Sears, William H.

In 1966 and 1967 Cat Island, Bahamas was surveyed by field
parties from Florida Atlantic University in an attempt to locate
archaeological sites. A total of 19 sites were found, all but one
were coastal shell middens near tidal deltas or bays. Most of the
sites were on the leeward side of the island where ecological conditions
for supporting large quantities of shellfish were best. In
March, 1968, five of the sites located in the survey were sampled
by means of small test pits.
The artifact assemblage consisted of over 6000 potsherds and
a handful of shell and stone implements. Over 99% of the ceramic
assemblage consisted of a thick, red, shell-tempered ware similar to
that found in recent excavations on San Salvador by Hoffman (1967).
The overwhelming amount of the Cat Island shell-tempered ware is
plain with a few decorated variants. A shell-tempered series was
set up and called the Palmetto series with one type, Palmetto plain,
and several decorated variants. Decorative modes consisted of
applique, punctation, incision, and mat and grid impressions.
The ceramic assemblage also included several residual categories
which contained tempering materials not native to the Bahamas.
The most prominent of these was a quartz-tempered ware that showed
considerable similarity to the Carrier style of northern Haiti. The
decorative modes of the Palmetto series showed affiliations with
northern Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands during periods IIIb and IV of Rouse's (1964) time scale for the northern Caribbean.
The time of occupation was roughly 1000-1500 A.D. The culture
of the island was one of fairly permanent, small villages with
subsistence based on the exploitation of the marine shellfish
resources and manioc agriculture. Burial and other ceremonial practices
are not known.

Busycon contrarium has a wide distribution through both time and space
in Midwestern Archaeological sites. The areas of maximum occurrence
·for this shell are the coastal areas from Monroe to Gulf County along
the Florida Gulf Coast. The most probable source of this shell for
trade to Midwestern archaeological sites was the Apalachicola Bay area.
As this shell was traded inland to Midwestern Archaeological sites it
was consistently incorporated into a sacred class of artifacts. Its
utilization as a ceremonial vessel in busk or Green Corn ceremonies is
the most probable reason for its wide distribution through both time
and space in so many different cultures of the Eastern United States.

Hopewell and Hopewell related sites in the midwest and southeast
United States are presented through an analysis and comparison
of ceramic and non-ceramic artifacts and traits. Consideration
of the sacred/secular distinction for Hopewell,
Tchefuncte-Marksville, Troyville, Coles Creek, Deptford-Yent,
Cartersville-Tunacunnhee, Early Swift Creek-Green Point, and
Weeden Island are discussed as well as their economic, religious,
political, and social systems. Interregional comparisons
suggest that the east side deposit type mounds of the
Weeden Island cultures along the northwest Florida coast and
adjacent areas reflect the burial customs of midwestern
Hopewell and its southeastern affiliates. The east side deposit
type mounds are shown to be derived from midwestern
Hopewell, but have closer affinities with the southeastern
Hopewellian affiliates (Marksville, Yent, and Green Point).
Parallelism between Hopewell and Weeden Island cultures revolves
around a ceremonialism presumably associated with a
corn based economy.

An interesting collection of small wooden or metal objects,
bearing a design which has not yet been interpreted satisfactorily,
has been found at sites scattered throughout
the Calusa and Okeechobee subareas of the Glades archaeological
area and extending northward into the Kissimmee
Area. These objects, which usually bear circles and-or a
cross on their upper zone and "teardrops" and what looks
like a stylized mouth on their lower zone, lend support to
the contention that the 16th Century Calusa were a conquest
society. This in turn casts further doubt upon the
utility of traditional classificatory systems in defining
the nature of an individual culture. Specifically, the data
support the belief that the shift from egalitarianism to
stratification is more significant than the shift from
kinship control to territorial control.

Through a study of representative sites in Ohio and Illinos
a reconstruction of Hopewellian exploitation of available
vertebrate fauna is presented. Written accounts of faunal
remains and symbolic representations (e.g., effigy pipes)
from mound and village sites are examined to determine the
manner of exploitation in the sacred and secular spheres.
While faunal utilization is somewhat uniform in Ohio and
Illinois, there is a more noticeable overlap of finds from
mound and village loci in the latter region, indicating
that the sacred-secular distincion was less explicit there.
For both areas a totomeic clan system is considered as a
plausible explanation for the use of chosen vertebrates in
a symbolic fashion. By presenting such hypotheses, this
study illustrates that a close scrutiny of faunal debris
can provide information not only on subsistence, but also
on the political, religious, and ideological aspects of
a society.

