Stephen B Carmody

Organic residue analysis was applied to two Mississippian Period human effigy pipes from the southeastern North America using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Both pipes, one recovered from a site in Osceola, Arkansas (USA) and the second from a barrier island near McIntosh County, Georgia (USA), contained trace concentrations of nicotine, indicating the pipes were used to smoke tobacco. The second pipe also contained high concentrations of the monoterpene carvone, the compound that gives spearmint its characteristic aroma. The abundance of carvone along with a mixture of other terpenes and numerous saturated and unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters suggests that an aromatic plant such as spearmint (Mentha sp.), or possibly a plant extract, was included in the smoking complex.

Archaeologists often use near-surface geophysics or LiDAR-derived topographic imagery in their research. However, rarely are the two integrated in a way that offers a robust understanding of the complex historical palimpsests embedded within a social landscape. In this paper we present an integrated aerial and terrestrial remote sensing program at the Johnston Site, part of the larger Pinson Mounds landscape in the American MidSouth. Our work at Johnston was focused on better understanding the history of human landscape use and change so that we can begin to compare the Johnston Site with other large Middle Woodland (200 BC-AD 500) ceremonial centers in the region. Our research allowed us to examine the accuracy of an early map of the Johnston Site made in the early 20th century. However, our integrated remote sensing approach allows us to go well beyond testing the usefulness of the map; it helps identify different uses of the site through time and across space. Our research emphasizes the importance of an integrated remote sensing methodology when examining complex social landscapes of the past and present.

Recent research emphasises the importance of both within-group cooperation and between-group competition for human sociality, past and present. We hypothesise that the shift from foraging to food production in eastern North America provided novel socioecological conditions that impacted interpersonal and intergroup interactions in the region, inspiring both greater cooperation as well as competition. We predict that (1) successful exploitation of this indigenous crop complex encouraged greater cooperation leading to site aggregation in high-quality locations as expected by an ideal free distribution with an Allee effect, and (2) continued population growth driven by the domestication and adoption of the crop complex eventually inspired a shift from positive to negative density dependent settlement dynamics, driving declines in site suitability. Our results demonstrate that there was an increase in both site clustering and site location quality coincident with crop management and domestication in the Middle Holocene, and that territorial violence appears at this time as well. Site quality later declined after c. 3000 cal BP, also as predicted. These results indicate that managing and domesticating plants inspired an Allee effect and led to greater within-group cooperation, but was also related to the rise of territorial between-group competition in the region.

The possibility that native peoples in eastern North America had cultivated plants prior to the introduction of maize was first raised in 1924. Scant evidence was available to support this speculation, however, until the “flotation revolution” of the 1960s and 1970s. As archaeologists involved in large-scale projects began implementing flotation,
paleoethnobotanists soon had hundreds of samples and thousands of seeds that demonstrated that indigenous peoples grew a suite of crops, including cucurbit squashes and gourds, sunflower, sumpweed, and chenopod, which displayed signs of domestication. The application of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating to cucurbit rinds and
seeds in the 1980s placed the domestication of these four crops in the Late Archaic period 5000–3800 BP. The presence of wild cucurbits during earlier Archaic periods lent weight to the argument that native peoples in eastern North America domesticated these
plants independently of early cultivators in Mesoamerica. Analyses of DNA from chenopods and cucurbits in the 2010s definitively demonstrated that these crops developed from local lineages.
With evidence in hand that refuted notions of the diffusion of plant domestication from Mesoamerica, models developed in the 1980s for the transition from foraging to farming in the Eastern Woodlands emphasized the coevolutionary relationship between people
and these crop plants. As Archaic-period groups began to occupy river valleys more intensively, in part due to changing climatic patterns during the mid-Holocene that created more stable river systems, their activities created disturbed areas in which these weedy plants thrive. With these useful plants available as more productive stands in closer proximity to base camps, people increasingly used the plants, which in turn
responded to people’s selection. Critics noted that these models left little room for intentionality or innovation on the part of early farmers.
Models derived from human behavioral ecology explore the circumstances in which foragers choose to start using these small-seeded plants in greater quantities. In contrast to the resource-rich valley settings of the coevolutionary models, human behavioral ecology models posit that foragers would only use these plants, which provide relatively few calories per time spent obtaining them, when existing resources could no longer support growing populations. In these scenarios, Late Archaic peoples cultivated these crops as insurance against shortages in nut supplies. Despite their apparent differences, current iterations of both models recognize humans as agents who actively change their environments, with intentional and unintentional
results. Both also are concerned with understanding the social and ecological contexts
within which people began cultivating and eventually domesticating plants.
The “when” and “where” questions of domestication in eastern North America are
relatively well established, although researchers continue to fill significant gaps in
geographic data. These primarily include regions where large-scale contract archaeology
projects have not been conducted. Researchers are also actively debating the “how” and
“why” of domestication, but the cultural ramifications of the transition from foraging to
farming have yet to be meaningfully incorporated into the archaeological understanding
of the region. The significance of these native crops to the economies of Late Archaic and
subsequent Early and Middle Woodland peoples is poorly understood and often woefully underestimated by researchers. The socioeconomic roles of these native crops to past peoples, as well as the possibilities for farmers and cooks to incorporate them into their practices in the early 21st century, are exciting areas for new research.

