Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom

by Vernon James Knight (Editor), Vincas P. Steponaitis (Contribution by), Lauren M. Michals (Contribution by), Paul D. Welch (Contribution by), Margaret J. Schoeninger (Contribution by)

Overview

Brings together nine Moundville specialists who trace the site’s evolution and eventual decline
 
Built on a flat terrace overlooking the Black Warrior River in Alabama, the Moundville ceremonial center was at its height a densely occupied town of approximately 1,000 residents, with at least 29 earthen mounds surrounding a central plaza. Today Moundville is not only one of the largest and best-preserved Mississippian sites in the United States but also one of the most intensively studied. This volume brings together nine Moundville specialists who trace the site’s evolution and eventual decline.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817383138
Publisher:	University of Alabama Press
Publication date:	09/22/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	226
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Vernon James Knight Jr. is professor of anthropology at The University of Alabama.
 
Vincas P. Steponaitis is professor of anthropology and Director of the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
 

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Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom

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By Vernon James Knight Jr., Vincas P. Steponaitis

The University of Alabama Press

Copyright © 1998 Vernon James Knight Jr. and Vincas P. Steponaitis
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-8313-8

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CHAPTER 1

A New History of Moundville

VERNON JAMES KNIGHT JR. AND VINCAS P. STEPONAITIS

WITHIN THE LAST DECADE there have been several advances in our understanding of the specifics of Moundville's developmental history. For example, critical segments of the regional chronology have been refined. Differences between early and late Moundville I phase communities have come into sharper focus. We have incipient chronologies of mounds and sheet midden deposits based on diagnostic sherds. The palisade has been firmly dated. We synthesize these and other refinements according to the following scheme: intensification of local production (AD 900–1050); initial centralization (AD 1050–1200); regional consolidation (AD 1200–1300); the paramountcy entrenched (AD 1300–1450); and collapse and reorganization (AD 1450–1650).

Moundville, located on the Black Warrior River in west-central Alabama, is not only one of the largest Mississippian centers in the Southeast but also one of the most intensively studied (Peebles 1981). During the late nineteenth century, the site was mapped by agents of the Smithsonian Institution (Steponaitis 1983b). In the first decade of the twentieth century, it was dug by Clarence B. Moore (1905, 1907). Between 1930 and 1941, excavations were continued on a grand scale by the Alabama Museum of Natural History using Civilian Conservation Corps federal relief labor (Peebles 1979). And since the 1950s, a number of smaller excavations have been undertaken, some of which continue to this day (Scarry 1986; Knight 1992). Only a fraction of the collections generated by this fieldwork have ever been thoroughly analyzed; even so, scholars using these materials have produced an impressive array of studies of social organization (Peebles 1974; Peebles and Kus 1977), political economy (Steponaitis 1978; Welch 1991; Welch and Scarry 1995), subsistence (Scarry 1986; Michals 1981; Peebles and Schoeninger 1981), health (Powell 1988), settlement patterns (Peebles 1978; Bozeman 1981, 1982), and chronology (Steponaitis 1983a).

Over the past ten years, new data and new insights coupled with refinements in chronology have led to substantial revisions in our understanding of Moundville's history. Our purpose here is to collate these recent advances into a new synthesis that draws heavily on, and provides a context for, the remaining chapters in this volume. First we describe Moundville and its setting, then we discuss the ceramic chronology, and finally we present our new interpretations of late prehistoric developments in the Black Warrior Valley.

THE MOUNDVILLE SITE

Moundville occupies a high, flat terrace of Pleistocene age on the eastern side of the Black Warrior River at Hemphill Bend, 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of the fall line, in an area where the alluvial valley of the Black Warrior cuts through the Fall Line Hills of Alabama. The terrace on which Moundville lies forms an abrupt bluff rising 17 meters (55 feet) above the river, well above the 100-year flood level. There are only a few such places in the alluvial valley of the Black Warrior where a high terrace directly abuts the river.

A schematic map of Moundville is shown in figure 1.1. Most previously published maps include only the prominent truncated mounds, some 20 in number, originally identified in the publications of C. B. Moore (1905, 1907). There are, however, additional low mounds, and we include those that have been confirmed. Also on this map we show the location of the Oliver Rhodes site, an area excavated during the Depression years that should be considered a part of the Moundville settlement, although it is on the opposite side of a small, unnamed stream. Our map offers what we believe to be a reasonable projection of the palisade line that effectively delimits the occupied area on the west, south, and east sides, where, as the map depicts, it perhaps terminates at Carthage Branch.

