Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Midd... more Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Middle Woodland period of eastern North America. Direct evidence for the manufacture of the objects is exceedingly rare because they are typically recovered from mortuary contexts or ceremonial caches. Here, we present multiple lines of evidence pointing to the manufacture of modified teeth and jaws at the Moorehead Circle post enclosure within the Fort Ancient Earthworks. The convergence of protein residue, lithic use-wear, and faunal data indicate that bear and likely canid bones were modified by artisans working within the Moorehead Circle. These findings add an important new layer of understanding to our knowledge of these objects, human–animal relations, and craft production in the Middle Woodland.
Mobile populations are notoriously difficult to document archaeologically. Particularly in cases ... more Mobile populations are notoriously difficult to document archaeologically. Particularly in cases of dense population aggregation, the traces of mobile groups are frequently obscured, thereby limiting our understanding of the role of mobile populations in more sedentary contexts. This study uses isotopic evidence ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, δ 18 O, and δ 13 C in serial intra-tooth samples of enamel apatite) to document the presence of herders employing various scales of mobility at the Iron Age urban center of Jenné-jeno (occupied ca. 250 BC –AD 1400) in Mali’s Inland Niger Delta. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr variability provides evidence for three major types of herd mobility in archaeological cattle, sheep, and goat teeth. This study demonstrates that analysis of intra-tooth samples can provide nuanced data about herd mobility and herding strategies, moving beyond basic classifications of mobile versus non-mobile or local versus non-local. The analysis of multiple isotopes and multiple teeth per animal, when ...
Tables of the raw 87Sr/86Sr data discussed in this article, broken up by archaeological phases an... more Tables of the raw 87Sr/86Sr data discussed in this article, broken up by archaeological phases and sites.
Journal of African Archaeology, 2013, Vol. 11 (No. 1), pp. 9–37., 2013
Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chronic... more Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the king and the other a market and trading town called Sarneh. The large settlement mound of Gao Saney, located seven kilometers east of Gao, has long been thought to be the site of Sarneh. Excavations in 2001–2 and 2009 were the first sustained archaeological explorations of the main, 32-hectare mound, providing new information on function, subsistence economy, material culture, and chronology, and expanding considerably on earlier investigations by T. Insoll and R. Mauny. This article presents a broad overview of the recent excavations, focusing particularly on the evidence for spatial differentiation (domestic and workshop areas), chronology (both radiocarbon and ceramic) and involvement in trade networks.
In this paper I use zooarchaeological data to investigate the relationship between food productio... more In this paper I use zooarchaeological data to investigate the relationship between food production strategies, particularly herding practices, and socioeconomic configurations in the ancient city of Jenn e-jeno (occupied ca. 250 BCE to 1400 CE) and in archaeological contexts (ca. 1400e1900 CE) from the modern city of Djenn e, both located in Mali's Inland Niger Delta (IND). IND populations are notable for their system of subsistence specialization, wherein self-ascribed ethnic groups identify strongly with specific subsistence regimes. This organization is a successful response to the area's unpredictability and, as such, exerts strong influence on interpretations of many IND archaeological contexts. In particular, scholars have invoked subsistence specialization as a possible underlying explanation for the distinctive social and political organization found at Jenn e-jeno, most notably in Rod McIntosh's Pulse Model. Data from osteometric and isotopic (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) analysis of domestic herd animals, however, suggest that subsistence regimes were much more diversified at Jenn e-jeno and neighboring sites, and that ethnically-linked subsistence specialization may have emerged in this area only as part of a broad social, political, and settlement pattern reorganization coincident with Jenn e-jeno's abandonment. I argue that despite facing broadly similar climatic uncertainty over the past two millennia, populations in and around Jenn e-jeno adopted shifting social and economic strategies, with new approaches emerging in the face of specific environmental challenges and changing social contexts. This study joins others in showing the extent to which ancient urban centers are the product of their local environmental and sociopolitical settings, rather than conforming to expected models of urban configurations.
Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Midd... more Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Middle Woodland period of eastern North America. Direct evidence for the manufacture of the objects is exceedingly rare because they are typically recovered from mortuary contexts or ceremonial caches. Here, we present multiple lines of evidence pointing to the manufacture of modified teeth and jaws at the Moorehead Circle post enclosure within the Fort Ancient Earthworks. The convergence of protein residue, lithic use-wear, and faunal data indicate that bear and likely canid bones were modified by artisans working within the Moorehead Circle. These findings add an important new layer of understanding to our knowledge of these objects, human–animal relations, and craft production in the Middle Woodland.
Mobile populations are notoriously difficult to document archaeologically. Particularly in cases ... more Mobile populations are notoriously difficult to document archaeologically. Particularly in cases of dense population aggregation, the traces of mobile groups are frequently obscured, thereby limiting our understanding of the role of mobile populations in more sedentary contexts. This study uses isotopic evidence ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, δ 18 O, and δ 13 C in serial intra-tooth samples of enamel apatite) to document the presence of herders employing various scales of mobility at the Iron Age urban center of Jenné-jeno (occupied ca. 250 BC –AD 1400) in Mali’s Inland Niger Delta. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr variability provides evidence for three major types of herd mobility in archaeological cattle, sheep, and goat teeth. This study demonstrates that analysis of intra-tooth samples can provide nuanced data about herd mobility and herding strategies, moving beyond basic classifications of mobile versus non-mobile or local versus non-local. The analysis of multiple isotopes and multiple teeth per animal, when ...
Tables of the raw 87Sr/86Sr data discussed in this article, broken up by archaeological phases an... more Tables of the raw 87Sr/86Sr data discussed in this article, broken up by archaeological phases and sites.
Journal of African Archaeology, 2013, Vol. 11 (No. 1), pp. 9–37., 2013
Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chronic... more Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the king and the other a market and trading town called Sarneh. The large settlement mound of Gao Saney, located seven kilometers east of Gao, has long been thought to be the site of Sarneh. Excavations in 2001–2 and 2009 were the first sustained archaeological explorations of the main, 32-hectare mound, providing new information on function, subsistence economy, material culture, and chronology, and expanding considerably on earlier investigations by T. Insoll and R. Mauny. This article presents a broad overview of the recent excavations, focusing particularly on the evidence for spatial differentiation (domestic and workshop areas), chronology (both radiocarbon and ceramic) and involvement in trade networks.
In this paper I use zooarchaeological data to investigate the relationship between food productio... more In this paper I use zooarchaeological data to investigate the relationship between food production strategies, particularly herding practices, and socioeconomic configurations in the ancient city of Jenn e-jeno (occupied ca. 250 BCE to 1400 CE) and in archaeological contexts (ca. 1400e1900 CE) from the modern city of Djenn e, both located in Mali's Inland Niger Delta (IND). IND populations are notable for their system of subsistence specialization, wherein self-ascribed ethnic groups identify strongly with specific subsistence regimes. This organization is a successful response to the area's unpredictability and, as such, exerts strong influence on interpretations of many IND archaeological contexts. In particular, scholars have invoked subsistence specialization as a possible underlying explanation for the distinctive social and political organization found at Jenn e-jeno, most notably in Rod McIntosh's Pulse Model. Data from osteometric and isotopic (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) analysis of domestic herd animals, however, suggest that subsistence regimes were much more diversified at Jenn e-jeno and neighboring sites, and that ethnically-linked subsistence specialization may have emerged in this area only as part of a broad social, political, and settlement pattern reorganization coincident with Jenn e-jeno's abandonment. I argue that despite facing broadly similar climatic uncertainty over the past two millennia, populations in and around Jenn e-jeno adopted shifting social and economic strategies, with new approaches emerging in the face of specific environmental challenges and changing social contexts. This study joins others in showing the extent to which ancient urban centers are the product of their local environmental and sociopolitical settings, rather than conforming to expected models of urban configurations.
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