Books by Timothy Parsons
This dissertation examines how patterns of regional homogeneity in material culture develop on th... more This dissertation examines how patterns of regional homogeneity in material culture develop on the local level. Archaeologists have long been concerned with how large, materially homogeneous culture groups develop over large regions relatively quickly. Often, this phenomenon has been associated with migration. In many cases, such as the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) group in Europe and Clovis in North America, migration models are the best explanation. However, in other cases such as the Early Copper Age Tiszapolgár culture on the Great Hungarian Plain, local models of indigenous better fit the patterns of settlement and material culture.
This project focuses on changes at the beginning of the Late Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain at around 3,500 B.C. At this time, the relatively homogeneous Baden culture became the dominant material culture group on the Plain. Two models of changes are tested here: 1) that the Late Copper Age Baden culture developed out of local populations’ intensified involvement in an interregional interaction sphere; and 2) change occurred through migration or migrations onto the plain or a diffusion of material culture and other behaviors that drastically affected settlement and social organization. In this vein, the presumably intrusive kurgan burial tumuli that appeared in the region at about this time are of special interest.
These models are tested in two primary ways: 1) a multi-scalar settlement spatial analysis of known archaeological sites; and 2) macroscopic and petrographic ceramic analysis aimed at identifying technological and manufacturing changes over time that might point to either the arrival of new people in the region (migration) or diachronic population continuity.
Insufficient evidence exists to support a migration catalyzing the social and settlement changes observed at the beginning of the Late Copper Age. Although a migration scenario cannot be ruled out definitively, settlement pattern analysis supports a model of internal social trajectories leading to the changes, while macroscopic and petrographic ceramic analyses do not reveal any changes in technological preparation or manufacturing methods indicating the arrival of new people or pottery technologies in the region. Ultimately, the results of this research suggest that even dramatic shifts in material culture and incorporation into wider material culture groups can occur in times of population continuity through a combination of social and economic processes.
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Papers by Timothy Parsons
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2012
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The questions surrounding the social changes that occurred at the transition from the Late Neoli... more The questions surrounding the social changes that occurred at the transition from the Late Neolithic (ca. 5,000-4,500 BC) and the Early Copper Age (4,500-4,000 BC) in the Carpathian Basin remain largely unanswered. The period is marked by evidence in the archaeological record that ...
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Ceramic petrography can be an effective method for studying demographic shifts and the possibilit... more Ceramic petrography can be an effective method for studying demographic shifts and the possibility of migration into a region. This is based on the principle that ceramic manufacturing technology is resistant to change over time, while form and decoration can change quickly even in times of demographic continuity. As such, sudden shifts in raw material preparation and methods of pottery manufacture may be indicative of the arrival of new people in a region. The manufacturing characteristics indicative of such a demographic change are observable and measurable microscopically. Petrography was used to describe and measure paste characteristics of 114 Middle Copper Age, Late Copper Age, Early Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age sherds from the Körös region of the Great Hungarian Plain to determine if changes in manufacturing techniques accompanied changes in ceramic form and decoration at the beginning of the Late Copper Age Baden period (ca. cal. 3500 B.C.). A comparison of the petrographic results from the cultural phases showed that little manufacturing and technology change occurred during the time period covered by the study. Migration of new people into the region is therefore not supported, and changes in ceramic form and decoration associated with the Late Copper Age occurred during an extended period of demographic continuity.
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Between 1861 and 1864, a triumvirate of Forts – Henry, Donelson, and Heiman – played a pivotal ro... more Between 1861 and 1864, a triumvirate of Forts – Henry, Donelson, and Heiman – played a pivotal role in the western theater of the Civil War. Of the three, Fort Heiman changed hands most often, and despite its relative obscurity was a keystone for the Union and
Confederacy in regulating military transport and commerce on the Tennessee River. In late 2010, archaeologists from the National Park Service Southeast Archeological Center investigated Fort Heiman to distinguish between Confederate and Union landscape features, and to shed light on the role of African American Freedmen living at the fort during its Northern occupation. Ultimately, the landscape surrounding Fort Heiman was found to be highly disturbed by relic collectors. And, although impossible to distinguish between Union and Confederate forces based on the artifact assemblage, the identification of several earthworks and landscape features sheds new light on the occupation of the area during the Civil War.
