain the least.
frem the Natchez Bluffs (Jehnsen, Rebbins, and Sparks
 13 M35533}?! ARCHAEE-‘IGGY
Vol. 21'. No. i 19
Tabla ?. Proportion of Early Stage Debltage In. Seven.
Regional Samples From llrii’ssissippl.
.Lateral Harglns
Minimum Number Proportion of
Completely Worked
Sample Distance 0f Early Stage
From Source lkml__Flakes Debitaue MU
Natchez Bluff 0 1?3? 0.5?4
YES
/
Little Tallahatohle
Blank
River 0 160 0.025 n-41 Cortex
sfxfpompletely Removed
nhtllns Lake 5 9552 0.539

Yalopusna River 5—12 394 0.450 /

l. l
res
0possum Bayou 22 434 0.528 Preform 1 l
n-lE Lateral Edges
Line Creek 24 486 0.335
tened
Straigh
Upper Tocona 50 53 0.30? /
ND
YES
Similarly. bifaces have been classified using a production Preform 2
trajectory typology by breaking them down into four stages
n=20 Finished
[Figure 2). As could be anticipated from the debitage data
and the location of the survey area relative to the raw n=15
material sources, the majority of the bifaces are unfinished.
figure 2. Biface Key.
The classification is based on the assumption that the
gravels are being directly reduced to bifaces rather than
interestingly, the two early stage categories show positive
using flake blanks as a starting point in tool production.
evidence that gravels rather than flakes served as the
This assumption is reasonable given the relatively small size
starting point for the manufacturing trajectory for these
of the raw material in comparison to most of the finished
bifaces. However, some Late Woodland and Mississippian
tools. McGahey (personal communication) has noted a similar
pattern for these small, late bifaces elsewhere in
bifaces are small enough to have been made from flakes
Mississippi.
which could be derived from the gravel. These are the
Seven of the finished bifaces recovered from the
Collins. Hamilton. and Madison types. Among the bifaces
Yalobusha sites can be classified using types which have
from YB—S there is a group of seven artifacts which
been developed to be chronologically sensitive. Three are
document the production trajectory for these small tools.
small triangular bifaces. One of these has a concave base
Their dimensions, broken down by stage (Table 3), show a
and sides and could be called a Hamilton point. The other
progressive reduction in size as production continues. More
two are straight based, Madison types. All three are
common in Late Woodland and lviississippian contests.
fl

30 MSSISSHJPI ARCHAEOIDGY
Table 3. Madison reduction sequence at YB-3 (in mm).
Stage n Average Average Average
Thickness Width Lenoth
Preterm 1 2 11.5 21.0 34.5
Preform 2 3 5.7 18.0 -----
Finished 2 4.0 16.5 ~————
Two bifaces are similar to specimens which Phillips
(19?0:311) called Edwards. The form is common at Lake
George, where two varieties have been named. All are
considered to be Late Woodland (Williams and Brain 1983).
These points are relatively small, long and narrow, with a
straight stem, narrow shoulders, and square base.
The two remaining bifaces have wide shoulders, narrow,
contracting stems, and round bases. Both show evidence of
intensive resharpening. A patch of cortex remains on the
base of one of these points. These could be classified as
Gary, indicating a Late Archaic and Woodland occupation.
Other than bifaces and flakes, the most common lithic
artifacts to be recovered were gravels with one or a few
flake scars. These are distinguished from very early stage
bifaces on the basis of the absence of a bifacial edge. Some
may actually have been part of the biface production
trajectory and some may have been the by-product of flake
production. It should be noted, however, that flakes with
obvious signs of utilization are not present in the collection.
Only one flake, recovered from YB—3, shows retouch. This
was classified as a uniface. A small number of gravels
without flake scars which show battering on one or both
ends were classified as hammerstones.
A fragment of a ground and polished artifact was
recovered from the surface at Whaley. The stone is black
and fine grained. The shape suggests that it is part of the
midportion of an axe head. A fragment of the same material
Vol. 21, No. 1 21
handle. Together, the two artifacts indicate the possibility
that they are part of a monolithic are.
Conclusions
_ The most common artifact class on any of the Yalobusha
sites is the flake. In a way this is fortunate, for, using
the typology outlined earlier, flakes can reveal a good deal
about prehistoric behavior. The proportion of early stage
flakes (DB4 through DB3) divided by the total number of
flakes with platform (DB4 through D1312) has already been
used as a measure of the amount of early stage biface
reduction activity in the area. The Yalobusha data indicate
clearly that it is a non-source area collection. Since it is
outside the area of immediate access to raw material, a
second site characteristic can be examined. If sites are
divided into base camps and special activity camps on the
basis of the number of indicators of permanent residence
(Binford and Binford 1966). base camps should show more
evidence for production and maintenance, while special
activity sites should show a more limited range of activities
(Raab, Cande and Stable 1979). In the lower Yalobusha,
base camps should have more early stage debitage.
Of the several indicators of permanence, size and the
presence of mounds are the most applicable to this analysis.
Whaley (22—Lf-512) is the largest of the sites visited and
Stein (22—Lf—546) is the second largest. Both have mounds.
Neither shows a relatively large proportion early stage
debitage (Table 9). Just as in the case of the regional
Table 9. Proportion of early stage debitage in four site
samples from the Yalobusha survey.
Number Proportion of
Site Site Source of Early Stage
(ha) Dist. (km) Flakes Debltage
Whaley 5.

MGWU‘I
187

commie
was found in a private collection from the site. This 0.476
YB—S D. 1 95 0.513
fragment is cylindrical and appears to be a section from a
YEi-E D. 1 58 0.412
Stein 2. 43 D. 349
l-——-'-""——'——
_— —

22 MSSISSH’PI ARGHAWIOGY
Veil. 21, Mn. 1 23
sample, distance frnm snurce seems tn be a better
predictnr nf assemblage characteristics. With the esceptinn
archaenlngical data. The presence nf fiber tempered sherds
nf Whaley, there is a gnnd negative relatinnship between the
in Stages C and D sites nbscures the pattern a little.
prnpnrtinn nf early stage debitage and the distance frnm Hnwever, the shift frnm C tn D is thnnght tn have nccurred
snurce.
after 2300 ELF. (Saucier 19TT:101J. It is cnmpletely pnssible
The Whale}? enceptinn can perhaps be explained by
that these ceramics were made nver a lnng ennugh span tn
reference tn annther study nf biface trajectnry character-
straddle the bnundary between thnsc stages.
istics. Phillips (1983), using stratigraphic data frnm terrace Table 10 alsn pcints cut the prednminance nf atnwn
sites in eastern Mississippi, fnund that the prnpnrtinn nf
material in the sample. It is fnund in all but twn cf the
early stage debitage was smallest during the Mississippian
site assemblages and is the nnly material fnund at three nf
Perind. Since access tn raw material was lncal and assumed
the sites. There is the snggestinn nf a pnpulatinn peak
tn be cnnstant, Phillips hypnthesiaed a shift in settlement
during this perind. Hnwever, it must be remembered that
strategy invnlving greater permanence during the late
nccupatinns at the sites. That is, since the Mississippian
Table i0. Sires seriared by physingrnpht'c setting.
cnmpnnents are thnnght tn he year rnund habitatinns, less
cf the late stage debitage fnund its way tn seasnnal
Physicgranhlc Span nf nccunatlnn
nccupatinn. Whaley is the nnly nne nf the Yalnbusha sites tn
Slte Stage LA ' EH MW LW M
have a Mississippian cnmpnnent.
As nutlined earlier in this paper, the study area has
undergnne snme rather dramatic changes in drainage during
Tenc Creek

MDUUHHW
the span nf prehistnric nccupatinn in the area. Using

HERE
Neill
Sancier’s recnnstructinn (19Tl'l it is pnssible tn relate
Whaler
tnpngraphic features tn specific hydrngraphic events and tn
nhtllne Lake
place them in a relative sequence. Sites in Table 10 are
TB—E
arranged accnrding tn the earliest prnbable stage in which
YE—S

