Paleoethnobotany Plus: Perspectives from Northeast Arkansas Patti J. Wright, Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis, Julie Morrow, Arkansas Archeological Survey, Bob Scott, Arkansas Archeological Survey, and Robert Taylor, Arkansas Archeological Survey Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology Hawaii, April 2013

Western Lowlands: Northeast Arkansas 3CY91 aka Bruce Catt 3RA95 aka Jarrett 3GE6 aka Buffalo Head Slough 3CG453 aka Kreb’s Place

Bruce Catt (3CY91) 2010

Bruce Catt (3CY91) Shell- tempered jars and funnels Jars with recurved rims Hooded water bottles Pottery disks Chunky stone Shell beads Bone needles and punches

Bruce Catt (3CY91): C-14 Dates Feature #Radiocarbon Age2-Sigma Calibration /- 30 BPcal AD /- 30 BPcal AD Early Mississippi Period (Fea. 7) Middle Mississippi Period (Fea. 216)

Bruce Catt (3CY91): Early Mississippi Period Plant Remains Mostly wood Nut remains – 6 hickory: 1 acorn shell – Acorn nutmeats Eastern Agricultural Complex – Chenopods – Erect Knotweed – Little Barley – Maygrass No maize (corn) Photos: Illinois State Museum

Bruce Catt (3CY91): Early Mississippi Period Animal Remains turtles deer, raccoon, skunk, Eastern gray squirrel, rabbit, muskrat, mink, mole, turkey and ducks, fishes, and a snake

Kreb’s Place 2008 Overlapping features in East area

Kreb’s Place Jars and bowls with flat bottoms Jars with loop handles (“transitional Mississippian, AD ) Red-filmed bowl Pottery disks Shell beads Scallorn and Schugtown points Bone pins and fish-hook preform

Kreb’s Place (3CG453): C-14 Dates Feature #Radiocarbon Age2-Sigma Calibration /- 40 BPcal AD /- 40 BPcal AD and cal AD /- 30 BPcal AD /- 30 BPcal AD and cal AD Early Mississippian, Transitional Mississippian, Middle Mississippian Periods

Kreb’s Place Plant Remains Early MississippianTransitional MississippianMiddle Mississippian AD AD AD Wood, 99% >2.0 mm Hickory shell dominants Acorn shell dominants Eastern Agricultural Complex 0 Maize: nutshell3 Maize: 16 nutshell1 Maize: 2 nutshell Persimmon

Kreb’s Place Animal Remains Early Mississippian Deer Also, rabbits, raccoon, mink Turkey, duck, cf. heron Fishes: gar, bass or sunfish, catfish, and drum Turtle

Buffalo Head Slough (3GE6)

Buffalo Head Slough (3GE6): C-14 Dates Feature #Radiocarbon Age2-Sigma Calibration N750 +/- 60 BPcal AD and cal AD DD760 +/- 70 BPcal AD and cal AD XX870 +/- 30 BPcal AD XX-South900 +/- 70 BPcal AD S960 +/- 30 BPcal AD /- 80 BPcal AD OOO1210 +/- 90 BPcal AD Early Mississippian, Transitional Mississippian, and Middle Mississippian Periods

Buffalo Head Slough Varney (red- filmed) vessels Early & Transitional Pottery disks Shell beads Points

Buffalo Head Slough Plant remains Plant Remains Early Mississippian (Varney) – Poor preservation of plant – No maize, little wood and nutshell Transitional Mississippian (cf. Varney) – Wood, 71% >2.0 mm – Nutshell, 28%, mostly hickory – 1 maize:15 nutshell – Eastern Agricultural Complex (mostly maygrass) – Oily seeds: sunflower and marshelder Middle Mississippian – Poor preservation – Maize is present Animal Remains Mammals dominant NISP Birds well represented (turkey, ducks, geese)

Jarrett (3RA95); 2001

Jarrett site (3RA95) Bird’s foot handle Jars with strap handles Short-necked jars Tapered-neck bottles Basalt chisel Stone bead Mill Creek hoe flake Pottery disks Points, and Daub

Jarrett (3RA95): C-14 Dates Feature #Radiocarbon Age2-Sigma Calibration /- 30 BPcal AD and cal AD /- 30 BPcal AD /- 30 BPcal AD Post /- 40 BPcal AD Middle Mississippian Period, cf. Powers Phase

Jarrett (cf. Power Phase) Plant Remains Wood, ca. 50% >2.0 mm remains Nut, ca. 48% – mostly hickory 1 maize : 30 nutshell Eastern Agricultural Complex well represented – Mostly maygrass Animal Remains Mostly mammals: deer, rabbit, muskrat, mink, fox, squirrel,... Turtle, turkey, duck, and fishes

Conclusions Plants – reliance on crops – Eastern Agricultural Complex represented – Oily-seeded crops (sunflower, marshelder, and squash) – Appearance of maize tied to the Transitional or Middle Mississippian periods Future issues to address with more data: – Economic and political relationships of people living in the Western Lowlands with peoples from SEMO, Cahokia, southern Illinois.... – Diffusion of ideas, technologies, and things (e.g., crops, pottery, tools, and so on).

Acknowledgments Dr. Patty Jo Watson Dr. Gayle Fritz Dr. David Browman Dr. Fiona Marshall Washington University-St. Louis The Arkansas Archeological Society The Arkansas Archeological Survey The University of Missouri-St. Louis