Prehistoric American Indian Research Articles

Survivorship of Earthworks Mapped by T. H. Lewis in Iowa 1884–1894

Abstract Between 1884 and 1894, Theodore Hayes Lewis mapped 370 prehistoric American Indian mounds and earthworks in Iowa as part of a larger survey of mounds in the upper Midwest. Georeferencing remapped Lewis survey notes allows their comparison with modern GIS data including lidar topographic maps, aerial photos, and land records. Of the 370 mounds, 190 (51.4%) are clearly visible in lidar, 160 (43.2%) are probably destroyed, and 20 (5.4%) are undetermined. Data analyses explore the factors that influenced mound survivorship. By far the strongest correlations for survivorship are modern land use, modern ownership, and local landform, with mounds most likely to survive in wooded areas, on public land, and on islands. Iowa data are compared with Lewis map data from Minnesota, revealing Iowa has a far higher survivorship, 51.4% versus 25.6%, likely attributable to land use in the late nineteenth century. Further comparison with Minnesota data suggests perhaps twice as many mounds stood in modern agricultural fields of Iowa before Lewis made his surveys.

Survivorship of Earthworks Mapped by T. H. Lewis in Iowa 1884–1894

ABSTRACTBetween 1884 and 1894, Theodore Hayes Lewis mapped 370 prehistoric American Indian mounds and earthworks in Iowa as part of a larger survey of mounds in the upper Midwest. Georeferencing re...

Postage-Stamp Archaeology: Thomas Childs's Letters to Norton Allen, 1944–1947

Postage-Stamp Archaeology:Thomas Childs's Letters to Norton Allen, 1944–1947 Richard A. Schwartzlose (bio), Bill Broyles (bio), Rein Vanderpot (bio), and Alan Ferg (bio) Many exciting archaeological discoveries are made in the field, some in the laboratory, and others in archives or dusty attics. For over seven decades, major primary material about the Hia-Ced O'odham has been mined from the letters of Thomas Childs Jr. to Henry F. Dobyns and to Richard Van Valkenburgh. These sets had been summarized and published, one in the archaeological journal Kiva1 and the other in Desert Magazine,2 and they provided essential first-hand information for understanding the Hia-Ced O'odham, a somewhat mysterious and lesser known group of Piman-speaking desert dwellers in Western Papaguería. Known historically as the Sand Papago, these people ranged from the Gila River south to the Gulf of California, and from the Colorado River eastward to Sonoyta, Sonora and Ajo, Arizona. Except for family correspondence, no other Childs letters were known or expected. Then in 2010 a previously unreported stash was quietly announced in this journal: Thomas Childs "exchanged quite a few letters with Norton [Allen], from at least [May] 1944 through [December] 1947."3 It was an exciting find. The trove was recognized by Richard A. Schwartzlose in the immense collection of Native American material given by Norton Allen and his wife, Ethel, to the Arizona State Museum [End Page 416] in Tucson. Here we present those letters in full, followed by brief annotations about the subjects, places, and practices. Click for larger view View full resolution Thomas Childs with a large O'odham olla. The original transparency is labeled "White clay olla belonging to a lady from Toa Ha-ah.1 Tom Childs[19]48." At Ten Mile Ranch, Arizona. (Photo by Norton Allen, Norton Allen Papers, MS 35, accession no. 2012-431, Arizona State Museum Archives, University of Arizona.) Childs wrote 14 letters to Allen that contained recollections of his experiences during his life in Western Papaguería: discussions about pottery, a story about giants, medical practices, searching for minerals and mines, and the locations of wells and springs. Childs, a pioneering [End Page 417] rancher and miner, knew places where prehistoric American Indians had lived. Beginning about 1887, when he was a teenager, Childs had accompanied Hia-Ced O'odham throughout southwestern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, learning their language and ways while he camped, worked, and traveled with them. His second wife, Martha Garcia, whom he married in 1902,4 was Hia-Ced O'odham, and her extended family became his. Several articles written about Thomas Childs's life and his knowledge of the O'odham include those by Dan Rose,5 Richard Van Valkenburgh, Henry F. Dobyns (attributed to Childs), and Bill Hoy.6 Thomas Childs (1870–1951) was born in what became Yuma, Arizona. His father, Thomas Childs Sr., may have arrived in the region as early as 1847, and he spent his early years in Arizona as a prospector, rancher, farmer, deputy sheriff, and owner of a stage station. In 1875 Thomas Sr. and his wife, Mary, moved to Phoenix so that their son Tom and her children from a previous marriage could go to school. The family stayed in Phoenix until 1883, when Mary died of illness. Soon afterward, Thomas Sr. and Thomas Jr. moved near Ajo and established their Ten Mile Ranch. The father staked claims to rich mineral deposits at Ajo and later sold them for a moderate fortune, while his son dabbled in mining and land sales but worked primarily as a cowman whose cattle ranged from the Mexican border north to the Gila River, and from Covered Wells west to the Mohawk Mountains. Having traveled over much of this area on foot or horseback, Tom Jr. knew where many of the springs, natural tinajas, and wells were located, and had drilled some of the wells himself. Too, he had stayed at many of the Indian camps scattered across that vast desert. Norton Allen (1909–1997) was an artist and avocational archaeologist who lived most of his life in La Mesa, California. He started collecting Indian artifacts as a boy...