they were nccupied. The stage assignments fnr Tenc Creel;
(22-Or-504) and Neill {El-if-SUUJ are based nn Saucier’s
(19??) recnnstructinn nf the depnsitinnal sequence at each
site using data derived frnm cnre samples. The remainder cf
the sites are assigned tn the stage in which the land
surface they nccupy was fnrmed. The span nf nccupatinn is
measured using diagnnstic artifacts frnm the site
assemblages. LA represents a aerty Pnint nccupatinn. W
is used tn recnrd the presence nf Wheeler Plain and
Alexander series ceramics. A small amnunt nf Marhsville
‘1m material appeared in the private cnllectinn frnm Whaley
and was recnvered in the wnrk at Lightline Lake (Mnrgan
and Raspet 1980). UN is used tn designate a Baytnwn
cnmpnnent, while M stands fnr Mississippian.
The Table 1-3 arrangement shnws a nearly perfect
agreement between the physingraphic sequence and the
In:
Stein
snme nf these sites are small. Althnugh Whaley is the nniy
Mississippian site, it is alsn the largest site in the sample.
Rather than a decrease in pnpulatinn during the
Mississippian, there may have been a renrientatinn nf
settlement. Instead nf a number nf small, perhaps seasnnal,
sites in a variety nf settings, the Mississippian pattern may
represent an emphasis nn large, permanent settlements.
There are suggestinns nf permanence frnm the lNhaley
data. Mnrenver, Whaley is situated in what appears tn be
the nptimal lncatinn in the survey area fnr permanent
settlement. It is the highest natural levee that is clnse tn
the Yalnbusha River. It is alsn adjacent tn nne cf the majnr
abandnned channel scars in the reginn and the largest area
nf high, sandy braided stream surface in the lnwer
24 MSSISSH’PI ARCHAEOIOGY
Yalobusha. Across the river the two major bluff edge
landforms, alluvial fan and back swampjare convenient.
The Whaley site (22-135-512) is important because of the Atkinson,
stratigraphic integrity revealed in the posthole tests. Not 1980
only is there a good deal of undisturbed deposition, but the
cultural stratigraphy also appears to be intact. The span of
occupation at ‘Wlmley encompasses most of the sequence
which is evident in the lower Yalobusha. The Whaley Atkinson,
deposits contain a great deal of subsistence data as well. 1981
Finally, the site is strategically located in terms of refining
the correlation between physiographic stages and
archaeological phases in this area. A detailed study of the
sediment sequence at Whaley could answer a number of Connaway, J.M., 3.0. McGahey, and CH. lWebb
questions about river stage development in Leflore County. 1977
Although the area was limited and relatively little time
was spent in the field, the Lower Yalobusha survey
demonstrates quite clearly the rich potential of the Fisk, H.N.
Mississippi delta. It also shows how far we have to go. 1944
Acknowledgements
As in any archaeological fieldwork, there are many people
who deserve thanks. Primary among them are LB. Jones Johnson,
and Bill Hony of the Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood, 1980
who helped me during all phases of the project from initial
orientation to site testing at Whaley. Bill put me in touch
with landowners and local collectors, who also deserve
thanks for their help. The comments of Roger Saucier at 1984
the Waterway Experiment Station in Vicksburg, who read the
draft version of this report, are appreciated. Kate
Yarbrough, the Corps representative, was also a critical Johnson, J.K., H.K. Curry, LR. Atkinson, and J.T.
factor in the success of the project, providing advice and Sparks
maps whenever called upon and acting as coordinator 1984
between the archaeologist and the engineers. Through her
efforts the cultural resources of the lower Yalobusha will be
avoided during the construction phase of the project.
Jay R. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Johnson,
Anthropology and the Associate Director of the Center for 1980
Archaeoiogicai Research at the University of Mississippi.
Vol. 21, No. I 25
References
J.R., and LW. O’Hear
Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed
Greenwood, Mississippi, Protection Works. Report
submitted to the Vicksburg District Office, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
J.R.
A Cultural Resources Survey of the Big Sand
Creek Flood Levee Project Area. Report submitted
to the Vicksburg District Office, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.
Teoc Creek: A Poverty Point site in Carroll
County, Mississippi. Mississippi Department of
Archives and History Archaeologicai Report 3.
Geologicai Investigations of the Alluvial Valley of
the Lower Mssissippi River. U.S. Army Cops of
Engineers, Mississippi River Commission,
Vicksburg.
J.K.
Cultural resources survey of a portion of the
little Tallahatchie River Valley, Panola County,
Mississippi. Report submitted to the Vicksburg
District Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Prehistoric settlement in the upper Yocona
drainage, north central Mississippi. Mssissippi
Archaeology 190113-23.
Final report, Cultural resources survey in the
Line Creek Watershed, Chickasaw, Clay and
Webster Counties, Mississippi. Report submitted to
the Soil Conservation Service, Jackson,
Mississippi, Contract No. 53—4423-2-314.
J.K., and CA. Raspet
Delta debitage. Mississippi Archaeology
15(1):3-11.
25 MSSISSHDPI ARCHAECJIEGY
Vol. 21‘, No. l 2?
Johnson, J.K., A. Robbins, and J.T. Sparks
1933 Excavations at the Mud Island Creek Archaeological 1914 Quaternary geology of the Lower Mississippi
Complex and the Gordon Mounds site, Jefferson
Valley. Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research
County, Mississippi. Center for Archaeological
Series 6.
Research, University of Mississippi, Archaeological
Smith, PL.
Papers 4.
1919 Geological investigation of the Yazoo Basin, Lower
Moore, C.B.
Mississippi Valley. US. Army Engineer Waterway
1903 Certain Mounds of Arkansas and of Mississippi.
Experiment Station Technical Report 3-430.
Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Thorns, ILM.
Philadelphia, 2nd ser., 12(2):430-600.
197? Cultural resources survey, proposed levee
Morgan, D.T., and C.A. Raspet
improvement project, Teoc Creek and Yalobusha
19?9 Archaeological salvage of a portion of the Lightline
River. Report submitted to the Vicksburg District
Lake site (ELK-504), Teoc Creek levee, Leflorc
Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
County, Mississippi. Report submitted to the
Williams, S., and LP. Brain
Vicksburg District Office, LLS. Army Corps of
1933 Excavations at the Lake George site, Yaaoo
Engineers.
Phillips, J.C. County, Mississippi, 1953-1950. Peabody Museum
of Archaeology and Ethnology Papers 1'4.
1933 Biface reduction strategies for Tuscaloosa gravel:
Wright, WC.
First terrace site function in the central
1939 National register of historic places inventory
Tombigbee Valley. Masters Thesis, University of
nomination form for Point Leflore. Manuscript on
Mississippi.
file, Mississippi Department of Archives and
Phillips, P.
History, Jackson.
1930 Archaeological Survey in the Lower Yasoo Basin,
Wynn, J.T.
Mississippi, 1949-1955. Peabody Museum of
19% Cultural Resources Survey Conducted at Big Sand
Archaeology and Ethnology Papers 60.
Phillips, P., LA. Ford, and LB. Griffin
Creek, Carroll and Leflore Counties, Mississippi.
1951 Report submitted to the Vicksburg District Office,
Archaeological Survey in the Lower Mississippi
Alluvial Valley, 1940-1941. Peabody Museum of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Archaeology and Ethnology Papers 25.
Raspet, C.A.
1939 A production stage analysis of lithic artifacts from
PP OR K? HAFI'ED KWES IN WJFR III
the Lightline Lake site, Leflore County,
Evan Peacock
Mississippi. Masters Thesis, University of
Mississippi.
Saucier, R.T. Abstract
Triangular points are often considered to have served
19?? Geological analysis. In LM. Connaway, 5.0.
almost solely as projectile points. Points from five Miller ill
McGahey, and C.M. Webb, Teoc Creek: A Poverty
sites in the central Tombigbee 1Valley are examined to note
Point site in Carroll County, Mississippi.
possible differences in function. 0n the basis of breakage
Mssissippi Department of Archives and History
patterns, length, weight, thickness, and heft size, the
Archaeological Report 3:90-105.
hypothesis that the excurvate-bladed triangular forms served
primarily as knives rather than projectile points is
supported.
 23 MSHSSEPI ARCHAEOLOGY

"Projectile point" is still in general a non~specific Vol. 2!, No. l' 29

term
as compared to "arrow head" or "spear point.” Still,
the
name carries implications of function which may or may considered to be a final step in the sequential process of
not
be defensible. To get around this, archaeologist tool manufacture.
s often use
the acronym PPfK to represent projectile point/knife That functional differences exist within this subclass has
(Faulkner and McCollough 1973:87). While this allows been suggested but rarely demonstrated, even though
some
leeway in functional interpretation, it is still important information may be contained in such differences
a name which
implies use (Futato 1983:164). Such descriptive taxa
are
(Geier 1983:1982). Futato (1975:41) has suggested that
heavily used, despite studies such as that done by morphological differences between his Provisional Type 11b
Ahler
(1971) which points out that functional differences and 11c points, both triangular forms, indicate different
are
evident within such classes. intent during tool manufacture and may indicate a difference
Triangular points present a special problem to
the
in function between these two types. Ensor (1981a:91) has
analyst due to their high degree of similarity and noted that the cooccurrence of different types of such
the
relative lack of research on stylistic change in points within Miller HI contexts may represent functional
triangular
points, which makes it difficult to correlate them differences. Evidence will be offered here to show that the
with the
existing cultural chronologies based on ceramic horizon excurvate-bladed Miller III points were used primarily as
s.
They have been lumped into the PPXK category (Faulk knives rather than projectile points. The factors to be
ner
and McCoilough 1973:37-88) along with stemmed considered here are breakage patterns,'length, weight, and
and notched
points, accomanied by a warning that ”It is highly the size of the hafting element. These artifacts are
probable
that many of these artifacts served a dual compared to straight-bladed and incurvate-bladed points
or even
multipurpose function, but primary use as projec from the same contexts. When examining breakage patterns,
tile points
is implied until further research indicates otherw asymmetrical points also will be considered.
ise”
[19T3:83). They are often analysed along with other All of the artifacts used are from Miller 111 features or
projectile points, even though the variables single-component Miller III sites. The sites represented are
devised for
projectile point analysis may not work with triang
ular points l~Pi-6l (Jenkins and Ensor issi; Ensor 1931a), 22—Lo-599,
(Johnson 1931:143-146). the Cofferdam site (Blakeman, Atkinson, and Berry 19%).
It has been noted above that functional differe
nces exist Lubbub Creek (Peebles 1933). 22-Lo—834, and 22-Lo-769
in projectile points as a class: it can be demo (Figure 1). Miller III components at these sites date from
nstrated that
functional differences also exist in triangular ca. AD. 600 to AD. 1000.
points as a
subclass. This study will focus on a sample Triangular points were introduced into the central
of triangular
points from several Miller III sites within the Tombigbee region at about Al). 700, with the Pickens
central
Tombigbee River drainage and attempt to demon triangular forms being the predominant type (Ensor
strate these
functional differences. For the purposes of this 1981b:37—88). These points are small to medium sized
study,
”triangular point" will be defined as a small cxcurvate—bladed tools (1931a:42). Other forms of triangular
to medium
bifacially flaked pointed artifact with two points, such as Hamilton and Madison (Cambron and l-Iulse
blade edges and
wider at every point than it is thick, 1975:64, 84), occur at the same time and seem to become
which lacks basal
modification in the form of notching or a more frequent in later Miller 111 phases (Ensor 1931b:3?].
pronounced stem.
To exclude preforms, only finished artifacts The Pickens Triangular forms are similar to the Class 3
were used,
defined by the presence or absence of press Small to Medium Excurvate points found at the Tibbee Creek
ure flaking,
site (22'Lo—600), for which a Miller III association is
indicated (O'Hear and Phillips 1931:135, Plate its-car, sa—
RR). It is suggested here that these excurvate-bladed tools
3r} aessrssmsr Asceaeerssr
Veil. 2!, Nu. i 31

were used primarily as knives, while the ether triangular

farms were used predcminantly as arrcw pcints.
'[fihl-
1"-
I Eacurvate—bladed tccls such as these classified in the
-_——--—u—---—-———.-.+___ ‘I

15““. Ccpena Triangular type are cften thcught tc have served as

knives rather than prcjectiles (Futate 1933:2321 A biface
blade categbry was used by Futatc to classify cvuid ts
triangular thinned, retcuched bifaces, mcst cf which were
l prcbably used as cutting tccls (1933:1619). The Pruvisicnal
Type 11b frcm the Champicn site in the Little Bear Creek
Reservuir cf nurthwest Alabama represents escurvate-bladed
—_..._ pcints which wear analysis shcwed tc be used as projectile
PIcHEHs cn.“‘ —__

Calumet-I Jr points with ”additicnal use as cutting tccls as the cccasicn

/" ‘5.
'
arcse” (Futatc- 1995:39). Benjamin paints, a larger triangular
g... accuses
"I—-_
“it
-i Lgs test farm with eacurvate blades, are thcught tc have been used
MA as knives as indicated by blade edge rcunding and
19
i
smccthing (Futatc 1933:234-235, Plate 55, {3-3}. Types 51
A

1'2"”
fl/
ALAB

and 52 frcm the Nermandy Reservcir in east~central

HMlss

H Tennessee are medium and large escurvate triangular fcrms

q;
d)
respectively. It is suggested that they may have served as
iE
u
small cvate knives (Faulkner and McCullcugh 19?3:93-94,
‘s iy-r Plate iii-{1.311). Other triangular farms are thcught tc have
a.