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From November 27 to December 8, 2010, the Southeast Archeological Center’s (SEAC) Regionwide Arch... more From November 27 to December 8, 2010, the Southeast Archeological Center’s (SEAC) Regionwide Archeological Survey Program (RASP) conducted a systematic archeological investigation at the Fort Heiman Unit of Fort Donelson National Battlefield (FODO). The investigation consisted of a shovel testing survey and a pedestrian metal detecting survey. The purpose of the surveys was to locate, identify, and document potential archeological resources within the Fort Heiman Unit pursuant to Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966.
During the project, shovel survey uncovered evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area in the form of lithic debitage resulting from stone tool production; no culturally diagnostic lithic or ceramic materials were discovered. Metal detector survey led to the collection of a variety of artifacts dating to the Civil War-era, including numerous machine cut nails and a variety of munitions objects. None of the metal objects were particularly diagnostic, however, as they were of common types used by both Union and Confederate forces in the early phase of the war. Three previously undocumented earthworks consisting of raised earth and ditches were also located and recorded, and 18 hut pads dug into the side of a steep slope (representing a Civil War campsite) were similarly documented. No archeological evidence related to the Freedmen’s camp historically reported to have been in the general area was located during the SEAC surveys.
This SEAC investigation, and information gathered during a prior survey conducted in the park unit by New South Associates in 2010 (Tankersley and Gregory 2010), indicate that the site has been significantly impacted by metal detecting relic hunters, which has negatively affected our ability to employ archeological methods to discern past behaviors at the site. This does not, however, necessarily diminish to any major degree, the historical significance and research potential of the archeological resources that have been identified so far during the two survey projects. It is also possible that further archeological investigation (for example, systematic excavations of hut pads, additional metal detector survey, or further shovel testing survey in areas of the park unit not covered by this study) could refine our understanding of the prehistoric and historic archeological resources at Fort Heiman, and perhaps also lead to the discovery of the as yet unrelocated Freedmen’s camp.
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Books by Timothy Parsons
This project focuses on changes at the beginning of the Late Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain at around 3,500 B.C. At this time, the relatively homogeneous Baden culture became the dominant material culture group on the Plain. Two models of changes are tested here: 1) that the Late Copper Age Baden culture developed out of local populations’ intensified involvement in an interregional interaction sphere; and 2) change occurred through migration or migrations onto the plain or a diffusion of material culture and other behaviors that drastically affected settlement and social organization. In this vein, the presumably intrusive kurgan burial tumuli that appeared in the region at about this time are of special interest.
These models are tested in two primary ways: 1) a multi-scalar settlement spatial analysis of known archaeological sites; and 2) macroscopic and petrographic ceramic analysis aimed at identifying technological and manufacturing changes over time that might point to either the arrival of new people in the region (migration) or diachronic population continuity.
Insufficient evidence exists to support a migration catalyzing the social and settlement changes observed at the beginning of the Late Copper Age. Although a migration scenario cannot be ruled out definitively, settlement pattern analysis supports a model of internal social trajectories leading to the changes, while macroscopic and petrographic ceramic analyses do not reveal any changes in technological preparation or manufacturing methods indicating the arrival of new people or pottery technologies in the region. Ultimately, the results of this research suggest that even dramatic shifts in material culture and incorporation into wider material culture groups can occur in times of population continuity through a combination of social and economic processes.
Papers by Timothy Parsons
Confederacy in regulating military transport and commerce on the Tennessee River. In late 2010, archaeologists from the National Park Service Southeast Archeological Center investigated Fort Heiman to distinguish between Confederate and Union landscape features, and to shed light on the role of African American Freedmen living at the fort during its Northern occupation. Ultimately, the landscape surrounding Fort Heiman was found to be highly disturbed by relic collectors. And, although impossible to distinguish between Union and Confederate forces based on the artifact assemblage, the identification of several earthworks and landscape features sheds new light on the occupation of the area during the Civil War.
During the project, shovel survey uncovered evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area in the form of lithic debitage resulting from stone tool production; no culturally diagnostic lithic or ceramic materials were discovered. Metal detector survey led to the collection of a variety of artifacts dating to the Civil War-era, including numerous machine cut nails and a variety of munitions objects. None of the metal objects were particularly diagnostic, however, as they were of common types used by both Union and Confederate forces in the early phase of the war. Three previously undocumented earthworks consisting of raised earth and ditches were also located and recorded, and 18 hut pads dug into the side of a steep slope (representing a Civil War campsite) were similarly documented. No archeological evidence related to the Freedmen’s camp historically reported to have been in the general area was located during the SEAC surveys.