The contiguous occupied area is approximately 75 hectares (185 acres) in extent. Within this zone we show the locations of 29 earthen mounds. The initial 22 letter designations were inherited from the work of Moore, and the lettering has been continued as additional mounds were recognized. Our figure for the number of mounds is perhaps conservative; a sketch map prepared by Nathaniel T. Lupton in 1869 shows peripheral mounds not presently accounted for (Steponaitis 1983a:144). Also, a topographic survey made by an engineering firm in April 1930 interprets three additional low rises as artificial mounds, which would bring the total to 32.

Present evidence suggests that for the most part, the extent of the occupied area is coincident with the palisade line, which we will discuss shortly. Moundville thus has the aspect of a compact, bounded settlement, in this respect similar to other fortified Mississippian centers. There are a few cases where Mississippian settlement areas are known to exist on the same terrace, but outside the palisade system. One example is the excavated tract known as the Picnic Area, which lies at the northwest margin of Moundville. Excavations there in 1991–1992 (chap. 4) revealed evidence of a small cluster of houses that largely predate the palisade. Another is a small mound site, the Asphalt Plant mound (1Tu50), that occupies the terrace just to the northeast of Moundville (Steponaitis 1992). This also predates the palisade, and as Welch argues in chapter 7, it probably was part of the early Moundville I phase community at Moundville.

We know that fortifications enclosed the Moundville settlement on three sides. The north side was protected by the river bluff, and deeply entrenched Carthage Branch to the northeast may have also played a role in the site's defenses. Slightly mounded remains of the palisade line along the southern boundary of the site were still visible to observers in the mid-nineteenth century (Steponaitis 1983b: 129–130). Regarding the precise position of this stockade, we have unambiguous information from modern excavations in just two localities. Excavations during 1991–1992 in the northwest riverbank section of Moundville, mentioned above, revealed evidence for multiple episodes of bastioned palisade construction. Closely corresponding evidence from the opposite side of the site was recovered during University of Alabama field schools (1978–1984) in the area east of Mound G (Vogel and Allan 1985). The palisade trenches in both areas reveal at least six episodes of renewal, some in place and others offset slightly from previous versions. Bastions, spaced 30–40 meters apart, were 4 meters wide and 7 meters deep, incorporating square towers.

A previous map prepared by Peebles (1971:81) was the earliest modern attempt to trace the palisade, and subsequent depictions (e.g., Morgan 1980:114) are based on Peebles's map. Peebles utilized unpublished information from Depression-era excavations that showed long trenchlike features in three localities: west of Mound O, west of Mound Q, and through the Oliver Rhodes site. He also used aerial photographs in his attempt to project the fortification line. Another set of linear features, discovered west of Mound P by John Walthall with a University of Alabama field school in 1976 (Allan 1984) was subsequently attributed to the palisade system. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell how much of the latter evidence actually pertains to Moundville's fortifications. Neither the mapped features identified by Peebles from the 1930s records nor those excavated by Walthall in 1976 very much resemble the elaborate rebuilt bastion and curtain wall sequences discovered more recently.

Our evidence for the placement of the southern portion of the palisade line is admittedly tenuous. We base it on two scraps of evidence. First, Lupton's sketch map from 1869 shows the "remains of an irregular breastwork" that arcs distinctly south of Mound M1 on the southwest margin of the site and continues to the east (Steponaitis 1983b:144). Second, systematic augering in the area south of mounds I and J reveals a drop in the density of artifacts approximately 100 meters south of these mounds, a drop that may coincide with the palisade line in this vicinity (Steponaitis et al. 1994).