EELGFEQ functicned almcst esclusively as arrnw pcints (Enscr

——————_._.___—____ Lav." 955.co-
HUIUEEE CD. 1931b:32). Enscr also suggests that the Pickens Triangular
fcrms may have been used as knives after the distal ends
had been fractured frcm use as prcjectile pcints (1981bzfifl—
31). He ncted blade and edge ruunding and smccthing en
the proximal third cf the blade, presumably fur hafting
purpuses (1931bfi5).
AlcrIII-l
Breakage Patterns
i {I} ,3 h
Breakage patterns are ccnsidered tn be very useful in
E:
II 5 | I”: In
i
I
Lubbub I gr"?
'1’
caplcring methcds cf tccl manufacture (Jchnscn 1931). They
are alsc used, thcugh net as extensively, tc infer functicnal
differences Gicbayashi 1935:1463. The breakage patterns
I '1Pifi1
ccnsidered here are thcught tc be the prcduct cf use, as
all cf the tucls examined were finished pruducts. Incidental
breakage due tc such variables as trampling and cultivaticn
Figure I. Site Eucutiuus. cannct readily be distinguished frcm use-breakage. Hewever,
as such breakage wculd be espected tc cccur equally ever
the range cf blade fcrms represented, the relative
percentages cf types cf breaks acrcss different blade fcrms
 32 MSSISSEFPI ARCHAELGGY

Val. 21', Na. l 33

Lateral snap is a mcre—cr-less straight break traveling

rcughiy perpendicular tn the prcsimal-distal blade aais
(Jchriscn 1931:4T; see Purdy 19T5: Plate 1, awb). lchnsc-n
has suggested that this type cf break may scmctimes he the
result cf use rather than manufacture (1981:4761. Hester and
Hciaer (1973:2213) agree with this. It mayr be that such
breaks in triangular pcints are analcgcus ta haft snap: "A
transverse break acrcss the stem cf the artifact, this
failure is likely the result cf utilisaticn” {lchnscn 1931:52).
As nctcti abcve, this type cf break is attributed here
mainly tn the use cf triangular pcints as arrcw pcints.
Eaperimental wcrk by Bergman and Newccmer seems tc bear
this cut (1933:233a243), since many pcints shct intc meat
and base displayed such fractures. There shuuld be a
higher percentage cf this type cf break alcng the distal
third bf tucls which functicned as arrnw pcints l(Elnscrr
1931afll, 1931bi’i'9}. Arrcw pcints shculd alsc display
breaks cf this type mcre cften than tccls which served
primarily as knives.
Oblique snap is a break that runs at an acute angle tn
the prcaimal-distal blade asis (Figure 3). It is suggested
that such breaks cn finished tccls represent primary use as
knives, as the farce eacrted during tcci use wculd be at an
angle similar tc that cf the break (Figure 4}. It may be
D 1 2 Here

figure 2. Brita}: types: A ~ cafligus strap: .3 - lateral

snap ,t impact fracture: C - fault arsak.

shculd still serve as a gccd indicatcr cf differences

in use.
A descriptive terminclcgy will be used far the types
cf
breaks, including same terms used in studies devcte
d tc
prcducticn failures. The types cf breaks ncted are:
lateral
snapx’impact fracture: cblique snap; and fault break
(Figure
2). Impact fractures were criginally ccnsidered
separately
but there were sc few reccgnisable examples
that they were
ccmbined with lateral snap; bcth are ccnsidered
here tc be
the result cf use cf a tccl as an arrcw paint.

figures 3. [Italians snaps ca. arcurvats-atadsd pcints.

34 MSSISSH’PI ARCHAEOIUGF
Val. 21, Ne. i 35
that such breaks are the result cf disjcinting meat,
cccurring when the blade is twisted. Enscr (1931b:30-31)
has suggested that twisting er wrenching cf Pickens
Triangular and large Madiscn ferms may cause breaks acrcss
the tccl. He alsc suggests that this breakage pattern may
be indicative cf multiple usage (1931b:30-31). Fer a gccd
example cf this breakage pattern cn excurvate pcints, see
O’Hear et ul. (1931:Plate Iii-(XI, LL, DD, and PP).
Fault break is a result cf lines c-f weakness in the
material and prcbably dces net reflect functicn. Ne ncn-
randem uccurrence cf fault breaks ever the different pcint
types was neted, althcugh all eight examples cccured within
the center cue-third cf the tccls.
Of the 163 brcken triangular pcints examined, 31 were '1'W'h;
straight-bladed, 42 were excurvate, 23 were incurvate, and
1‘? were asymmetrical. They were placed intc a chart
shewing the type and lccatiun cf break exhibited (Table 1).
l til?
A ncn-randcm asscciaticn cf break type tc pcint type was
suggested by the data, so a chi—square test was dcne te
test this ebservaticn. The test was significant at the .DUS
level with three degrees cf freedem, indicating that the
excurvate—bladed pcints had a much higher frequency cf
cbiique snap as ccmpared te the straight and incurvate~
bladed peints, which shewed a higher rate cf transverse
snap. This acccrds well with the idea that the excurvate-
bladed examples served primarily as knives, while the main
functicn cf the straight and incurvate examples was that cf
arrcw pcints.
Ancther pcssible explanaticn fer the ncn-randcm
distributicn cf break types is the physical aspects cf the
different blade ferms. That is, due tc their particular
Figure 4. Directicn bf fer-cs during fuel use.
mcrphclcgical characteristics, certain types cf pcints will be
mcre likely to break a certain way even thcugh put tc +
straight to incurvate-bladed farms, but whether this
different uses. While this might help tb explain the high
difference is great encugh tc cause the tccls to break inla
frequency cf cblique breaks in excurvate—bladed pcints and
certain way is unkncwm. Data frcm experimental studies will
transverse breaks in the ether ferms, it must be
be needed tc investigate the relative impcrtance cf this
remembered that triangular pcints in general are small tccls. .
facter.
As can be seen by the ranges and means cf length, weight, ccmmcnly fractured en the distal
Since arrcw pcints are
and thickness in Table 2, the difference between puint
tine—third as neted earlier, chi—square tests were run tc
types is cften a small matter. All cf the metric data agree
test if the lccaticn cf the breaks aleng the blade was nun-
that there is a sequential size difference frcm excurvate tc
randcm fer the specific types. As duly fcur pcints 1‘Itwu
excurvate, ene straight, and cne incurvate) were brcken en
 36 MSSISSIPPI ARCHAEGIGGY
Val. 2i, Na. 1' 3’?
the preximal ene-third ef the blade, this lncatian was
excluded frcm the test. the paints exhibiting fault breaks freedem. This suggests that the straight—bladed farms
may
were alsc excluded since such breaks were net attributed have seen mare use as multi-purpnse tccls than
tc either ef
use, leaving a sample size cf 151 paints. the ether twc categnries.
The resultant scares shew that while the straignt-bladed
examples appear ta be intermediate, there is a statistically Length and iVet'ght
significant difference between the excurvate and incurvate Assuming that arrcw paints are likely tn be smalle

J
r
and lighter than knives, hr at least that tcel size

_.-' i.
examples. The excurvate paints tended tn be breken mare is
frequently than wculd be expected an the middle ene-third directly related tn the range cf activities perfcr
med (Enscr
1931b:32), TE whale examples were measured and

.L
cf the paint, while the incurvate examples were breken mere weighed.
frequently an the tap third. With a sample size cf 53, Of these, 50 were straight-bladed, 20 were excurvate,
this and
difference was significant at a .1 level with ene degree 8 vvere incurvate.'Phe range and.rneans cf these
cf measurements are given in Table 2. Again, there was a
Table nntable difference between the excurvate and incurv
l. lacariart sf break types alang paint types . ate
paints, with the straight-bladed examples falling
in between.
transverse snap! abliaue snap fault break Table 2. Ranges and means far paint measuremen
Impact fracture ts.
'% (e) (e)
as

% {a} eint Tvne Rance __ggguL_

Excurvate Escurvate
5 [2] T (3) (G)

GOOD
Straight Length 1.4—4.9 _ 2.3?
15 (13)' 5 {4} {0}
Incurvate Weight .3—5.T 1.94
26 (5} 4 (1) {U}
Asymmetrical Thickness .3-.B .52
13 {3) 12 [2} {D}
Escurvate Straight
29 [12} 45 (19} [4}
{ED-hill)

Straight Length 1.9 3.?

52 {42) 22 {18) {3}
lncurvate Weight .2-3.4
52 (12) 13 E3} .92
(U) Thickness .2—.9
Asymmetrical 35 {5) 29 (5) .43
{1}
Ercurvate incurvate
9 {0) 5 {2) {U}
DOC-D

Straight Length 1.9-2.2 1.9

1 (1} 9 {9} [0}
Incurvate Weight .2—.9 .45
4 {1) U (D) [0}
Asymmetrical Thickness .3—.E .39
9 (9] 9 (D) {fl}
Measurements are in cm. and cm,
Type Number
A t-test was run ta see if the difference ncted betwee
Escurvate 42 n the
excurvate and incurvate-bladed examples was significant
Straight 81 given the small sample size. The test yielded a scare
Incurvate 23 cf
3.936, which with 26 degrees cf freedcm is significant at
_hsvmmetrlcai 1? the .91 level. This supperts the hypcthesis that there
n_ Tctal Paints 163 is a
functional difference between the twc types, with the