Mussel Remains from Prehistoric Salt Works, Clarke County, Alabama

Archaeological research at salt springs in Clarke County, AL (Tombigbee River drainage), documented bivalve mollusk exploitation by late prehistoric American Indians. A total of 582 valves representing 19 species of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) and an estuarine clam (Mactridae) from the Lower Salt Works Site (ca. A.D. 900–1550) and 41 valve fragments representing 6 mussel species from the Stimpson Site (ca. A.D. 1200–1550) were documented. The Lower Salt Works fauna was dominated numerically by Fusconaia ebena and Quadrula asperata, the dominant species reported during recent local surveys. The mussel species represented are known from medium to large streams in sand and gravel habitats and include four federally protected species and other species of conservation concern in Alabama. Results offer comparative data for other archaeological and ecological studies in the region.

Extraradicular cemental fragments in the alveolar bone of prehistoric American Indians: Report of three cases

Heretofore unreported, grossly observable structures composed of cementum were found in the superficial alveolar bone--but not attached to the tooth root--in three prehistoric American Indian skeletons from South Dakota. The macroscopic, radiographic, and histologic morphology of these fragments is described and compared with other cemental structures that occur in the alveolar process.

Porotic hyperostosis in a marine-dependent California Indian population.

A maize-based iron- and protein-deficient diet is commonly cited as the most important cause of porotic hyperostosis among American Indian agriculturalists. An alternative to this maize dependence hypothesis is suggested by the analysis of 432 crania from the nonagricultural, fish-dependent population of the Channel Island area of southern California. Cribra orbitalia, a form of porotic hyperostosis associated with iron deficiency anemia, is just as common among these fisherpeople, whose diet was rich in iron and essential amino acids, as it is among maize-dependent agriculturalists. Northern Channel Island crania have much more cribra orbitalia than those from the California mainland. The highest incidence is on San Miguel, a small geographically isolated island with a shortage of fresh water and terrestrial resources. The Indians who lived on Santa Cruz, the largest of the northern Channel Islands with the greatest diversity of terrestrial plants and animals, have less cribra orbitalia than those who lived on Santa Rosa or San Miguel Island. This geographical distribution appears to be explained by island-mainland and interisland differences in water contamination, exposure to fish-borne parasites, and nutritional adequacy of the diet. The prevalence of porotic hyperostosis in a population with a heavy dietary dependence on marine resources shows that among prehistoric American Indians, this condition is not always associated with an iron- and protein-deficient diet of cultigens. It seems likely that high nutrient losses associated with diarrheal disease are often more significant in the etiology of porotic hyperostosis than a low dietary intake of essential nutrients.

CAN INFANT MALNUTRITION CAUSE ADULT VERTEBRAL STENOSIS?

Does infant malnutrition produce smaller adult spinal canals? Lumbar and thoracic vertebrae (n X 1073), from a prehistoric American Indian population (15-55 yrs of age), were measured for anteroposterior (AP) and transverse (TR) vertebral canal sizes, nerve root tunnel (intervertebral foramen) widths (NRT), vertebral heights (VH), vertebral osteophytosis (VO), and tibial lengths. They underwent a dietary change from hunting-gathering, protein rich (PR), to maize agriculture, protein deficient (PD), between 950 and 1300 A.D. Multivariate analyses controlled for age, sex, culture, NRT, VH, VO, and wedging. Canal size was significantly smaller in the PD. AP diameters were generally and highly correlated with NRT, and thus both spinal stenosis and sciatica may have a developmental basis. Canal size was independent of statural components. Consequently, canal size is a most powerful tool in assessing the presence infant malnutrition. Moreover, perhaps the association between canal size and low-back pain (LBP) found in living populations has been underestimated, and this component of LBP is preventable.

Bivariate analysis of trace elements in bone

A major difficulty in understanding the significance of trace element levels in human skeletal remains has been the inability to compare populations from different sites directly. Local variations in environmental levels of elements produces differing elemental levels in the bone of inhabitants of different regions. This variation renders comparisons of bone trace element levels problematic. Bivariate analysis, simultaneously examining zinc and strontium, offers a possible resolution of this problem, in addition to presenting a means for distinguishing different patterns of resource utilization. This report examines the application of this technique to three prehistoric American Indian populations.

Can infant malnutrition cause adult vertebral stenosis?

