The  Bioarchaeology  of  Midwestern  Archaic  Rockshelters  30  Years  Later  -­‐  Revisi>ng  Modoc  Rockshelter,  Randolph  County,  Illinois  

   Eve  A.  Hargrave  Illinois  State  Archaeological  Survey,  Prairie  Research  Institute,    

 University  of  Illinois,  Champaign-­‐Urbana    

The   Archaic   period   is   a   time   of  signi3icant   changes   characterized  by  population  movements,   changes  in   subsistence   strategies,   mobility,  territoriality,   social   organization,  and  technology.  In  contrast  to  other  regions  in  the  Midwest,  very  little  is  known  about  mortuary  behavior  or  the   demography   and   health   of  Archa ic   popu la t ions   in   the  American  Bottom.     Although  many  A r c h a i c   s i t e s   h a v e   b e e n  investigated   in   the   American  Bottom,  very  few  have  an  identi3ied  mortuary  component.      

 A  total  of  33  burials  were  excavated  during  archaeological  investigations  at   Modoc   -­‐   29   burial   features   were   excavated   in   the   1950s   and   four  additional   burials  were   excavated   in   the   1980s.     In   1985,   as   part   of   an  internship   at   the   Illinois   State  Museum,   I   conducted   a   reanalysis   of   the  1950s   burials   using   modern   analytical   methods   (Anderson   1985).     In  1989   Steve   Ahler   contacted   me   regarding   the   discovery   of   numerous  human  elements  that  had  been  inadvertently  commingled  with  the  1950s  fauna   collection.   At   least   12   individuals,  most   of  whom  were   infants   or  young  children,  were  identi3ied  commingled  with  faunal  material.        Part  of  the  reanalysis  of  the  Modoc  skeletal  collection  included  the  use  of  conversion   guidelines   provided   by   Steve   Ahler   that   tied   the   1950s  de3ined-­‐strata  to  the  more  recent  re3ined  stratigraphy  as  de3ined  by  Ahler  and  Koldehoff  (2009)  to  re3ine  burial  context.  Although  the  sample  size  is  very   small,  Modoc   represents   the   largest   sample   of   human   remains   for  the  American  Bottom  region.      Combining   the   archaeological   data   from   the   1980s   studies   with   a  reanalysis   of   archaeological   collections   from   the   earlier   1950s  excavations   have   provided   important   insights   regarding   the   diet,  technology,   and  activities  of   these   early  Midwestern   inhabitants   as  well  as   invaluable   environmental   information   for   the   Early   Archaic   through  Late  Archaic  Period.        

Figure   5   illustrates   the   Modoc   burial   composition   throughout   the  Archaic   period   -­‐   from   the   late   Early   Archaic   period   (10,000-­‐8000   BP)  through   the  Middle   Archaic   (8000-­‐5000   BP)   until   the   end   of   the   Late  Archaic  period  (5000-­‐3000  BP).    

Ø  Throughout   the   Early   and   Middle   Archaic   periods,   adults   of   both  sexes  and  subadults  were  interred  in  the  rockshelter.    

Ø  Most  of  the  burials  occur  in  the  Middle  to  Late  Middle  Archaic  periods  with   very   few   burials   attributed   to   the   Late   Archaic   period.   This  pattern  coincides  with  the  archaeological  evidence  for  more  intensive  occupation   during   the   Middle   Archaic   that   diminishes   through   the  Late  Archaic.  

 

The   distribution   of   burials   across   the   site   is   illustrated   in   Figure   6.  Several  patterns  emerge:  

Ø  During   the  Middle  Archaic,  mortuary  activity  was   concentrated   in  the  West   Shelter   area   of   the   site;   by   the   Late   Middle   Archaic   all  burials  were  associated  with  the  Main  Shelter  area.    

Ø  Virtually   all   the  burials  were   in   a   3lexed   to   tightly   3lexed  position,  although  two   individuals  were   interred   in  a  prone  position   that   is  very   uncommon   for   this   time   period.   Burial   19   was   a   mid-­‐adult  male   from   the   middle   Middle   Archaic   component   in   the   West  Shelter   Area;   the   other   individual   (Burial   6)   was   a   young   adult  female  from  the  early  Late  Archaic  period  in  the  Main  Shelter  Area.  

Ø  During   the   early   part   of   the   Middle   Archaic,   many   of   the   burials  were  placed  close  to  the  back  wall  of  the  rockshelter.  This  pattern  changed   signi3icantly   during   the   Late   Middle   Archaic   where   the  burials  are  dispersed  throughout  the  Main  Rockshelter.  