33 MISSISSLPPI ARCHAEJLGGY
straight—bladed examples being again the most likely
candidates for multi-purpose tools.
As the excurvate points were shown to be larger than
the others, it was deemed redundant to run a a—test on the
mean values of the weight for the types. Table 2 shows the
association to be roughly parallel to that of length.
Thickness also follows the same pattern.
Patterson has distinguished arrow points from spear
points in Texas, asigning an average weight of 1.4 gm to
arrow points, with spear points being above 3 gm in weight
{1935:31-39). Thomas (19T3:469) found the arrow points in
his sample to have a mean weight of 2.0? gm, while the
dart points had a mean of 4.33 gm. Both the incurvate and
straight-bladed examples fall below Patterson’s average and
all three types fall below Thomas’. It seems reasonable to
assume that this is a reflection of technological differences
rather than functional ones, most notably that the
prehistoric inhabitants of the central Tombigbee drainage
had only small cobbles of Tuscaloosa gravel to work with.
All of the specimens examined were made of heat-treated
Tuscaloosa gravel. Despite such regional differences, the
sequential grading in size from one type to another
supports the supposition that the excurvate tools were
something other than projectile points.
Hoftt'ng
A major difference between the
excurvate tools and other
triangular forms is the hafting element that is discernible on
the excurvate points. This hafting element has been pointed
out and illustrated by Starr (1936). The hafting portion of
Pickens var. Pickens triangular points is frequently
ground (Ensor 1931a:91), and breaks in these points often
occur at the juncture of the hafted and unhafted portions
ICEnsor 1931bflS-T9).
This contrasts sharply with most small Madison and
Hamilton forms (Ensor 1931b:T5-?9), which were ”presumably
hafted" (1931b:53}. It has been noted that on Madison
points, "there is no way to distinguish the hafting area
from the blade. Some part of the basal portion of the blade
was used as a hafting area" (Cambron and Hulse 1935:34).
Vol. 21, No. i 39
Such points were probably hafted by the use of a mastic
[Keeley 1932:?99).
The biface blades noted in Futato (1933:163-1T1) exhibit
no haft elements, yet were probably used as cutting tools.
It is known that ”a group may employ and abandon
morphologically different hafted and unhafted versions of the
same tool” (Keeley 1932:3111). Hafting is done 1”to increase
the force that may be exerted during work as with axes,
hoes, knives, etc.” (ibid. 1932:?99). llafted versions of
tools are more likely to be assigned to classic morphological
categories such as projectile point because they receive
more
resharpening than hand-held tools and are likely to be
shorter (ibte'. 1932:3011
Since the hafting element on excurvate-bladed Miller III
points occurs as a slight modificiation of the proximal
portion of the blade (Starr 1936) and the edges are often
smoothed for hafting rCEnsor 1931b:T5-?9}. it can be assumed
that the haft was roughly the same in diameter as the base
is wide. ”With this in mind, the base width of 53 broken
and whole excurvate examples was measured. The range for
these measurements is 3-2.3 cm, with a mean of 1.33 cm.
This is substantially larger than the .T1 cm mean for 132
arrow shafts measured by Thomas (19T3:469).
Conclusions
It was proposed that the excurvate—bladed Miller III
PPx’Ks were primarily used as hafted knives, while the other
triangular forms were mostly used as projectile points. [in
the basis of breakage patterns, length, weight, and haft
size, it seems that this hypothesis works well. The data
suggest that the straight—bladed triangular forms are the
most likely candidates for PPs, while incurvate forms were
used almost exclusively as arrow points. I believe that
microwear studies, coupled with experimental work, will
support this hypothesis in the future.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the people who helped me with this
project. Eugene Futato and the |[lffice of Archaeological
Research graciously loaned me most of the artifacts I
worked with, and Eugene’s advice and suggestions were
 Voi. 21, No. i 41
4i} MSSISSH’PI ARCHAERLGGI’
Ensor, H. Elaine
very helpful. Rufus Ward also loaned me some of his 1931a Gainesville Lake area lithics: chronology,
artifacts and helped me locate some of those mysterious technology and use. University of Aiahama fice
sites. Janet Rafferty and Mary Evelyn Starr helped me of Archaeoiogicai Research Report of
collect a site discovered by Dr. Rafferty on a field school Investigations 13.
in 19319, and both of them have offered advice during this 1931b Lithic morphology, technology and use in
the
project. Mary Evelyn Starr once again let me borrow her central Tombigbee drainage: the Miller 11 and
talents as an illustrator, which are exceptional. lane Page Miller III phases. MA. thesis, Department of
typed the paper and Geoff Lehmann covered it with red Anthropolcgli. University of Alabama.
ink. Many other people have found references and sources, Faulkner, Charles H., and Major C.R. McCollough
and I am grateful to them all. Last of all, I would like to 19'i'3 Introductory report of the Normandy Rese
rvoir
thank the members of the Tombigbee Chapter of the salvage report: environmental setting, typolo
gy,
Mississippi Archaeological Association for their encouragement and survey. University of Tennessee Departmen
t
and support. of Anthropoiogy Report of Investigations 11.
Futato, Eugene M.
Evan Peacock is a student at Mississippi State 1395 The Champion site (1Fr313). In C.R. IClal‘tle y and
University. EM. Futato, Archaeological investigations
in the
Little Bear Creek Reservoir, 11-55. University
References of Alabama flffice of Archaeoiogicai Research
Ahler, Stanley L. Research Series 1.
1991 Projectile point form and function at Rodgers 1933 Archaeological investigations in the Cedar Creek
Shelter. Missouri. Missouri Archaeoiagicai Society and upper Bear Creek Reservoirs. University of
Research Series 3. Aiabama iice of Archaeoiogicai Research Repor
t
Bergman, (3A., and Mark Newcomer of Investigations 29.
1933 Flint Arrowhead Breakage: Examples from Ksar Geier, Clarence R.
Akil, Lebanon. Journai of .Fieid Archaeoiogy 1933 Some thoughts on the taxonomic and temporal
10:238—243. implications of Late Woodland triangular projectile
Blakeman, Crawford, James R. Atkinson, and G. Gerald points from sites in the Ridge and Valley province
Berry of Virginia. Archaeoiogicai Society of Virginia
19% Archaeological investigations at the Cofferdam site, Quarteriy Buiietin 33:19‘1'233.
22Lo599, Lowndes County, Mississippi. Report Hester, Thomas R., and Robert F. Heixer
submitted to the Mobile District Office, U.S. Army 1993 Arrow points or knives: comments on the proposed
Corps of Engineers, by Department of function of "Stockton points." American
Anthropology, Mississippi State Univesity. Antiquity 33:220—223.
Cambron, James W2, and David C. Hulse Jenkins, Ned J., and H. Elaine Eneor
1995 Handbook of Aiahama archaeoiogy, Part I: point 1931 The Gainesville Lake area excavations.
types, revised edition. Alabama Archaeological University of Aiahama Ufflce of Archaeoiogicai
Society, Huntsville. Research Report of investigations II.

42 MSSISSHDPI ARCHAEGLUGY
Johnson, Jay K.
1931 Yellow Creek archaeological project, Vol. ll.
University of Mississippi Center for
Archaeoiogicai Research Archaeoiogicai Papers 3.
Keeley, Lawrence H.
1932 Hafting and retooling: effects on the archaeological
record. Arnerican Antiquity 47:993—339.
Kobayashi, Hiroaki’
1935 The study of accidental breakage on backed
blades. Iithic Technoiogy 14:16-25.
I.‘ZII'I-Iear, John W., and John Phillips
1931 Lithics. In O’Hear et ai., Archaeological
salvage escavations at the Tibbee Creek site
' (22Lo630), Lowndes County, Mississippi.
O’Hear, John W., Clark Larsen, Margaret M. Scurry, John
Phillips. and Erica Simone
1931 Archaeological salvage excavations at the Tibbee
Creek site (22Lo600). Lowndes County,
Mississippi. Report submitted to Mobile District
Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, by
Department of Anthropology, Mississippi State
University.
Patterson, Leland W.
1935 Distinguishing betwwn arrow and spear points on
the upper Texas coast. Lithic Technoiogy
14:31—39.
Peebles, Christopher S., editor
1933 Prehistoric agricultural communities in west central
Alabama, Vols. 1—3. Report submitted to
Interagency Archaeological Services—Atlanta, by the
University of Michigan.
Purdy, Barbara
1995 Fractures for the archaeologist. In E. Swanson
(edJ, Lithic technoiogy: making and using
stone toois, 133-141. Mouton, The Hague.
Schiffer, Michael E.
1975 Classifications of chipped-stone tool use. in M.B.
Schiffer and J.H. House (edsJ, the Cache River
areheological project, 249-251. Arkansas
Archeoiogicai Survey Research Series 3.
Voi. 2i, No. i 43
Starr, Mary Evelyn
1936 Lithic technology and function. In Janet Rafferty
and Mary Evelyn Starr, Test excavations at two
Woodland sites, Lowndes County, Mississippi.
Coirh Institute of Archaeoiogy Report of
Investigations 3.
Thomas, David Hurst
1933 Arrowheads and atlatl darts: how the stones got
the shaft. American Antiquity 43:461—492.
STYLIST'lC VARIATTON IN HIS'IURIC CHOCI‘AW CERAMICS
Jerome A. Moss and C. Banter Mann
Abstract _
Historic Choctaw ceramics recovered during survey of
the Choctaw homeiana.Ir area are examined in detaii to
determine whether significant eiements of styiistic variation
exist.
Introduction
During the past decade, renewed interest in the
Mississippi Choctaw has sparked archival work (Rowland.
Sanders, and Galloway 1934), historical syntheses (e.g.,
Galloway, ed., 1932; White 1933), and archaeological
investigations of early historic Choctaw settlement,
organisation, and adaptation rCe.g., Elite 1935; Moss and
Elite n.d.}. These efforts have contributed substantially to
the anthropological and historical understanding of
traditional Choctaw material culture, settlement, relationships
with Europeans, and relationships with other Native
American societies in the Southeast. However, important
issues of Choctaw origins and social organization remain
unclarified (cf. Galloway 1935).
The recent archaeological studies in the traditional
Choctaw Homeland in east-central Mississippi indicate that
the typical early historic Choctaw site is a small cluster of
pottery and European trade goods. Such sites probably
reflect single Choctaw homesteads. These sites are grouped
into dispersed clusters which are very reminiscent of
European descriptions of Choctaw settlements during the
 44 MSSISSH’PI ARCHAEDIOGY 45

eighteenth century. Unfortunately, these sites are not well

preserved and will not regularly produce the types of
evidence often used for social inference: features, burials,
extensive material culture remains, and undisturbed
archaeological contexts. The analysis of sociopolitical
patterns and inter—site relationships will depend upon other
types of evidence. Blitz (1985:60) has argued that an
important focus of further archaeological investigation must
be on the analysis of variation in traditional Choctaw
material culture, particularly the stylistic variation of the
indigenous pottery, the most common artifact class on early
historic Choctaw sites. Such analysis may provide
considerable insight into the nature of intra— and inter-
community relations and, therefore, into the nature of
traditional Choctaw social organization and changes in that
organization during the eighteenth century. This paper is a
first step in the analysis of stylistic variation in traditional
Choctaw ceramics.