Food and foodways are both powerful symbols of identity that involve “culturally
expressive behaviors and the incorporation of a material symbol”
(Twiss 2007b:3). Diachronic changes in the acquisition, production, distribution,
consumption, and discard practices of food, or foodways, have
the ability to greatly inform research about social changes in the past. Archaeological
sites with good preservation where there has been systematic
recovery of artifacts can retell the story of past foodways. Dust Cave
(1Lu496), located in the Tennessee River Valley region of northwestern
Alabama,
is one of these sites. The proximity of the cave to freshwater, bottomland,
and upland resources, as well as outcrops of high-quality
toolstone,
provided ideal conditions for people to seasonally occupy the space
from the Late Paleoindian through the Middle Archaic (Benton phase)
(10,700–3650 calibrated years BC [cal BC]) (Driskell 1994; Sherwood et
al. 2004). The recovery of well-preserved
organic remains provides an extensive
record of hunter-gatherer
lifeways, adaptations, and subsistence
practices over several time horizons. Here we discuss foodways at Dust
Cave through the identification and analysis
of plant remains and a review
of 25 years of research of other lines of evidence from the site, including
faunal remains, stone tools, and features, to discuss how the various
occupants
adjusted their foodways over time in response to changing environmental
and cultural landscapes.

In 2014, the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC) conducted a sexual harassment survey of its membership. The survey’s goal
was to investigate whether sexual harassment had occurred among its members, and if so, to document the rate and demographics of
harassment. Our findings include a high (66%) level of harassment, primarily among women, with an additional 13% of respondents
reporting sexual assault. This article provides an overview of the survey and responses. Additionally, we analyze survey data aimed at
capturing change over time in harassment and assault, correlation between field and non-field tasks and harassment and assault, and
correlation between gender of supervisor and harassment and assault. We also discuss the effects of harassment and assault on careers.
We conclude with suggestions for decreasing the rate of harassment and assault and urge professional archaeological organizations to
document sexual harassment and assault to mitigate the effects on their members and on the discipline as a whole.

Tobacco use was widespread amongst the indigenous populations throughout North and South America prior to
European contact; however, the geographical and temporal spread of the plant is poorly understood. Organic
residue analysis is providing a new source of information on the diffusion of tobacco based on the presence of
nicotine extracted from smoking pipes recovered from archaeological contexts. Using gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) we identified
nicotine in a Late Archaic (1685-1530 cal B.C) smoking pipe from the Flint River site in Northern Alabama. This
evidence suggests the exploitation of tobacco spread into the southeastern North America nearly a millennium
earlier than the current hypothesis on the rate of dispersion of tobacco in pre-Columbian North America