This SEAC investigation, and information gathered during a prior survey conducted in the park unit by New South Associates in 2010 (Tankersley and Gregory 2010), indicate that the site has been significantly impacted by metal detecting relic hunters, which has negatively affected our ability to employ archeological methods to discern past behaviors at the site. This does not, however, necessarily diminish to any major degree, the historical significance and research potential of the archeological resources that have been identified so far during the two survey projects. It is also possible that further archeological investigation (for example, systematic excavations of hut pads, additional metal detector survey, or further shovel testing survey in areas of the park unit not covered by this study) could refine our understanding of the prehistoric and historic archeological resources at Fort Heiman, and perhaps also lead to the discovery of the as yet unrelocated Freedmen’s camp.
This project focuses on changes at the beginning of the Late Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain at around 3,500 B.C. At this time, the relatively homogeneous Baden culture became the dominant material culture group on the Plain. Two models of changes are tested here: 1) that the Late Copper Age Baden culture developed out of local populations’ intensified involvement in an interregional interaction sphere; and 2) change occurred through migration or migrations onto the plain or a diffusion of material culture and other behaviors that drastically affected settlement and social organization. In this vein, the presumably intrusive kurgan burial tumuli that appeared in the region at about this time are of special interest.
These models are tested in two primary ways: 1) a multi-scalar settlement spatial analysis of known archaeological sites; and 2) macroscopic and petrographic ceramic analysis aimed at identifying technological and manufacturing changes over time that might point to either the arrival of new people in the region (migration) or diachronic population continuity.
Insufficient evidence exists to support a migration catalyzing the social and settlement changes observed at the beginning of the Late Copper Age. Although a migration scenario cannot be ruled out definitively, settlement pattern analysis supports a model of internal social trajectories leading to the changes, while macroscopic and petrographic ceramic analyses do not reveal any changes in technological preparation or manufacturing methods indicating the arrival of new people or pottery technologies in the region. Ultimately, the results of this research suggest that even dramatic shifts in material culture and incorporation into wider material culture groups can occur in times of population continuity through a combination of social and economic processes.
Confederacy in regulating military transport and commerce on the Tennessee River. In late 2010, archaeologists from the National Park Service Southeast Archeological Center investigated Fort Heiman to distinguish between Confederate and Union landscape features, and to shed light on the role of African American Freedmen living at the fort during its Northern occupation. Ultimately, the landscape surrounding Fort Heiman was found to be highly disturbed by relic collectors. And, although impossible to distinguish between Union and Confederate forces based on the artifact assemblage, the identification of several earthworks and landscape features sheds new light on the occupation of the area during the Civil War.
During the project, shovel survey uncovered evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area in the form of lithic debitage resulting from stone tool production; no culturally diagnostic lithic or ceramic materials were discovered. Metal detector survey led to the collection of a variety of artifacts dating to the Civil War-era, including numerous machine cut nails and a variety of munitions objects. None of the metal objects were particularly diagnostic, however, as they were of common types used by both Union and Confederate forces in the early phase of the war. Three previously undocumented earthworks consisting of raised earth and ditches were also located and recorded, and 18 hut pads dug into the side of a steep slope (representing a Civil War campsite) were similarly documented. No archeological evidence related to the Freedmen’s camp historically reported to have been in the general area was located during the SEAC surveys.
This SEAC investigation, and information gathered during a prior survey conducted in the park unit by New South Associates in 2010 (Tankersley and Gregory 2010), indicate that the site has been significantly impacted by metal detecting relic hunters, which has negatively affected our ability to employ archeological methods to discern past behaviors at the site. This does not, however, necessarily diminish to any major degree, the historical significance and research potential of the archeological resources that have been identified so far during the two survey projects. It is also possible that further archeological investigation (for example, systematic excavations of hut pads, additional metal detector survey, or further shovel testing survey in areas of the park unit not covered by this study) could refine our understanding of the prehistoric and historic archeological resources at Fort Heiman, and perhaps also lead to the discovery of the as yet unrelocated Freedmen’s camp.