Choctaw Pottery
indigenous ceramics found on Choctaw phase sites
comprise a complex of four decorated and four plain types
(Blitz 1935; Voss and Elite n.d.). This paper focuses on
the three most common decorated types: Kemper Combed,
Chickachae Combed, and Fatherland lncised. The design
elements are very similar on all three types: curvilinear and
rectilinear bands of closely spaced, parallel lines. The two
combed ceramic types (Figure 1, A-D), distinguished from
each other on the basis of temper characteristics, were
decorated with multiple parallel incised lines applied with a
comb-like instrument when the paste was almost dry. The
Fatherland lncised sherds (Figure 1, E—H) were incised
free-hand rather than with a comb-like instrument. For the
remainder of this paper, we will refer to the combed
pottery simply as combed without regard to specific type
and the Fatherland lncised as free—hand incised in order to
distinguish it clearly from the combed types.
cm
The assignment of a Choctaw ethnic identity to these
pottery types is based upon compelling evidence, the most Figure I. Decorated Choctaw pottery types: A-D, Kemp
”
significant of which is the documented manufacture of both Combed and Chickochoe Combed; E—H, Fatherfiand lncised.

46 MSSISSH’PI ARCHAEGIHGY
the cembed and the free-hand incised ferms in Oklahema
after the Chectaw remeval te that state in the 133t (cf.
Perine 1933: Williams 1931:115-113). Cembing was apparently
an innevatien ef the mid—eighteenth century. Cembed sherds
frem dated Chectaw centeats include the nineteenth—century
Oklahema specimens, pettery frem histeric burials at the
Nick Plantatien in Leuisiana (Ferd 1935:4349). and sherds
frem sites in the Chectaw Hemeland dated. en the basis ef
asseciatien with Eurepean trade geeds. te the latter half ef
the eighteenth century (cf. Vess and Elite n.d.). it is
significant that an assemblage ef Native American sherds
frem the French garrisen at Fert Tembecbe. established in
western Alabama in 1136. dees net include cembed ceramics
(Parker 1932). The decerated Native American ceramics.
which prebably are Chectaw. are mainly an unspecified
variety ef Fatherland Incised. very similar te the same type
feund en the Mississippi Chectaw phase sites.
Measurements cf Design. Veriutien. in. Chectew Ceramics
The immediate preblem facing the archaeelegist attempting
te decument the stylistic variatien ef Checaw ceramics is
peer preservatien. The sherds are usually quite small;
pieces larger than 5 cm en a side are rare. In additien.
many ef the sherds are badly ereded. This weathering is a
significant cemplicatien because the designs were incised
when the paste was quite dry. Incisiens are shallew and
easily wern away.
Altheugh the bread patterns ef design structure are net
recegniaable frem the small sherds. twe impertant stylistic
features are measurable: the number ef lines in a design
element cempesed ef parallel lines. and the spacing. er
intervals, between individual lines. Previeus studies have
demenstrated that such ratie-scale design attributes may be
particularly sensitive indicaters ef secial interactien patterns
(cf. Vess 1932). altheugh culturally patterned medaiities may
exist fer these attributes (Carr and Hinkie 1934}. Given the
degree ef sherd preservatien. these are prebably the enly
easily measurable attributes which will be present an a
substantial number ef Cheetaw phase sherds.
The ceramics analysed in this study were recevered
during the 1932 and 1934 University ef Seuthern Mississippi
Yet. 21'. Ne. i 4?
investigatiens in Kemper and Nesheba Ceunties. Mississippi
(Vess 1934; Elite 1935; 1“Jess and Elite n.d.}. We included
all decerated sherds which ceuld be classified as Kemper
Cembed. Chickachae Cembed. er Fatherland lncised. Te be
included in the analysis. a sherd had te have a design
element ef twe er mere parallel lines in a straight.
rectilinear. er curvilinear design. These lines had te be ne
mere than 4 mm apart. 1%. feurth decerated pettery type.
Nicked Rim Incised. has widely spaced parrallel lines. as de
a number ef small. unclassified sherds. The lines en these
sherds are almcst always separated by an interval ef mere
than 5 mm. while sherds classified as Fatherland incised
very rarely had line intervals ever 4 mm. Therefere. in
erder te minimise the pessibility ef including small sherds ef
types ether than the cembed and Fatherland Incised. we
eliminated frem censideratien any sherds with line intervals
cf mere than 4 mm.
Serting sherds inte cembed and free-hand incised
categeries was net always easy. Cembing was net determined
en the basis cf regular intervals between lines but rather
frem the parallel nature ef the lines. We defined a design
element as cembed if the incisiens were parallel at all
peints. even if the lines were net a uniferrn distance apart.
We were net able te classify cenfidently a number ef
sherds. usually because ef ereded cenditien; these sherds
were eliminated frem censideratien.
The fact that all ef the analysed design elements were
cempesed ef clesely spaced lines demanded censiderable
precisien in data recerding. The interval between lines was
measured under a binecular micrescepe using needle—nesed
calipers; this measurement was made tn the nearest 0.13 mm
between the centers ef adjacent lines. While such precisien
is extremely difficult te maintain and there were prebably
seme recerding errers. we assume that such errers were
minimal and tended te cancel each ether eut.
Mest ef the design elements an the free-hand incised
sherds censisted ef reughly parallel lines which ceuld be
measured with cenfidence. but a very few censisted ef lines
which were net regularly parallel. Fer example. in a few
elements ene line diverged slightly. but neticeably. frem
ethers in the element. Fer such design elements. we
 43 MSSISSIPPI ARCHAEOLGGY
Vet. 21. Nb. 1 49

distributicns. Therefbre, vre calculated an average line

measured the intervals betvveen lines at fcur er five places
and reccrded the average interval, under the assumptien
that this average represented the intent cf the putter.
15'"—~
fl— — - —u
_ l--——-I
interval fcr each separate design element. If _a sherd had
mere than cne element. we calculated the average interval
fer each element separately. Figure 2 is a graph cf the
frequency distributien cf average line intervals fer bath
ccmbed and free-hand incised design elements. The range cf
ccmbed line intervals is clearly less than the range fer
free-hand incised intervals. The mean values far these
distributicns are 1.2? mm fer ccmbed elements and 2.20 mm
{lambed
fcr free-hand incised elements; these values are significantly
different Q = 10.09, as. = 163. pfifl.005). Altheugh bath
Incisfld
distributicns in figure 2 exhibit multiple peaks, neither is
significantly different frcui ncrmal distributicns with the

20—

H “II—- INCIEED

311 -L—

'i If? I I 1"1 1D—

LEI 2.0 _ 3.0 4.4}

AVERAGE LINE IHTEHVALimm]

1D._ CUHHED
.Figure 2. Frequency distributicns cf average line intervais
far cambeti andr free-hand incised design eiements.

Line Interval! and Line Number 1lr’ariaticrn

The initial analytical task invclved the assessment ef line
interval and line number variability. While we reccrded each AVERAGE DEVIATICIH {mm}

line interval as an independent cbservaticn. the fact that

Figure 3. Histcgram cf the mean deviaticn cf iine intervais
same design elements ccnsisted cf cnly tvtc lines while
within a design eiement frcrn the average iine intervai far
ethers censisted cf as many as eight lines led tn the
the eiernent.
petential ever-reprentaticn cf the latter in frequency

50 aassrssnw aaeHAEeLeGr
same means 115d standard deviatiens (fer the cembed element
distributien, X =1 2.03, d.f = 6, paillfl; fer the free—
hand incised distributien, X = 16.54, d.f. = 11, p>D.lfl).
Fer each design element cempesed ef three er mere lines,
we alse calculated the mean deviatien ef line intervals within
the element frem the average line interval fer the whele
clement. Figure 3 is a histegram ef these mean deviatien
figures. This figure clearly illustrates that the intervals
between lines en the cembed sherds are much mere regular
{less deviating) than the intervals between lines en free-
hand incised sherds. Such a figure is petentially misleading
because the line intervals en the free-hand incised sherds
are significantly wider and, therefere, may vary mere than
these en the cembed ceramics. in erder te cempensate far
this petential preblem, we divided each mean deviatien
figure by the average line interval fer each element. The
average centrelled deviatien fer the cembed sherds was
0.033 mm and fer the free-hand incised sherds was 13.13“?
mm. these values are significantly different (1 = 2.084, d.f.
= 122, cflUS).
There is alse a difference in the average number ef lines
in a design element. The average number ef lines in a
cembed design element is 3.23, while the average number ef
lines in a free—hand incised element is 2.96. This difference
in mean values is statistically significant (1 =- 4.2229, d.f. =
116, pcflllflfi). These averages reflect the fact that the mest
cemmen number ef lines in a cembed element was feur while
the cemmen number ef lines a free-hand incised element was
three. Net ceunting elements with indeterminate numbers ef
lines, appresimately 533% cf the cembed elements had feur
lines while 43% cf the free-hand incised elements had three
lines.
Summarizing, the cembed design elements had mere lines,
had lines which were mere clesely spaced, and had much
mere regularly spaced lines than did free-hand incised
design elements. We will return te the significance ef these
three differences.
Inter-Site Design Similarity Patterns
The analysis ef variatiens in stylistic features within and
between sites sheuld be beneficial in the assessment ef
Vei. 21, He. 1 51
eighteenth-century Chectaw seciepelitical patterns. Elf
particular cencern is the nature ef pelitical relatienships
abeve the level ef the lecal cemmunity: relatiens between
cemmunities and between the regienal divisiens. A methed ef
sensitive measurement ef interactien between cemmunities and
between divisiens will centribute te the reselutien ef
preblems ef cenfcdcracy erigins and the nature ef inter—
divisien relatienships during the eighteenth century.
The 1932 and 1984 investigatiens were cencentrated in
the regien ef the Eastern Divisien, altheugh purpesive
survey was cenducted in the area ef the Western Divisien.
The investigatiens resulted in the discevery ef three majer
site clusters. Each ef these site clusters censistcd ef small,
individual sites characterized by Chectaw phase pettery and
Eurepean trade items. These individual sites, each 10—21}
meters in diameter, were separated frem ene anether by
distances ranging frem appresimately 100 te 200 meters.
Cluster A censistcd ef 11 small Chectaw sites lecated in and
areund the prepesed Kemper CeuntneKalb Industrial Park,
including sites 22-Ke-501 and 22-Ke—565 - 524. Cluster B
censistcd cf 2' small sites (22-Ke-551 - 55?) lecated in an
intensively surveyed quarter sectien in seuth central Kemper
Ceunty. Beth A and B are in the regien ef the Eastern
Divisien. Cluster C censistcd ef 6 small sites at the lecatien
identified by Halbert (1902) as the Western Divisien village
ef lmeklasha in seutheastern Nesheba Ceunty.
Mest ef the individual sites within the larger clusters
centained few decerated sherds, and meaningful cemparisiens
between these individual sites are currently net practical.
Hewever, the site clusters themselves may be cempared.
Clusters A and B, the twe in the regien ef the Eastern
Divisien, are very similar te ene anether in terms ef the
design features under censideratien in this paper. The
average interval beWeen lines en cembed sherds was 1.33
mm at Cluster A and 1.26 mm at Cluster B. The average
interval between lines en free-hand incised sherds was 2.21
mm fer Cluster A and 2.11} mm fer Cluster B. Neither
difference is significant. Likewise, the average number ef
lines in a cembed design element was 3.63 fer Cluster A
and 3.25 fer Cluster B, an insignificant difference.
Hewever, the average number ef lines in free—hand incised

