Sears, William H.

If totemic symbols are represented stylistically or realistically
in the arts, is it possible that archaeological evidence
could be found to indicate that Weeden Island and Kolomoki
effigy figurines and designs could be totemic? The sociopolitical
and religious systems of certain historic tribes,
the Creeks, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez provide a view
of basic cultural trends in the Post-contact Southeastern
United States. The hypothesis, drawing from the fact
totemic systems did to some extent exist among these tribes,
attempts to establish stylistic patterns in effigy figurines
and relate them to what is known of social and religious
systems in the Northwest Florida-Southwest Georgia area.
Such patterns were established, and some groups of effigies
do tend to cluster in certain areas, but definite totemic
sociopolitical associations have yet to be proved.

It is the contention of this paper that in the future more and
more students in the undergraduate survey courses will be introduced
to Anthropology; concomitantly students approaching teaching in the
field of Social Studies are doing so with a background of anthropology.
Anthropology's growth has precipitated its incorporation in
undergraduate requirements for students majoring in Social Science and
Education.
This paper will explore the ways in which anthropology has
established inroads in education and their importance to future
developments in our school systems. A review of anthropological
theories of educational systems is combined with the problems or
restrictions facing an Anthropological Education liaison. In
conclusion we centered discussion on whether or not anthropologists
can change the school systems with an explanation of ACSP and NSF
projects produced under their auspices.

A chronology for the region surrounding Biscayne Bay in Southeast
Florida is presented using all suitably reported ceramic material
and the quantitative seriation method. The intention is to go
beyond the present chronology of distinct ceramic periods to one
that more clearly presents the development of the prehistoric ceramic
continuum of the region. Exploration is made of the possibility
of establishing ceramic areas as bases for future work toward the
development of culture areas in Southern Florida prehistory. To
this end, comparative seriation material from the Everglades and
Gold Coast regions is discussed.

In the St. Johns River area of Florida, the preceramic period has
been found to have certain different artifact types than the
neighboring Archaic traditions. These different artifact types--
shell gouges and celts--have their closest similarities with types
from the preceramic of Venezuela and Cuba. It was postulated that
the influence for the similar shell tools was derived from the
original settlement of the Caribbean area by migrating groups from
the northern South American coast. It was further postulated that
the original inhabitants of the St. Johns area were part of the
migrating groups and that they arrived in the area probably by way
of the Everglades. Evidence from the Caribbean area preceramic
periods was examined for proof of this migration. Finally, a possible
linguistic relationship with the historic Indians of the St. Johns
area and the Warao of Venezuela Has discussed.

In December of 1973 the writer conducted an archaeological
reconnaissance of the Bahamian islands of Eleuthera, Harbor Island
and St. George's Cay. A total of fifteen open village sites were
found along the lee shore of Eleuthera. A surface collection was
made at each site and a stratigraphic pit was dug at one site, El-8.
Analysis of the artifacts recovered indicated that the
Bahamian Arawaks possessed a cultural system distinct from other
Arawak populations,- which was specifically adapted to the Bahamian
environment. Four ceramic types were isolated and defined within
the Palmetto ceramic complex.
Examination of the data pertinent to settlement and community
patterning suggested a culture possessing little stratification and
an economic system less productive than that of the Antillian Arawak.

If the state is that complex of institutions which integrates a
culture on a non-kinship basis so as to maintain some order of
class stratification, can prehistoric examples of the state,
particularly in its nascent stages, be archaeologically demonstrated?
Using the historic Indian cultures of the Natchez of Mississippi and
the Timucua of northeast Florida as examples of such nascent states,
archaeological implications are drawn from them. The hypothesis
that prehistoric cultures with ceremonial centers at the Etowah and
Kolomoki sites; both in Georgia, were also examples of nascent
states is then tested against these implications, and found to meet
them. It is very probable, then, that Etowah and Kolomoki were
prehistoric states, and desirable that the attempt be made to further elucidate their particulars.

The Mississippian sites present in the Lower Red River Mouth area
cover two culture periods called Coles Creek and rlaquemine. From
approximately 850 to 1600 A.D., these cultures, economically based
on hoe agriculture, functioned on a statal level of socio-political
organization more complex than the cultures preceding them in the
Red River Mouth area. A presentation of settlement data on sites
representative of these cultures along with economic, burial,
ceramic and nonceramic details will show that cultural continuity
existed in this area and culture change occurred, during which the
change was from simple chiefdom to complex state.

In this thesis I have attempted to design an introductory anthropology
course and to consider the most effective way to teach it. Extensive
use of teaching aids such as films and laboratory specimens is
recommended to provide the best understanding of the course material.
Each of the areas of anthropology is considered and examples are
given of materials available which should prove useful in the treatment
of the topic.

The literature on North American Indian maize preparation has been in
need of organization and interpretation. Because of this, those
archaeologists involved in research on prehistoric use of maize have
lacked the information that they should have. By means of library
research supplemented with my own experience in maize preparation,
I was able to both organize and interpret the material, primarily in
the interest of archaeological research.

Through a study of the specialized art forms of the Southeastern
Ceremonial Complex, and an investigation of the settlement patterns
in which this Complex occurred, hypothetical reconstructions of
certain Late Mississippian social and religious systems have been
presented. It seems highly probable that this ceremonial material
formed the ritual paraphernalia of the controlling dignitaries
within a Cult organization which functioned as a state religion in
widely separated cultural areas. Although dependent upon an agricultural
base and, consequently, related to fertility ceremonies,
the Complex was mainly oriented towards offensive warfare and
expansion through conquest.