Most writers agree that the larger mounds at Moundville are deliberately arranged around the margins of a single plaza (e.g., Moore 1905: 5–6; McKenzie 1964:213; Peebles 1971:82–83; Steponaitis 1983a:4–6). This plan is basically quadrilateral, with mounds M through Q defining a western row, mounds I through L a southern row, and mounds F through H an eastern row. The northern boundary of the plaza, now encroached by the headward erosion of ravines, appears to be defined by mounds R, B, and E. Mound B, the largest mound of the group, is 17.3 meters high and contains an estimated 85,450 cubic meters of earth. In this plaza-periphery group, all of which are oriented roughly to the cardinal directions, there is an alternation between small mounds containing burials and larger mounds lacking burials. In the center of the plaza is Mound A, whose orientation is skewed to the east relative to the others. Also present inside the plaza-periphery group, near the east margin of the plaza, are two low mounds, S and T, whose purpose is unknown. North of the plaza-periphery group, isolated on ridges formed by deep ravines, are mounds C and D, both flat-topped earthworks known to contain high-status burials.

Other mounds lie outside the plaza-periphery group to the east and west. Two low, elongated mounds, U and M1, possess dense concentrations of burials and may be true burial mounds (Moore 1905:220–240, 1907:343). Mound F1, a small truncated mound on the opposite side of the site that was partially excavated during the 1930s, also contains numerous burials and thus appears to present a situation comparable to mounds U and M1. Its companion mound, F2, seems never to have attracted the attention of archaeologists, nor has mound B1, located northeast of Mound B. Mound R1, isolated on a ridge west of Mound R, is a low, unexcavated rise shown on maps as early as the 1930s but only recently confirmed through probing as being constituted of artificial fill. On the eastern margin of the site is Mound X, a basal remnant of a mound encountered during palisade excavations in this vicinity by a University of Alabama field school (Vogel and Allan 1985). This mound is of special interest because of its relation to the palisade, which postdates the mound and crosses over a portion of it. Like the Asphalt Plant mound, we attribute Mound X to the early Moundville I phase community at Moundville.

Mound W, completely excavated during the Depression era, is said to have been an occupied natural rise rather than a deliberate construction (Peebles 1979:4; Walthall and Wimberly 1978:121), based on examination of the excavation notes by Peebles. Because it was identified as a mound in the 1930s and is discussed in the literature by this name, we include it on our map.

Evidence of off-mound habitation, of variable density (Peebles 1973, 1978:381), is spread throughout the area around the plaza-periphery mound group and inside the palisade line. During the Depression-era excavations, much information was obtained about structure patterns, including ordinary houses and more specialized patterns interpreted as public buildings (McKenzie 1964; Peebles 1971:83). More recent excavations along the northwest riverbank (Scarry 1995) have provided additional data on residential structures. Peebles (1978:381) has suggested that "most day-to-day debris was discarded into the river and ravines"; while it is reasonable to suppose that some such dumping occurred, it should be noted that rich middens are also found within habitation areas on the level terrace. A century of cultivation may well have destroyed much of the sheet midden at the site. Occupational debris is also found inside the plaza-periphery group, but only in the immediate vicinity of the mounds. Limited test excavations in the central plaza by a University of Alabama field school in 1988 and auger testing by the University of North Carolina in 1993 (Steponaitis et al. 1994) show it to be basically free of cultural debris.

There is some evidence of artificial leveling of the plaza area by filling along its margins early in the construction history of the site. Recent excavations at the bases of mounds F and G showed artificial fills up to a meter in depth, apparently intended to build up surface depressions to the same level as the rest of the plaza. Similar fills may also be present on the west margin of the plaza, based on evidence from a small test excavation in the vicinity of Mound O.

CERAMIC CHRONOLOGY

Moundville's internal chronology was worked out in the late 1970s (Steponaitis 1980a, 1980b) and since then has been refined as additional evidence has accumulated (Steponaitis 1983a, 1992; Little and Curren1995). The ceramic sequence now consists of five phases, spanning the period AD 900–1650 (fig. 1.2). All but the last of these phases have been further subdivided into early and late subphases, each about 75–100 years long. This degree of temporal control provides an unusually good opportunity to trace the history of Moundville and its surrounding sites.

The sequence begins with the West Jefferson phase (AD 900–1050), which was first delineated using evidence excavated from three small sites in the upper reaches of the Black Warrior drainage, about 90 kilometers northeast of Moundville (Jenkins and Nielsen 1974; O'Hear 1975). The pottery at this time was predominantly a plain, grog-tempered ware classified as Baytown Plain. Cord-marked, incised, and punctated decoration occurred in very small quantities. Late in the phase, shell-tempered pottery also started to appear. The only vessel forms made were bowls and jars, the latter often with loop handles.