Ø  At   least   1-­‐2   individuals   from   each   time   period   had   associated  objects   buried   with   them.   Associated   artifacts   included   projectile  points,  red  ochre,  and  a  grinding  stone  that  were  associated  with  a  total  of  four  males.    The  artifacts  associated  with  two  women  (one  late  Early  Archaic,  one  early  Late  Archaic)  consisted  of  bone  awls,  some   hematite,   and   two   long   bird   bones-­‐   very   different   from   the  men.  Although  it  appears  that  more  individuals  are  associated  with  burial   objects   in   the   early   Middle   Archaic,   this   may   simply   be   a  function  of  the  higher  number  of  overall  burials  present.  

 Burial  1  consisted  of  an  adolescent  female  in  the  bottom  of  a  deep  [pit?]  feature.  She  was  in  a  tightly  3lexed  position  on  her  left  side  with  her  head  to  the  south  facing  west  across  the  3loodplain.  Her  body  orientation  was  roughly  parallel  to  the  general  direction  of  the  bluff  line.  This  burial  was  not   an   isolated   event   since   additional   human   remains   were   visible   in  several  different  locations  along  the  bluff  face.      An  AMS  date  of  extracted  collagen  from  Burial  1,  performed  at  the  Illinois  State   Geological   Survey   at   the   University   of   Illinois,   resulted   in   an  uncalibrated  date  of  8050  +/-­‐  35  Radiocarbon  years  BP.    A  calibrated  date  of   7072-­‐7027   BC   obtained   using   the   revised   5.0.1   CALIB   Radiocarbon  Calibration   Program   (Reimer   et   al.   2004;   Stuiver,   Reimer,   and   Reimer  2005)   indicates   that   this   individual   is   associated  with   transition   period  between   the   late   Early   Archaic   and   early   Middle   Archaic   periods   (see  Fortier  2006;  Ahler  and  Koldehoff  2009).  

Combining  the  samples  from  Modoc  Rockshelter  and  Kaskasia  Mine,  we  see  that  virtually  all  articulated  burials  from  the  Early-­‐Middle  Archaic  are  oriented   parallel   to   the   bluff   face   placed   in   a   3lexed   to   tightly   3lexed  position.   The   presence   of   individuals   of   all   ages   and   both   males   and  females   suggest   that   there   was   no   preferential   location   for   burial   that  was   determined   by   age   or   sex.   Although   the   sample   size   is   undeniably  small,   there   is   a   tendency   for   types   of   associated   artifacts   to   be   based  upon  whether  the  individual  was  male  or  female.      An  interesting  correlation  can  be  seen  between  density  of  site  occupation  and  the  number  of  burials.  Burials  are  more  common  during  the  periods  of  the  most  intensive  occupation  and  taper  off  during  the  Early  and  Late  Archaic  periods  when  site  occupation  becomes  more  sporatic.      So   why   do   we   see   a   shift   between   burial   locations   during   the   Middle  Archaic?  At  Modoc,  prior  to  the  Late  Middle  Archaic  periods,  burials  were  placed  close  to  the  wall  of  the  rockshelter,  possibly  to  protect  them  from  risk  of  disturbance.  No   information   is  available  regarding  the  proximity  of   the  Kaskaskia  Mine   remains   to   the  wall   of   the  Rockshelter   since   the  site  remains  unexcavated.      In   his   1999   review   of   Early   Holocene  mortuary   practices,   Jon  Walthall  observed   this   pattern   of   burial   close   to   the   Rockshelter   walls   and  observed   that   ethnoarchaeological   studies   describe   how   such   locations  are  commonly  used  as  sleeping  areas  by  hunter-­‐gatherer  societies.  Thus  the  placement  of  burials   in  such  areas  may  have  a  symbolic   function  as  well  -­‐  linking  the  sleep  of  the  living  to  the  sleep  of  the  dead.  Subsequent  to   that   period,   a   distinct   shift   in   location   occurs  with  most   of   the   later  burials  within  the  Main  Shelter  Area  occurring  in  a  much  more  dispersed  pattern.     At   this   time,   answers   to   why   such   a   shift   occurred   remains  elusive   although   possible   factors   in3luencing   this   may   include  topography,  spatial  relationships  of  burials  to  habitation  features,  and  a  more  thorough  investigation  into  seasonality  and  settlements  of  hunter-­‐gatherer  societies.    