The practice of pipe smoking was commonplace among indigenous cultures of the Eastern Woodlands of North America. However, many questions remain concerning what materials were smoked and when tobacco first became a part of this smoking tradition. Chemical analysis of organic residues extracted from archaeological smoking pipes is an encouraging avenue of research into answering questions regarding the development of a smoking complex within indigenous cultures of the Eastern Woodlands. In the right environmental conditions, absorbed organic compounds within artifacts can remain structurally stable for millennia, allowing analyses of organic matter to be performed on relics of advanced age. In this study, organic matter from six pipe fragments derived from the prehistoric Feltus site in Mississippi was extracted and analyzed via GC-MS, a process that allows for the identification of compounds in a complex mixture. Preliminary experiments tested the effects of pH on the efficacy of our extraction solvent to maximize the detectability of alkaloids such as nicotine. Several notable compounds were identified, including nicotine, which serves as a biomarker for tobacco.

Thousands of years before the maize-based agriculture practiced by many Native American societies in eastern North America
at the time of contact with Europeans, there existed a unique crop system only known through archaeological evidence. There
are no written or oral records of how these lost crops were cultivated, but several domesticated subspecies have been identified
in the archaeological record. Growth experiments and observations of living progenitors of these crops can provide insights into
the ancient agricultural system of eastern North America, the role of developmental plasticity in the process of domestication,
and the creation and maintenance of diverse landraces under cultivation. In addition, experimental gardens are potent tools for
public education, and can also be used to conserve remaining populations of lost crop progenitors and explore the possibility of
re-domesticating these species.

Thousands of years before the maize-based agriculture practiced by many Native American societies in eastern North America
at the time of contact with Europeans, there existed a unique crop system only known through archaeological evidence. There
are no written or oral records of how these lost crops were cultivated, but several domesticated subspecies have been identified in the archaeological record. Growth experiments and observations of living progenitors of these crops can provide insights into the ancient agricultural system of eastern North America, the role of developmental plasticity in the process of domestication, and the creation and maintenance of diverse landraces under cultivation. In addition, experimental gardens are potent tools for public education, and can also be used to conserve remaining populations of lost crop progenitors and explore the possibility of re-domesticating these species.

The prehistory of tobacco (Nicotiana spp.) in the New World has long interested archaeologists, anthropologists, and geographers. Nicotiana rustica (Aztec tobacco), the most widespread tobacco species in prehistoric eastern North America, is an Andean hybrid that was transported to Central America and Mexico by at least 7000 cal yr BP, and reached the Mississippi Valley between 4000 and 3000 cal yr BP. Because Native Americans also smoked other plant materials, archaeological pipes do not necessarily document tobacco use. Additional evidence comes from analyses of pollen and other components in unburned pipe residues, or dottle. Here we describe our efforts to build upon previous tobacco research by performing pollen and chemical analyses of dottle in 14 pipes from archaeological sites in Tennessee. Dottle samples were prepared for pollen analysis using conventional techniques and compared to samples prepared from commercially available tobacco. Pollen results together with initial analyses of chemical signatures using GC/MS positively identified the use of tobacco in four of the 14 pipes. These results contribute to ongoing investigations of the transmission, use, and customs surrounding tobacco and the smoking culture in eastern North America.

While the timing of the initial colonization of North America is still hotly debated, the appearance of the Clovis culture likely represents an early, widespread colonization episode at the end of the Pleistocene. Here, we use the Ideal Free Distribution from Behavioral Ecology to interpret variability in the spatial distribution of previously recorded archaeological sites in the Duck River Valley in Middle Tennessee from the appearance of Clovis sites in the terminal Pleistocene though the Early Holocene (~13,250 – 8,880 cal yr BP). We hypothesized that the distribution of Clovis sites would be skewed towards the confluence of the Duck and Tennessee Rivers, and then subsequent populations would spread to higher elevations over the course of the Younger Dryas and Early Holocene as boreal forests were replaced by mixed hardwood, deciduous forests. After correcting the sample of archaeological sites to account for survey and taphonomic biases, we found that sites dating to the latter part of the Younger Dryas and the Early Holocene become more frequent at higher elevations. However, contrary to the predictions of our model, site frequencies become less frequent during the Early Holocene at the confluence of the Tennessee and Duck Rivers. Our results are consistent with other studies that have proposed that the Cumberland Plateau and the Appalachian Highlands were not intensively occupied until well after the disappearance of the Clovis culture.