The next three phases—consecutively numbered Moundville I, Moundville II, and Moundville III—were first set up as subdivisions of what had formerly been called the "Moundville culture" (Jones and Dejarnette 1936) and the "Moundville phase" (McKenzie 1966). They were initially based on two lines of evidence from Moundville: a seriation of gravelots and a stratigraphic analysis of midden deposits (Steponaitis 1983a). Subsequent excavations and analyses have generally confirmed the basic sequence and led to some refinements (e.g., chap. 4; Scarry 1995; Steponaitis 1992; Welch 1991, 1994). Particularly important has been the clear subdivision of Moundville I into early and late subphases (Steponaitis 1992:4–6), a distinction that was only vaguely perceived in the initial chronology (Steponaitis 1983a:132).

The span from Moundville I through Moundville III was a time of great diversity in vessel forms and decoration. The pottery was predominantly shell-tempered and comprised two major wares. One consisted of burnished, finely tempered bowls and bottles that were used for serving and storage; these nowadays fall into the types Bell Plain, Moundville Engraved, and Carthage Incised. The other consisted mainly of jars that were used for cooking; these vessels fall into the types Warrior Plain and Moundville Incised. The distinctions among phases can be seen in changing frequencies of these types, as well as in the appearance and disappearance of particular ceramic varieties, decorative modes, and attributes of vessel shape.

Specifically, the Moundville I phase was marked by relatively high frequencies of the decorated type Moundville Incised, with lesser amounts of Carthage Incised and Moundville Engraved. Jars typically had two handles and either folded or folded-flattened rims. Bottles were adorned with pedestals and had a slender, ovoid profile. Bowls existed in both restricted and shallow forms, the latter having the appearance of plates with straight, flaring rims. Over the course of this phase, grog-tempered pottery disappeared, Carthage Incised and Moundville Engraved gradually became more popular, and folded-flattened rims declined in frequency. In addition, early Moundville I assemblages often contained a distinctive kind of burnished ware—an early (and yet unnamed) variety of Bell Plain with a gray, finely textured paste—that fell out of use in late Moundville I times.

During the Moundville II phase, varieties of Moundville Engraved and Carthage Incised proliferated, while Moundville Incised declined in frequency and eventually disappeared. Common designs on the engraved wares included representational motifs as well as curvilinear scrolls made up of multiple, closely spaced lines. Such designs were often arranged around indentations in the vessel's surface. Bottles became subglobular in shape, usually with pedestal or slab bases. Bowls included hemispherical, cylindrical, and terraced rectanguloid forms. Jars typically had unmodified rims and either two or four handles.

Early in the Moundville III phase, Moundville Engraved and Carthage Incised continued to predominate among the decorated wares; late in the phase, however, the former type all but vanished. Among burnished wares, common shapes included subglobular bottles with simple bases, hemispherical bowls with beaded rims, short-necked bowls, and deep flaring-rim bowls. The number of handles found on jars continued to proliferate, with four, eight, and sometimes even more handles being used.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom by Vernon James Knight Jr., Vincas P. Steponaitis. Copyright © 1998 Vernon James Knight Jr. and Vincas P. Steponaitis. Excerpted by permission of The University of Alabama Press.
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Table of Contents

Contents
List of Figures
 
List of Tables 

Foreword 
CHRISTOPHER S. PEEBLES

Preface to the New Edition

­­I A New History of Moundville 
VERNON JAMES KNIGHT JR. AND VINCAS P. STEPONAITIS

2. Population Trends at Moundville 
VINCAS P. STEPONAITIS

3 . Moundville as a Diagrammatic Ceremonial Center 
VERNON JAMES KNIGHT JR.

4. Domestic Life on the Northwest Riverbank at Moundville 
C. MARGARET SCARRY

5· Of Time and the River: Perspectives on Health during the Moundville Chiefdom 
MARY LUCAS POWELL

6. Human Subsistence at Moundville: The Stable-Isotope Data 
MARGARET J. SCHOENINGER AND MARK R. SCHURR

7. Outlying Sites within the Moundville Chiefdom 
PAUL D. WELCH

8. The Oliver Site and Early Moundville I Phase Economic Organization 
LAUREN M. MICHALS

Bibliography 

Index 
 

Editorial Reviews

The latest contributions to a 30-year, long-term collaboration that has produced critically important data and theories for the understanding of Mississippian social formations.” —Antiquity
 

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