The   goal   of   this   poster   is   to   present   the   updated   demography   of   the  Modoc   Rockshelter   population,   illustrate   the   importance   of   reanalyzing  curated  collections  using  new  methods  and  data,  and  compare  the  results  to   a   more   recently   excavated   Early   Archaic   burial   from   the   Kaskaskia  Mine  site.  

Introduction  

Figure  1.  Location  of  Modoc  RS  and  Kaskaskia  Mine  site  

Modoc  Rockshelter  Modoc  Rockshelter  is  the  most  well-­‐known  of  the  Midwestern  Archaic  sites  (Figure  2).    The  earliest  investigations  of  this  highly  strati3ied  rockshelter  occurred  in  the  1950s  by  Melvin  Fowler,   Howard   Winters,   Irving   Peithman  and   a   crew   from   the   University   of   Chicago.  They   investigated   three   main   areas   of   the  site-­‐-­‐   the  West  Shelter,  Main  Shelter  and  the  East   Pillar   (Figure   3).   In   the   1980s,   the  Illinois   State   Museum   investigators,   under  the   direction   of   Steve   Ahler   and   Bonnie  Styles,   returned   to   the   rockshelter   on  multiple   occasions.     Their   objective   was   to  re-­‐evaluate   the   site   stratigraphy   as   de3ined  by   the   1950s   investigations   and   to   excavate  additional   test   units   that   would   enable  researchers   to   correlate   the   stratigraphy  across  the  site  (Figure  4).    

Figure  4.  From  University  of  Michigan,  Museum  of  Anthropology  Image  Database  Website    http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umma/  

       

Figure  3.  Plan  map  Modoc  Rockshelter  

Figure  2.  Modoc  Rockshelter  

Demography  

0  

2  

4  

6  

8  

10  

12  

14  Late  Early  Archaic  

Early  Middle  Archaic  

Middle  Middle  Archaic  

Late  Middle  Archaic   Early  Late  Archaic  

Middle  Late  Archaic   Terminal  Archaic  

#  of  individu

als  

Modoc  Rockshelter  Gender  Distribu>on  

Subadult  

Unknown  adult  

Male  

Female  

Figure  5.  Age  and  Sex  by  Time  Period  

Mortuary  Behavior  

The   Kaskaskia   Mine   site   is   located   in  Randolph   County,   Illinois,   just   a   few  miles  north  of  Modoc  Rockshelter.    The  Kaskaskia  Mine   site   was   discovered   in   2004   when  mining  activities  resulted  in  the  collapse  of  the   bluff   face.   Human   remains   were  discovered   eroding   out   of   the   bluff   face,  including  a  burial  (Burial  1)  within  a  highly  strati3ied   rockshelter-­‐-­‐very   similar   to  Modoc  Rockshelter.  (Figure  7).  

Discussion  

Walthall   (1999)   has   characterized  rockshelter   burials   similar   to   Modoc  and   Kaskaskia   Mine   as   ‘expedient’  meaning   that   people   were   buried  where   they   died   with   little   additional  expenditure  on  their   3inal  resting  place  than  that  which  would  occur  during  the  immediate  burial  rituals.  This  may  very  well  be  the  case  given  that  the  patterns  seen  at  Modoc  and  Kaskaskia  Mine  are  also   found   at   a   number   of   Rockshelter  sites   in   Missouri,   Arkansas,   Alabama,  Kentucky,  and  Texas  (Figure  8).  Clearly  some   traditional   guiding   principles  governed   the   placement   of   the   body.    This   may   have   been   particularly  important   during   the   period   of   the  heaviest   occupation   of   the   site   during  the  Middle  Archaic.    Figure  6.  Distribution  of  Burials  at  Modoc  Rockshelter  

Kaskaskia  Mine  Site  

Figure  7.  Sketch  map  of  Kaskaskia  Mine  Site  

Figure  8.  Archaic  Rockshelters  (modiVied  from  Walthall  1999)  

I  would  like  to  acknowledge  the  generosity  and  support  from  the  following  institutions  and    people:  the  Illinois  State  Museum,  Bonnie  W.  Styles  (Director-­‐  ISM),  Steve  Ahler,  Illinois  State  Archaeological  Survey,  Thomas  E  Emerson  (Director  –  ISAS),  Illinois  Historic  Preservation  Agency,  Kris  Hedman,  and  Brad  Koldehoff.