52 MSSISSLPPI ARCHAEGLGGY
elements was 3.10 for Cluster A and 2.64 for Cluster B, a
difference which is significant (I. - 2.36, d.f. =- 63,
pcflfll).
As mentioned above, Cluster C is at a location precisely
identified by Halbert (1902) as the community of lmoklasha,
which has been named in historical documents as a
politically important community of the Western Division.
Therefore, if the divisions had sociopolitical andror
subcultural significance, then differential rates of interaction
between divisions may be reflected in the designs chosen to
decorate pottery. Unfortunately, few decorated sherds were
recovered from the individual sites in Cluster C, and
conclusions concerning intersite variations must currently be
considered as tentative. In addition, Cluster C produced
few freenhand incised sherds: T533 of the classifiable sherds
were combed at Cluster C, while only 12% were combed at
Cluster A and 33% at Cluster B. The combination of
relatively few decorated sherds and the predominance of
combed decoration made inter—cluster comparisions of free—
hand incising impossible. The comparision of combed
elements did not produce results suggestive of any major
differences in combing between clusters. The mean line
interval bemeen combed impressions at Cluster B (1.26 mm]
does not differ significantly from the mean at Cluster C
(1.1a nnn). There is a significant difference in this mean
line interval value between Cluster A (1.33 mm} and Cluster
c (1.10 nnn) (i. = 1.351; er. = 21, pedosl In addition,
there are no significant differences between clusters in the
average number of lines in combed elements. The average
number of lines was 3.63 for Cluster A, 3.15 for Cluster
B, and 4.33 for Cluster C. The higher average number of
lines for Cluster C resulted from several elements with
seven or eight lines. No combed design elements from any
other sites have more than 5 lines. Although the mean
values between clusters were not significantly different, the
higher average at Cluster C suggests possible subcultural
variation on a basic design theme.
Vol. 21, No. I 53
Discussion
Two issues warrant futher discussion: the method of
applying combed designs, and the meaning of the shift from
free—hand incised to combed application of similar designs.
l l l l l lll l l l l l Il
Figure 4. A French boxwood‘ trade comb.
Galloway (1934) has hypothesised that the combed designs
on Choctaw ceramics may have been applied with European
trade combs, in particular with French boswood combs
{Figure 4). The eighteenthecentury French trade lists
document that large numbers of such combs were traded to
the Choctaw (Rowland and Sanders 1929:154). Measurements
taken on eleven French boswood combs indicate that there
were betrween T and 10 teeth per centimeter for the narrow
tooth gauge (Patricia Galloway, personal communication).
Converting these figures to teeth per millimeter, the narrow.
gauge range is 1 tooth to every 1.00 to 1.43 m. If the
range midpoint (3.5 teeth per cm} is used, the result is 1
tooth to every 1.13 mm. This gauge range compares very
favorably with the average line interval of 1.2“}r mm on
combed design elements. The coarser guage on the boswood
comb would leave an impression every 1.6’?r to 2.50 mm.
There were very few line intervals on combed sherds in
this range, although a minor peak does occur in the line
interval distribution beween 1.30 and 2.00 mm. viously, a
neatly bimodal distribution of combed line intervals would be
the best evidence supporting the use of trade combs. Such
a distribution is not clear in the sample analysed for this
 54 MSSISSEFPI ARCHAEOIGGY Vol. 21, No. l 55

paper. However, the fact remains that
a majority of the
combed line intervals fall within the
range of intervals
which would be created if the email
gauge were used.
The second issue for discussion involves
the meaning of
the shift to combed application of desig
n elements. If, in
fact, the combed designs were applied
by trade combs, then
it can be argued that the large numb
ers of combs traded to
the Choctaw provided them with a ready
—made tool to apply
the types of designs which they were
already applying free—
hand. The narrower and more regular
spacing of the lines
would be simply a function of this techn
ological change.
However, the fact that the Choctaw
continued to apply free-
hand incised design elements to potte
ry after the adoption
of combing suggests that they recognized
the design
variations as distinct.
An alternative explanation relates desig
n structure and
variation to social process. The eight
eenth century was a
perio d of considerable stress for the Choctaw.
has detailed how the Choctaw becam
lWhit e {1933]
e increasingly dependent
upon the Europeans, adapting indigenous
hunting practices
and agriculture to the production of
trade goods. Galloway
|:1935) has argued that the Choctaw were
a multi—ethnic,
protohistoric confederacy which arose
in response to both
the decline of the Mississippian chiefd
oms and the problems
caused by European incursion and introd
uced diseases. While
a number of factors operated to main
tain the loosely-
struc tured confederacy, including location, comm
on
ethnic
heritage, and organizational features
such as moieties, other
aspects of Choctaw Life and organization
tended to weak en
what unity there was. The divisions appa
rently differed on
a level which must be labelled subcultura
l at a minimum.
The divisions often conducted independe
nt external
relations, a pattern conducive to periodic
conflicts of
interest within the confederacy. Also,
the ambitions of
Choctaw leaders, well documented for the
eighteenth
century, were potentially disruptive, parti
cularly with
respect to the attempts of leaders to influe
nce and control
interactions with the Europeans (Galloway 1985)
. of the combed sherds from the indu
As has been detailed, one significant differ
ence between
the combed and free~hand incised designs
on Choctaw
ceramics involved the degree of variation
in line intervals
within design elements. The combed
ceramics exhibit a
substantially restricted range of line
intervals, approximately
0.65 mm to 2.00 mm, when compared
with the free-hand
incised line intervals which range
from approximately 0.90
mm to 4.00 mm. Likewise, the comb
ed lines are much more
regularly spaced than the lines of
free—hand incised sherds.
Combed elements of more than two
lines tend to be
composed of uniform line intervals.
These two
characteristics, a limited range of
intervals and uniform
intervals within elements, indicate
a standardization of
design. Such a stylistic standardisation may have
as one more unifying principle oper functioned
ating at a time when
disruptive tendencies were increasin
gly problematical: the
middle of the eighteenth century,
the time of more complex
relations with the British and Fren
ch and the period of the
Choctaw civil war. Writing with rega
rd to another
archaeological problem, but with
considerable relevance to
the issue at hand, |Gilman has noted
that ”emergent social
tension would require heightened
mediation by style. Rules
enjoining cooperation become all the
more necessary if actual
cooperati on is less certain" l(193210).
One problem which currently limits
social inferences is
the absence of a finely-detailed cera
mic chronology. A
detailed chronology will certainly
be an asset in the analysis
of inter-community interaction and
political organization. For
example, the distributions of the comb
ed and free—hand
incised types may have
chronological, cultural,
or social
significance. if combing is a relat
ively late innovation, the
high percentage of combed sherds at
Cluster C may simply
reflect a late occupation. Halbert (1902
) notes that
lmoklasha was occupied during the
early nineteenth century.
likewise, the fact that Imoltlasha was
apparently a politically
important community, identified as one
of the villages of
Western Division chiefs, may be relevant. Neitxel
(1935) has
argured that, in politically centralize
d societies, leaders will
have access to specific material items
indicative of their
status, and the distribution of such
artifacts and their
styles will reflect the political hiera
rchy. The fact that most
strial park cluster
[Cluster A) were concentrated in one small site
(EB-Kc—Sofii
suggests the possibility of differential
distribution of types

56 MSSISSIPPI ARCHAEOLDGY
within communities, just as the percentage of combed sherds
at Cluster C may indicate differential distribution betwee
n at
communities. Although intriguing in a speculative sense,
resolution of these issues awaits further field investigation.
Jerome A. Vass is a Professor of Anthropaiogy at the
University of Southern iii’ississippi. C. Baxter Mann is a
graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi.
References
Blitz, John H.
1935 An Archaeological Study of the Mississippi Choctaw
Indians. Mississippi Department of Archives and
History Archaeciogicai Report 15.
Carr, Christopher, and Kathleen Hinkle
1934 A Synthetic Theory of Artifact Design Applied to
Ohio Hopewell Weavings. Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Portland, Oregon.
Ford,_ James A.
1936Analysis of Indian Village Site Collections from
Louisiana and Mississippi. Louisiana Department
of Conservation Anthrapoiagicai Study 2.
Galloway, Patricia [editor]
1932 La Saiie and His Legacy. Jackson, University
Press of Mississippi.
|Galloway, Patricia
1934 Technical Origins for Chickachae Combed Ceramics:
an Ethnohistorical Hypothesis. Mississippi
Archaeoiogy 19(2):53-66.
1935 Confederacy as a Solution to Chiefdom Dissolution:
Historical Evidence in the Choctaw Case. Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
Society for Ethnohistory, Chicago.
Gilman, Antonio
1932 Class and Culture in Prehistoric Europe. Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
Anthropological Association, Washington.
Halbert, Henry S.
1932 Bernard Romans' Map of 11"?2. Puhiicatians of
the Mississippi Histaricai Society 6:415-439.
Vai. 21, No. i 5'?
Neitael, Jiil
1935 Regional Styles and Organisational Hierarchies:
The View from Chaco Canyon. Paper presented
the Annual Meeting of the Society for Amer
ican
Archaeology, Denver.
Parker, James W.
1932 Archaeological Test Excavations at ISu‘i: The
Fort
Tombecbe Site. Journai of Aiahama Archaeciagy
23:1-104.
Perino, Gregory
19?3 Probable Choctaw Sites on the Lower Mountain
Fork and near the Junction of the Mountain
Fork
vdth Little River. Paper presented at the Histo
ric
Sites Conference, Fort Towson, Oklahoma.
Rowland, Dunbar, and A.G. Sanders (editors)
1929 Mississippi Pravinciai Archives: French
Dominion, vol. II. Jackson, Mississippi
Department of Archives and History.
Rowland, Dunbar, A.G. Sanders, and Patricia Galloway
(editors)
1934 Mississippi Provinciai Archives: French
Dominion, vols. IV and V. Baton Rouge,
Louisiana State University Press.
Voss, Jerome A.
1932 A Study of Western TRB Social Organization.
Berichten van de Rij’csdienst vocr het
Uudheiditundige Bodemandersoeh 32:9-102.
1934 Archaeological Investigations at the Proposed
Kemper Countyr’DeKalb Industrial Paris, Kemper
County, Mississippi. Submitted to Kemp, Springer,
and Associates, Ltd., Meridian, Mississippi.
Moss, Jerome A., and John H. Elite
n.d. Archaeological Investigations in the Choctaw
Homeland. American Antiquity (forthcoming).
White, Richard
1933 The Roots of Dependency: Subsistence,
Environment, and Sociai Change among the
Choctaivs, Pawnees, and Navajos. Lincoln,
University of Nebraska Press.
 Val. 21, Ne. l
53 MSSISSEPPI ARCHAEGLOGY 59