In September 2014 SEAC sponsored a sexual harassment survey of its membership. Goals of the survey were to identify frequency and types of sexual harassment in field situations and identify consequences of such incidences for perpetrators and victims. Specifically, the survey was designed to identify if victims of sexual harassment had suffered adverse affects to their career. This poster presents preliminary results of the survey and identifies ways to decrease sexual harassment incidents in the field, including education, communication, examination of field and field house practices, and the use of a conduct code in the field.

In last year's 30 Days of Tennessee Archaeology blog post, Secrets in the Smoke: Prehistoric Tobacco Use in Tennessee, we discussed the results of both pollen analysis and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis on archaeologically-recovered pipes and pipe residues from the state of Tennessee. Thanks to research funds provided by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, we are happy to report new findings. Having nearly exhausted the collections at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, we were fortunate to gain additional access to pipes from sites in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina. We selected pipes based upon cultural and temporal affiliation and for the amount of residue. Once selected, residues were carefully removed, so as not damage the pipes. Afterwards, faculty and students from the Department of Chemistry at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee extracted organic compounds from the residues and analyzed them using GC/MS. This year we sampled 55 pipes, of which 35 produced positive evidence of tobacco use.

ABSTRACT
In 2014, the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC) conducted a sexual harassment survey of its membership. The survey’s goal was to investigate whether sexual harassment had occurred among its members, and if so, to document the rate and demographics of harassment. Our findings include a high (66%) level of harassment, primarily among women, with an additional 13% of respondents reporting sexual assault. This article provides an overview of the survey and responses. Additionally, we analyze survey data aimed at capturing change over time in harassment and assault, correlation between field and non-field tasks and harassment and assault, and correlation between gender of supervisor and harassment and assault. We also discuss the effects of harassment and assault on careers. We conclude with suggestions for decreasing the rate of harassment and assault and urge professional archaeological organizations to document sexual harassment and assault to mitigate the effects on their members and on the discipline as a whole.
En 2014, la Conferencia Arqueológica del Sureste (SEAC, por sus siglas en inglés) realizó una encuesta de sus miembros sobre acoso sexual. El objetivo de la encuesta fue investigar si los miembros de la SEAC habían sufrido formas de acoso sexual y, de ser así, documentar la tasa y los indicadores demográficos de quienes habían sufrido acoso. Nuestros hallazgos incluyen un alto nivel de acoso (66%), principalmente dirigido a mujeres; además, un 13% reportó casos de asalto sexual. Este artículo proporciona una síntesis de la encuesta y las respuestas. Además, analizamos los datos de la encuesta para detectar cambios a través del tiempo en la ocurrencia de casos de acoso y asalto sexual y correlaciones del tipo de tarea (trabajo de campo o no de campo) y género del supervisor con la frecuencia de acoso o asalto sexual. Discutimos los efectos del acoso y asalto sexual para las carreras profesionales. Concluimos con algunas sugerencias para disminuir la tasa de acoso y asalto sexual, y recomendamos que las organizaciones arqueológicas profesionales documenten el acoso y asalto sexual con el fin de mitigar las consecuencias para sus miembros y la disciplina en su totalidad.

