Extant Shark Tooth Artifacts at Cahokia

Illinois Archaeology, 2010

Recent archaeological investigations for a new Mississippi River bridge in southwestern Illinois have uncovered a large prehistoric settlement known as the Janey B. Goode site (11S1232). This massive (>6 ha) site is buried under historic-period fill in a rail yard near Brooklyn, Illinois, and it is unusually well preserved. Although Janey B. Goode was first settled during the Late Woodland Patrick phase (A.D. 650–900), the most intensive occupations span the Terminal Late Woodland (A.D. 900–1050) and Mississippian (A.D. 1050–1400) periods. The Illinois State Archaeological Survey, funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation, recently completed six years of investigations at this site. This work resulted in the excavation of approximately 7,000 features, a record high number for an individual site in the American Bottom and very likely the entire country. This article provides a brief overview of the investigations and highlights some of the most noteworthy discoveries. The latter include evidence for (1) Terminal Late Woodland pottery that parallels the earliest ceramic phases in the southern American Bottom and which will thus require revision of the ceramic sequence for the northern American Bottom; (2) ditching and possible land reclamation associated with the Terminal Late Woodland occupation, which demonstrate a greater degree of community planning and labor mobilization than has been previously demonstrated for this period; (3) the use of domesticated dogs as sacrificial victims, pack animals, and possibly as food; (4) the importation of exotics from the Gulf Coast, which started during the early Terminal Late Woodland period and reached its peak during the Mississippian period; and (5) numerous everyday objects that do not normally survive the forces of decay, such as bone tools and body ornaments, pieces of fabric, and a very large sample of (dog) coprolites.

Chapter 1 Summary Volume for New Mississippi River Bridge Project, 2018

Southeastern Archaeology, 2021

Around AD 1050 at Cahokia, a sudden coalescence of peoples with new ceremonials and Mound 72’s commemorative human interments provide evidence of long–distance contacts and finely crafted artifacts. Beads from the famous Mound 72 Beaded Burial have remained unstudied since they were unearthed-a strange situation given the importance of the Beaded Burial. This article presents results from my re-examination of all shell artifacts from Mound 72, including some new artifact identifications, bead counts, and measurements. Artifacts previously called gorgets are shell cups, and one was remarkably large. The source was probably the eastern Gulf of Mexico for most marine shells. I present a new method of examining bead drill holes using the frustum formula, suggesting that porcupine quills or biological materials were used as drill tips for columella beads. This method can be used on stone and bone beads as well. I hypothesize a general decline in bead crafting through time. Paired shell artifact emplacements throughout Mound 72 echo the paired male/female human interments from the Beaded Burial, adding to evidence that Mound 72’s burials were part of a ritual theater. My analysis supports the contention that marine shell artifacts were symbolic conduits of human spirits and power.

Palaeodiversity, 2017

Southeastern Archaeology, 2023

ABSTRACT The development of Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) iconography has been posited to have had its origins in pre–AD 1200 Greater Cahokia. The recovery of fragments of an engraved shell cup, a few engraved pottery sherds, and copper residue from Mound 34 at Cahokia as well as two regional rock-art sites are said to confirm that the early Braden art style had a Cahokian heritage. Furthermore, on this basis, the origin, production, and distribution of engraved shell cups and copper repoussé plates have been attributed to Cahokian artisans. Here the archaeological context and chronology of this evidence is reexamined and found to be problematic—it does not support Cahokia origins for engraved shell cups and copper repoussé plates. The small amount of early Braden materials attributed to Cahokia are better explained as byproducts of the demonstrable presence of early Caddo immigrants and influences in the American Bottom. The skewed distribution and early chronology of Mississippian engraved shell cups and copper repoussé plates confirm they are likely products of Spiro-influenced ritual practitioners. The production and accumulation of such ritual paraphernalia at Spiro can most reasonably be attributed to the site’s rise as a sacred place and central locus for regional pilgrimages.

Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology

2014

In Silas, Alabama, a disconformity with an overlaying lag deposit separates the middle Eocene (Lutetian) Tallahatta and Lisbon Formations along Turkey Creek. This lag deposit consists of blankets and lenses of macrofossil residuum that preserves an unreported assemblage of chondrichthyans represented by at least 13 species. This chondrichthyan assemblage is similar to other contemporaneous nearshore faunas found across North America and elsewhere globally and includes: Striatolamia acrota Agassiz, 1843; Brachycarcharias lerichei Casier, 1946; Carcharodon auriculatus Blainville, 1818; Otodus obliquus Agassiz, 1843; Abdounia recticona (Winkler, 1873); Abdounia enniskilleni (White, 1956); Galeocerdo eaglesomei (White, 1955); Physogaleus secundus (Winkler, 1874); Scyliorhinus sp.; Rhizoprionodon sp.; Pristis sp.; cf. Aetomylaeus sp.; and Rhinoptera sp. Additional macrofossils with nearshore affinities occurring in the Turkey Creek lag include bones and teeth from fish, reptiles, and mar...

The examination of prehistoric faunal assemblages has traditionally focused on dietary patterns, resource exploitation, and ecological reconstruction. Only limited attention has been given to the ritual use of animal remains. In the American Bottom, despite an abundance of archaeological sites and assemblages, few studies have explored this aspect of Native American ritual behavior. This article provides an overview of Late Woodland, Terminal Late Woodland, and Mississippian ritual use of bone and shell in the American Bottom and considers broad patterns of animal part use and changes in use over time. Using approaches formulated within social zooarchaeology, examination of this aspect of ritual behavior provides further insight into human-animal relations during the late prehistoric period.

Artifacts made from sinistral (left-handed) whelk shells are commonly found at inland archaeological sites in eastern North America. Past attempts to source the coast of origin of these marine shells based on chemical analyses have provided tentative results. A knowledge of sinistral whelk natural history is essential before attempting shell sourcing studies. The common occurrence of sinistral whelks in the Gulf of Mexico and their uncommon occurrence along both the South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic bights are documented. Critical biogeographical and morphological information is presented, as well as a new method of sourcing artifacts based on spire-angle measurements. Sinistral whelk artifacts from Spiro, East St. Louis, and Cahokia probably came from the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Journal of South American Earth Sciences

The newly described chondrichthyan fauna of the early Miocene Culebra Formation of Panama provides insight into the marine vertebrates occupying shallow seas adjacent to the Central American Seaway, prior to the rise of the Isthmus of Panama. This study takes advantage of a time-limited and unique opportunity to recover fossil from renewed excavations of the Panama Canal. The chondrichthyan fauna of the Culebra Formation is composed of teeth and vertebral centra representing 12 taxa. The species found possessed a cosmopolitan tropical and warm-temperate distribution during the early Neogene and are similar to other assemblages of the tropical eastern Pacific and southern Caribbean. The taxa described suggest a neritic environment, and is in contrast with other interpretations that proposed bathyal water depths for the upper member of the Culebra Formation. The wide depth range of the most common species, Carcharocles chubutensis, and the habitat preference of Pristis sp., suggests varied marine environments, from deep, to shallow waters, close to emerged areas of the evolving isthmus.► Chondrichthyans from the early Miocene Culebra Formation are reported for the first time. ► The 12 taxa of chondrichthyans support the interpretation of a neritic environment. ► Biogeographic relationships consistent with its position in the vicinity of the Central American Seaway.