shallew draft, eval shaped affairs with nails, iren

Williams, Stephen B. belts and
bands, ether metal accesseries and sewn beard seats.
1931 Seme Histeric Perspectives en Seutheastern Ceram There
ic are cemmenly numereus peg filled heles in the bettem
Traditions. in F.H. West and RAW. Neuman ,
having been placed there as a device fer warning
(eds.), Traces cf Prehistery: Papers in Hener the
craftsman that he was abeut te excavate threug
ef William G. Hang, 115-122. Geescience and h the
bettern. The specimens discussed in this article are felt
Man. 22. en
the basis ef farm and [3-14 dates te beleng te anethe
r era.
They are much scarcer items and as such have
getten mere
attenticn. Data are being accumulated en mere recent
vessels, hewever, as the manufacturing prccess
h. CDWENDHJM OF MISSISSIPPI DUGOUI‘ CANDE is an art
S which is net practiced teday.
ILELCORDED SINCE 1974 These whe knew ef dugeut canees are enceuraged
Sam McGahey te
repcrt them and centribute te eur understanding ef
their
evelutien. These reperted in this paper are prebably
Abstract a
relatively small percentage cf these which remain.
This article is an update ef infermarien en. dugeu
t cances
freer Mississippi. Several previeusiy unrepertea'
specimens
are presented.

In 19?4 twe articles were published describing

dugeut
canees feund in Mississippi. McGahey (19T4:4)
reperted a
late prehisteric vessel feund in the Hemcchitte
River and
Read Stewe presented feur cances, ene ef which
is a
prehisteric specimen frern the Tembigbee River
in Alabama
and which are three mere recent cances frem
the Mississippi
Gulf Ceast (Stewe Elf-1:194). During the intervening years,
several ether early histeric specimens have ceme
te Light
and have been recerded. The data en each I I
canee is
presented belew in chrenelegical erder, accempanied 1 meter
where
pessible with a drawing ef the canee. A cempe
site drawing
shewing all the cances te the same scale is presen Hemechitte Canee Ne. 1
ted in
Figure 1 fer cemparative purpeses.
(McGahey 19mm)
It was initially intended that several ether cances Stream: Hemcchitte River
be
included in this paper, but time censtraints, and Date: C~14 A.D.1455 i 60
the fact USA-303
that crucial data are missing frem many ef them,
have Weed Type: Baldcypress
prevented that. There are several fer which geed recerds Technique cf Manufacture:
enist cencerning date ef manufacture and fer which Stene tecls and burning
we have Length: 4.20 m te break
geed phetegraphs and scale drawings. They stand Mdth: .30 n1
apart
frern the ethers in several aspects ef fern1 and the Height: .4? In
esistence
ef certain features which date them at a glance Shape: Essentially parallel
. These sided with a reunded,
canees were made in the last decades ef the ninete
enth and cverhanging end farming a slight platferm. A large hele,
early decades ef the twentieth century. They are
basically
60 MSSISSEPI ARCHAEGLOGY Vei. 21. Ne. l 61

ca. 1U cm in diameter was cut threugh this platferm Cemments: The date is suspicieusly early fer metal tcels
pessibly fer a meeting repe er pele. Sides are abrupt and altheugh it is pessible that metal was in use in the area at
bettem is essentially flat. the time. Alec unusual fer the date is the technique ef
Cemments: The everhanging end and hele are features drilling helcs in the bettem. The everall ferm dees suggest
held in ceuunen with the cance reperted by Stewe frem the an early date. hewever.
Tembigbee and dated at AD. 1345 (Stewe 19T4:199). Many
similar vessels with end platferms are knewn frem Flerida.
and that ferm alse has a respectable antiquity in hiese-
America. with scme evidence te indicate an age ef several
centuries ELC. (Bernal 1969: Plate 63A). Heles in canee end
platferms were used in. histeric times in Guatemala fer the
inserticn cf a pele which held the vessel tn the beach. and
in. Belivia heles in everhanging end platferms were used te
attach repes te meer vessels te peles [Kandare 1933:34).

t - . e
\ / I
1 meter
I

l I
1 meter
Geergetewn Canee Shubuta Carlee
Stream: Pearl River Stream: Cbickasawhay River
Date: {3-14 91.3.1610 i TD USA—3135 Date: (2-14 A.D.16Tfl j; 45 UGA—SSEI
Weed Type: Baldcypress Weed Type: Baldcypress
Technique cf Manufacture: Metal teels Technique cf Manufacture: Varieus charred areas en the
Length: 5.44 m interier ef the vessel suggest burning. Ne teel marks were
Width: .55 m visible. hewever.
Height: .35 111 Length: 4.51 111
Shape: Parallel sided with squared ends. Abrupt sided Width: .49 111
with a flat bettem. ’Ihree heles were bered in the bettem, Height: Unknewn
apparently te gauge the depth se that tee much weed weuld Shape: Parallel sided with gradually tapering ends which
net be remeved. A weeden peg was feund pretud'mg frem are squared eff te a width ef ca. 5 cm. Abrupt sides with
ene ef the heles. In spite ef the apparent purpese ef the a flat bettem. A hele ca. 5 cm in width by 8 cm leng was
peg and hele technique, the bettem was chepped threugh cut heriaentally threugh ene end and a netch at the ether
and the canee was apparently never used. The sides and cnd suggests a remnant ef anether such feature at that
bettem ef this specimen were eaceptienally thin. as little as cud.
12 mm.
 62 MSSISSIPPI ARCHAHZJLGGY

Comments: A light. thin. well made craft. This is the

earliest date so far of a vessel with pointed ends. A similar
vessel was found in the Pascagoula River and a sample
taken for (3—14 dating. EL 2
k /
1 I
1 meter
East Pearl Canoe #1
Stream: Pearl River
Date: (3—14 A.D.1?65 i 45 USA-2413
Wood Type: Probably cypress
Technique of Manufacture: Metal tools and possibly
r I
1 meter burning. The writer has not seen the canoe. The color
slides taken in 19133 appear to show large charred areas
within and sharp cuts characteristic of metal tools.
Malone Lake Canoe
Length: 5.9-4 111
r(lh'illis et ai. 1932}
Width: :12 m
Stream: An onbow lake and former Tombigbee River
Height: .61 m
Channel
Shape: Parallel sided, flat bottom with abrupt
Date: (3-14 A.D.16TU i 50 DICARB #1399 sides.
The vessel is round at each end with a large notch out
Wood Type: Cypress
directly in each end. A seat or shelf was situate
Technique of Manufacture: Metal tools d at one
and recessed slightly below the rim.
Length: ’13 111
Comments: The rough appearance suggests that this
Width: .dfl 111
vessel may not have been finished.
Height: Unknown
Shape: Parallel sided, bow is tapered to a breadth of 20
cm at termination. Bottom is flat. Two grooves are cut on
the underside of the vessel for its full length and,
Steele Bayou Canoe (not illustrated)
Stream: Steele Bayou
according to Willis et ai., were probably stabilizing
Date: {3-14 A.D.1?55 i 55 USA—1352
features I:‘fl-i"1.l.lis et ai. 1932:13).
Wood Type: Appears to be baldcypress
Technique of Manufacture: Unknown
Length: 1.63 111
Width: .44 m
Depth: .32 m
Shape: Parallel sided with abrupt sides. The vessel is
severely eroded on the outside but from its crudeness
appears to be unfinished. The ends are rounded.
 64 MISSISSIPPI ARCHAEGIDGY Vei. 21, He. 1 65

Cemments: This is the smallest canee we have reeerded. cm wide. There is a slight shelf er seat in ene end
It is difficult te see hew a vessel this small ceuld have recessed belew the rim ef the vessel. Twe pairs ef heles
functiened. are bered threugh ene gunwale near the rim. ene pair
abeut 2 m frem ene end and anether abeut .25 m frem the
same end. A single hele is just belew the rim and breken
Lindsay Canee (net illustrated) threugh. It is situated abeut halfway between the twe pairs
Stream: Tembigbee River ef heles.
Date: (3—14 A.D.1300 i 55 UGA-EUSE Cemments: The C-14 dates are questienable because ef a
Weed Type: White pine preblem with humic acid centaminatien. There is a lecal
Technique ef Manufacture: Unknewn traditien in the area ef dugeuts being made in the early
Length: Unknewn 1900s lClEiarnett n.d.). One seuree is queted as saying they
math: Unknewn were similar te this ene with a deep draft (Barnett,
Height: Unknewn persenal cemmunicatien 1983). Altheugh this may be true,
Shape: Since eniy ene end was recevered. the shape is all evidence available te the present writer suggests that a
hard te determine. It was apparently parallel sided with at different ferm was pepular ever meet ef Mississippi at that
least ene peinted end and was apparently quite deep. tune. '

@ 3)
T“ ”j Pascageula River Canee #1
I1 meterI Stream: Paseageula River
Hemechitte River Canee e2 Date: Nene
(Barnett 1111.) Weed Type: Unknewn but appears frem phetegraph te
Stream: Hemechitte River be baldcypress
Dates: (3-14 53.3.1910 i 65 USA—4WD Technique ef Manufacture: Again frem the phetegraphs.
All. 1325 j; 65 UGA—d’igflh metal teels appear te have been used.
All. 1355 i 95 UGA-ziTElDE Shape: Parallel sided with reunded end. There is a
Weed Type: Baldcypress shelf er seat at ene end, recessed slightly belew the rim.
Technique ef' Manufacture: Metal teels Cemments: This canee was seen briefly en an island at
Length: 4.90 111 the meuth ef the Pascageula River and phetegraphed. It was
Width: .65 m gene befere measurements and a weed sample ceuld be
Height: .49 III. taken. It censists ef an end sectien apparently three te
Shape: Parallel sided, flat bettem with abrupt sides. feur feet leng.
The ends are tapered te narrewed squared eff ends ca. 1?
 ___—————
-r—‘