We use the Ideal Free Distribution from Behavioral Ecology as a null model to interpret the distribution of previously recorded archaeological sites in the Tennessee and Duck River Valleys in central Tennessee from the appearance of Clovis sites in the terminal Pleistocene though the Early Holocene (~13,250-8,880 cal yr BP). We hypothesized that the distribution of Clovis sites would be skewed towards lower elevations, and then subsequent populations would spread to higher elevations over the course of the Younger Dryas and Early Holocene as boreal forests were replaced by mixed hardwood, deciduous forests. Our results are consistent with other studies that have proposed that the Cumberland Plateau and the Appalachian Highlands were not intensively occupied until well after the disappearance of the Clovis culture. Using data provided by the Digital Index of North American Archaeology, we expand our analysis to the entirety of the Tennessee River Valley to explore the colonization of the South Appalachian Mountains in the American Southeast. (Slide) The early record of the American Southeast is well-known for its sheer abundance of sites and artifacts. This observation is built upon two historical themes in Southeastern Archaeology: 1) numerous large-scale projects beginning with the WPA and continuing with contemporary cultural resource management, and 2) the long tradition of private collectors working with professional archaeologists. However, one area that seems to be a blank spot in this coverage is the Appalachian Summit, and to a lesser degree, the Cumberland Plateau. Both Lane and Anderson and Stackelback and Maggard have argued that the dearth of Paleoindian period sites in these areas may be historical in nature in that they may just be the last stops in the colonization of the region. (Slide) Conversely, Stephen and I have argued that there might be an environmental explanation as well: higher elevations were still covered with boreal pine forests, which have low biodiversity when compared to the oak hickory forests found at lower elevation. These positions aren't incompatible, but we argue that taking an approach using human behavioral ecology, and in particular Fretwell and Lucas's Ideal Free Distribution, helps provide context for why some places were sought out initially by people, and other places seem to have been avoided until the Early and Middle Holocene. Here, we summarize our previous arguments for the colonization of the Cumberland Plateau, then extend our argument to the entire Tennessee River drainage.

This book examines Native American religion and ritual in eastern North America through time and through the lens of material culture. Unbound to a single theoretical perspective of religion, contributors approach ritual and religion in diverse ways. Importantly, they focus on how people in the past practiced religion by altering and using a vast array of material items, from smoking pipes, ceremonial vessels, carved figurines, and iconographic images, to sacred bundles, hallucinogenic plants, revered animals, and ritual architecture. Contributors also show how physical spaces were shaped by religious practice, and how rock art, monuments, soils and special substances, and even landscapes and cityscapes were part of the active material worlds of religious agents.

Archaeologists often use near-surface geophysics or LiDAR-derived topographic imagery in their research. However, rarely are the two integrated in a way that offers a robust understanding of the complex historical palimpsests embedded within a social landscape. In this paper we present an integrated aerial and terrestrial remote sensing program at the Johnston Site, part of the larger Pinson Mounds landscape in the American MidSouth. Our work at Johnston was focused on better understanding the history of human landscape use and change so that we can begin to compare the Johnston Site with other large Middle Woodland (200 BC–AD 500) ceremonial centers in the region. Our research allowed us to examine the accuracy of an early map of the Johnston Site made in the early 20th century. However, our integrated remote sensing approach allows us to go well beyond testing the usefulness of the map; it helps identify different uses of the site through time and across space. Our research emphasizes the importance of an integrated remote sensing methodology when examining complex social landscapes of the past and present.

Archaeologists often use near-surface geophysics or LiDAR-derived topographic imagery in their research. However, rarely are the two integrated in a way that offers a robust understanding of the complex historical palimpsests embedded within a social landscape. In this paper we present an integrated aerial and terrestrial remote sensing program at the Johnston Site, part of the larger Pinson Mounds landscape in the American MidSouth. Our work at Johnston was focused on better understanding the history of human landscape use and change so that we can begin to compare the Johnston Site with other large Middle Woodland (200 BC-AD 500) ceremonial centers in the region. Our research allowed us to examine the accuracy of an early map of the Johnston Site made in the early 20th century. However, our integrated remote sensing approach allows us to go well beyond testing the usefulness of the map; it helps identify different uses of the site through time and across space. Our research emphasizes the importance of an integrated remote sensing methodology when examining complex social landscapes of the past and present.