Does infant malnutrition produce smaller adult spinal canals? Lumbar and thoracic vertebrae (n X 1073), from a prehistoric American Indian population (15-55 yrs of age), were measured for anteroposterior (AP) and transverse (TR) vertebral canal sizes, nerve root tunnel (intervertebral foramen) widths (NRT), vertebral heights (VH), vertebral osteophytosis (VO), and tibial lengths. They underwent a dietary change from hunting-gathering, protein rich (PR), to maize agriculture, protein deficient (PD), between 950 and 1300 A.D. Multivariate analyses controlled for age, sex, culture, NRT, VH, VO, and wedging. Canal size was significantly smaller in the PD. AP diameters were generally and highly correlated with NRT, and thus both spinal stenosis and sciatica may have a developmental basis. Canal size was independent of statural components. Consequently, canal size is a most powerful tool in assessing the presence infant malnutrition. Moreover, perhaps the association between canal size and low-back pain (LBP) found in living populations has been underestimated, and this component of LBP is preventable.

Iron Deficiency Anemia in Two Prehistoric American Indian Skeletons: a Dietary Hypothesis

Two prehistoric adult skeletons exhibiting path ological bone changes resembling those of hemolytic anemia were examined to determine the nature of these changes. Our findings show that abnormal hemoglobin variants responsible for these disorders do not exist in modern day American Indian natives. On this basis, it is very unlikely that their predecessors possessed the genes for these variants. A condition known as porotic hyporostosis similar to those bony changes produced by hemolytic disorders occur in high incidence in neighboring Anasazi people, and it has been found that the condition results from a lack of iron and protein in their diet. Since the Evans Mound people (reported on here) subsisted on a similar diet, it is suggested that these pathological changes are also the result of a dietary deficiency.

Allometric analysis of dental variation in a human population

There exists an extensive literature that deals with interspecific allometry, eg, brain size-body size relationships among species. Yet comparatively little attention has been paid to intraspecific or static adult allometry. An intraspecific allometric analysis was conducted on the complete permanent dentition of a prehistoric American Indian population (N = 156). Mesiodistal and buccolingual measurements were logarithmically transformed and regressed on log transformations of femur length, an estimate of body size. When measurements of antimeric teeth were introduced together into common regressions on femur length, 20 of the 32 slopes were significantly different from zero. Thirty-one of the slopes ranged between zero and one and clustered between 0.2 and 0.4. Hence, negative allometry describes the tooth size-body size association, ie, taller individuals in general possess absolutely but not relatively larger teeth than shorter individuals. In addition, no significant sex differences for the regression slopes were observed. Though significantly correlated, tooth size and body size variables are too weakly associated to permit accurate predictions from regression equations. Evolutionary implications of intraspecific dental allometry are discussed.

Evidence for Tuberculosis in a Prehistoric Population

COMMENCING several thousand years before Christ and continuing to the time of European contact, the prehistory of eastern North America portrays a series of cultural adaptations. In the earliest periods, hunting and gathering were the exclusive economic pursuits; in the latest periods, agriculture was the primary pursuit. In a review of the paleopathologic literature, Buikstra¹demonstrated that cases of prehistoric skeletal lesions, thought to be tuberculous, were more frequently reported for the later agriculturally based groups when compared with the earlier hunting and gathering groups. We think that this association between paleopathology and culture history is more than coincidental; indeed, the paleopathologic and paleoepidemiologic record of eastern North America closely mirrors human culture history. We report on skeletal lesions in six late prehistoric American Indians recovered from a burial mound at the Turpin Farm near Cincinnati. The site, excavated by the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, yielded the remains

Patterns of stress, disease and mortality in two prehistoric populations from North American

Archaeological data from the Dickson Mounds site was employed to reconstruct the cultural-ecological context of two prehistoric American Indian populations. These populations were identified as the Mississippian Acculturated Late Woodland (A.D. 1050–1200) and the Spoon River Focus of the Middle Mississippian (A.D. 1200–1300). The cultural-ecological data was then employed to interpret some of the biological parameters of the two skeletal populations. The cultural-ecological variables included: (a) subsistence technology; (b) population density and degree of sedentarism; and (c) the extent and intensity of contacts with surrounding social groups. The biological parameters included: (a) infectious disease; (b) micro-structural dental defects; and (c) mortality. The results of the analysis suggested that as alterations occurred in the cultural-ecological adaptations of the populations in the form of an increased reliance upon maize agriculture, an increase in population density and sedentarism, and an increase in social contacts; there occurred an increase in the frequency of infectious disease, micro-structural dental defects and mortality.

A mandibular cystlike lesion in a prehistoric American Indian

A possible multilocular cyst or ameloblastoma is reported in a 1,200-year-old prehistoric American Indian. A description of this lesion and its incidence in early populations is reviewed.

Blood Group Determinations of Prehistoric American Indians

Blood Group Determinations of Prehistoric American Indians

Prehistoric American Indians Suffered from Syphilis

Prehistoric American Indians Suffered from Syphilis

Prehistoric American Indians Suffered from Syphilis

Prehistoric American Indians Suffered from Syphilis