66 MSSISSH’PI ARCHAHFIHGF
Vol. 21, No. i 6’?

but the surface is in such poor condition that this is not

certain. Charred areas in the inside bottom near the stern
suggest that burning may have been used in manufacture.
This dugout is said to have been used to run whiskey
during the prohibition era (William Hony, personal
W J communication 1936). It may be that age but it has very
1' I little in common with other canoes of that date, most of
1 meter which are proportionally much wider with shallower draft
and are basically oval in configuration. Additionally, no
IGreenwood Canoe
holes were drilled through the bottom, a depth gauging
Stream: Tallahatchie River
Date: Supposed to have been in use in the 193fls technique commonly used in the late lSflDs and early 19005.
If this specimen was used during the prohibition era, it was
Technique of Manufacture: Metal tools and possibly fire
Wood Type: Tupelo Gum
probably manufactured at a much earlier date. A C~14 date
would seem to be in order.
Lettgth: 11.4 111
TrVitith: .6 m
Sam McGahey is Chief Archaeoiogist: with the Mississippi
Height: .21 m
Department of Archives and History.
Shape: Long and narrow, tapering toward squared ends.
There are three pairs of thickened areas on the gunwales.
Nine holes are bored at various places around the periphe References
ry Barnett, James F., Jr.
of the vessel. Two are at the stern, one in a thickened
n.d. A Historic Dugout Canoe from the Homochitto
area of the port side gunwale near the stern, three
in the River in Franklin County, Mississippi. Paper
solid uneacavated bow section, and one directly behind
this submitted to the Louisiana Archaeological Society
concentration at the point where the excavated portion of
the vessel begins. This hole slopes at a 45 degree angle Bulletin (in press).
Bernal, Ignacio
toward the bow. Finally, a single hole is in each of the
1969 The Dimec World. Berkeley, University of
thickened areas on the gunwale ca. 1 m behind the bow.
Comments: This is the most unusual craft the writer has California Press.
Fuller, Richard S.
seen, with features not recorded before on any other
vessel. The paired thickened areas on gunwales are perhaps 19’3-5 Preliminary Report on a Dugout Canoe from Steele
the most unusual feature. None of the holes eatend Bayou. Mississippi Archaeoiogy 11(2):5-S.
McGahey, Samuel O.
completely through the vessel, as with several of the other
specimens. They are bored several centimenters into the 19?4 A Prehistoric Dugout Canoe. Mississippi
wood for the reception of wooden pegs; four were present Archaeology 9(3}:4—5.
Stowe, Noel R.
in the holes when the drawing was made. A large circular
1914 A Preliminary Report on Four Dugout Canoes from
depression has been worn in the bottom of the vessel about
one-third of its length from the stern on the starboard the Gulf Coast. Journal of Alabama
side. Adjacent to this spot, the
Archaeoiogy 20(2):194-2i}3.
gunwale has been broken
and a section of about 36 cm is missing. The outside of the
vessel appears to have bark still adhering to it in places
 E9

.mmuamhua mnfiuhumfiuu
hi. afiuu fimuuhnfifi mfihmfinfi mzmiuafi EWEEEQD .w EamE
J... n.
F: opuficuGEUI
2L Nb.£

Lmflfltfi
VbL

mgznscm
mt GHH_:UDEDI
czoummgomw
flEflHRflFHTJUHHflflKEUGY

w# _mm “mum
mxm; m:o_m:
Uflflicmmgw
63
 “ill MSSISSEPPI ARCHAEOIGGY
l.ihllis, Raymond F., Barbara Purdy, and George F.
McDonald
1932 The Malone Lake Canoe: An Historic Craft from
the Tombigbee River, Mississippi. University of
West Florida Gffice of Archaeological Contracts
Report of Investigations 1.
THE lOCATIUN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY CHOCT'AW
VIIIAGE OF WHOLKEY IN CHICKASAW COUNTY,
MISSISSIPPI
James R. Atkinson
Abstract
The site of the Wholhey Choctaw village is identified at
the Thelma Mounds.
In an article on the Chickasaw Agency in the December
1935 issue of Mississippi Archaeology. I identified an
early nineteenth-century Chickasawx’Choctaw village called
"Chuguillaso" as probably having been located at the
prehistoric Thelma Mounds site (ZE-Cs-Sfll) in northern
Chickasaw County {Atkinson 1935:5111 This identification
was based on information from Dr. Rush Nutt, who stated
in 1305 that the village was "3. 10 deg-«west 3 miles from
the agency-house" (Jennings 194T:41). This I interpreted to
mean that the village was almost due south of the Chickasaw
Agency, but it now appears that I misunderstood his
compass direction and that the village was almost due west
of the Agency rather than south. Thus the site of the small
village of Chuguillaso remains unidentified.
The error was caught as a result of my subsequent close
examination of a map dated 1302 (Wilkinson 1302) showing
the proposed United States Government improvement survey
of the Natchez Trace. The map, prepared under the direc—
tion of General James Wilkinson. the officer in charge of the
survey. indicates that the nineteenthvcentury village of
‘Wholkey” or "Holka" was instead located at the Thelma
Mounds site. as it depicts sin houses labeled ’Wholkey. a
small village of Chactaws” south of the Chickasaw Agency.
north of '"uhlholkey" Creek, and on the east side of the
Vol. 21. No. l T1
Natchez Trace. This is the approsimate location of the
Thefla Mounds site.
The site once contained five mounds. but only one
remains, as a result of land leveling conducted about 15
years ago. This mound. recently tested and mapped, is
flat-topped with a ramp. Most of the ceramic sherds
recovered from the surface of the site and in a 1 I 1 meter
test unit in the mound are the type Baytown Plain, var.
Tlshomingo. A radiocarbon date of A.D. 630 i 130 was
obtained on charcoal from the test unit in the mound. Thus
the prehistoric component at the site appears to have a Late
Woodland-ivfississippian transition cultural affiliation [Johnson
and Atkinson 1935:3l.
That the village of Wholkey was at the Thelma Mounds is
supported by both archaeological evidence and by an 1335
description of the village by Dr. Nutt.'As reported earlier
[Atkinson 1935:5’l: Johnson'and Atkinson 1934M), surface
collections from the Thelma Mounds site include the Choctaw
ceramic types Chickachae Combed and Chickachae Plain.
Although Nutt fails to give a location for the ”Holka" village
or to mention its tribal affiliation, his description closely
fits the physical situation of the Thelma Mounds:
At the village call'd Holden are the ruins of an ancient
fort. I have also taken a chart of it. There is a house
on one of them. Its situation is elegihle & landscape
fine, looking across a valley. which surrounds it at the
distance of from 50 to 300 yards. to its opposite hills.
.The land is declining on all sides of the space taiten up
by the fort, which is level, & demands a fine view from
the summit of the mounds. Out of these vailies issue two
valuable springs. one on. each side of the fort; the water
is as fine as I ever tasted; impregnated with a small
portion of iron. The current is bold, runs from or
through a quarry of gritstone with some iron ore
(Jennings 194T:52).
The presence of Choctaws in the Chickasaw Nation is
explained by Nutt in an earlier part of his diary:
Near the agency house on high dc heautiful situations are
sis: farms in a state of high cultivation. Those are made
by white Men having Indian families d: by Choctaw half
 72 MSSISSIPPI ARCHAEOIGGY

breeds who have settled here by permission of this

nation (Jennings 1947:41).
In conclusion, evidence strongly indicates that the
Thelma Mounds site was reinhabited by native America
ns
some 300 to 100C! years after the construction of
the
mounds. Of interest is the Chickasaw tradition, recorded MSSISSH’PI ARCEMEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
by
Nutt, concerning the origins and purpose of the mounds,
which were probably built by their ancient ancestors:
The Indians are of opinion that this work was done .
for Officers:
defence in time of war. They say that as far back Departm ent of Sociolog y
as Il’gsident: Ms. Lourdes Henebry,
they can learn by their ancestors, verbally handed and Anthropology, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS
down, at: extended from family to family that there was
nothing but war—-ail nations were at war. The President: Ms. Mary Eve 1'yn St arr, C o bb
rn Vice 39202
Chickasaws were at war with all nations--this scene Northe Institute of Archaeology, P.O. Drawer AR,
of
war they remembered to continue for a long time. Mississippi State, MS 39762 _
Yet
they cannot remember the time these forts were in
use Southern Vice President: Ms. Jean 8. Hartfield, Route 4,
(Jennings 1947:52). Box 332, Carriere, MS 39426
Secretary—Treasurer: Mr. Grady White, Jr., Route 2, Box
James R. Atkinson is an archaeologist with the Nationa 176A, Clarksdale, MS 38614
l
Park Service, Natchez Trace Parkway Office.
'ssissi i Archaeological Association is an organisation
References r{Islfm,prliglfessioiipal archaeologists and lay people actively ‘mvo'lved
Atkinson, James R.
with archaeology and archaeological preservation, umtmg 111 a
1935 A surface collection from the Chickasaw Agency common effort to understand the prehistory and history of
site, 22-Cs—521, on the Natchez Trace in Mississippi and the surrounding region. Anyone is ehgrble
Chickasaw County, Mississippi. Mssissippi for membership who has a sincere mterest' 1n the cultural 1f
Archaeology 20(2):46—66. heritage of the state and who can and null dedicate himse-
Jennings, Jesse D. to the preservation and protection of'thalt heritage for all to
194? Nutt’s trip to the Chickasaw Country. Journal of enjoy. The Association has as one of its important flhfictl‘ii'fls
Alississippi History 9(1):34-61. the mission of encouraging scientific archaeological .
Johnson, Jay K. and James R. Atkinson investigations and supports the dissemination of _mformat1on
1935 New data on the Thelma Mound Group in Northeast from these investigations in its publications, which'are all
Mississippi. Paper delivered at the sixth Mid—South received by its members as a benefit of membership. Anna
Archaeological Conference, Mississippi State dues for individuals are $10.00; families, $12.00; students,
University. $6.00; institutions, $12.00. Individual life membership is
liliilkinson, James $100.00; pair life (husband and vdfe), $150.00.
1802 A survey of the route proposed for the highway
from Nashville in the State of Tennessee to the
Grindstone ford of the Bayou Pierre in the
Mississippi Territory. Copy on file at Natchez
Trace Parkway headquarters, Tupelo, Ivfississippi.