Surface collections from 244 prehistoric sites on the Fortson and
O'Hara Transmission Lines in the western Georgia Piedmont were
analyzed. An attempt to define the Old Quartz Industry led to a
review of Middle Archaic Morrow Mountain in the Southeastern United
States. The Old Quartz Industry was not an integral cultural unit,
but an industry involving utilization of locally available lithic
resources. The industry was not limited to any one culture or
culture period, but reached a peak in the Middle Archaic period.
Percentages of local versus exotic materials are highest for the
Middle Archaic period in western Georgia. Sites of this period are
also more abundant than those of other periods. The data suggests
decreasing inter-regional mobility in the Middle Archaic period in
the Southern Piedmont. Hypotheses for further testing included
attainment of primary forest efficiency or increasing dependance
on horticulture in the Middle Archaic period, leading up to the
establishment of settled villages.

Pollen extracted from twenty-one fecal samples uncovered during
the 1962-1970 excavations of a Hopewell Period ceremonial mound
and artificial pond offer information on climate, habitats,
diet, and season to contribute to the corn agriculture theory
for the site. Plant families in the sample suggest today's
sub-tropical moist climate and three major habitats: savannah,
hammock, and meander valley, indicating that corn could have
been a viable crop with proper drainage. A "starvation stew"
partaken of in a "spring-rites" ritual is suggested and is
compatible with the corn agriculture theory. Variety of wild
plants in all samples suggests a grab-bag concoction with
minimal dietary significance for any particular wild plant.
A spring-blooming sample population over decades suggests
that this stew was eaten only at this, a time of depleted
corn stores. Ceremonial context of the sample suggests an
annual spring-planting-rites communion "meal" to explain the
single season sample for a sedentary agricultural people.

Problem-oriented research is presented as a contribution in the
development of an archaeological conceptual framework and a multidisciplinary
scientific approach to the study of historic wreck sites
in the New World. Testable multiple working hypotheses are
formulated to identify, describe, and explain the wreck site of
Nuestra Senora de Atocha within the exigencies of a commercial salvage
operation. Adaptive field strategies are developed for recording
data concerning intra-site variability of the cultural and geological
deposits. Methodological techniques including sea-bottom mapping,
underwater photogrammetry, and sub-sea remote sensing for the
recovery of horizontal and stratigraphic data are discussed. A plan
to locate the primary cultural deposit with aerial photographic
imagery is outlined. Baseline data are assembled for formulating
operational guidelines for future archaeological research and
resource management of historic wreck sites within shallow waters
of the Inner Continental Shelf. Feasibility is demonstrated for
the development of a procedural model for wreck site mitigation
emphasizing cooperation within a salvage company.

The need for a definition of Hopewell which is more consistent
with the facts has long been recognized. Attempts have been
made to define Hopewell as a mortuary complex, a cult, a culture,
and an interaction sphere, among others. None of these adequately
explains the factual data accumulated over the last century. Several "core" sites in Southern Ohio have been selected for
this study on the basis of the availability of original excavation
reports and site similarities and differences. A close comparison
of these similarities and differences has resulted in the delineation
of a model, and a subsequent redefinition of Hopewell consistent
with the known facts. The similarities were explained as the
participation of local cultures in the wider Hopewell System, while
the differences were attributed to the unchanged, or slightly modified
local cultures which participated in the Hopewell System as
herein defined.

Four regional manifestations of Hopewell were selected on
the basis of readily available evidence. These regional manifestations
were compared to note their similarities and differences. Similarities
were readily explained by commonality of participation in the Hopewell
Cult. Differences were explained in terms of the type of environment
to which each regional manifestation was subjected.
These differences in complexity led to a definition of
Hopewell more consistent with the evidence at hand, and were the
result of the use of the Cultural Ecological approach as an explanatory
model. Cultural ecology, through the use of theories provided by
Steward and others, gives us tools by which culture and culture change
can be studied and perhaps general laws can be developed. The most
important factor of cultural ecology is the relationship of technology
and environment. The above regional manifestations were studied in
terms of technology and environment and their relationship forms the
basis for the evidence in the thesis.