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The Residues of Feasting and Public Ritual at Early Cahokia
Society for American Archaeology The Residues of Feasting and Public Ritual at Early Cahokia Author(s): Timothy R. Pauketat, Lucretia S. Kelly, Gayle J. Fritz, Neal H. Lopinot, Scott Elias and Eve Hargrave Reviewed work(s): Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 67, No. 2 (Apr., 2002), pp. 257-279 Published by: Society for American Archaeology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2694566 . Accessed: 17/10/2012 17:32 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Society for American Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Antiquity. http://www.jstor.org THE RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA Timothy R. Pauketat, LucretiaS. Kelly,GayleJ.Fritz,Neal H. Lopinot, ScottElias,andEve Hargrave borrowpit in themiddleoftheCahokiasite Archaeologicalremainsexcavatedfrom thestratified layersofa pre-Columbian our understanding inform ofhow ritualeventswererelatedto thesocial and politicalfoundationsof thatenormouscenter and extraordinary debrisand sumptuary Ordinary refuse,ranging fromfoodsand cookingpots tocraft-production goods,are associatedwitha seriesoflarge-scale,single-event dumping episodesrelatedtoactivitiesthatoccurredintheprincipalplaza. Takenas a set,thelayersofceramic,lithic,zooarchaeological,archaeobotanical, osteological,paleoentomological, and sedmaterialsrevealthattheconstruction imentological ofCahokia'sMississippianorderwas an active,participatory process. Restosarqueologicosrecuperados de la excavacio'n de las capas estratigrdficas de un "pozode prstamo de tierra"precolombinoen la partecentraldel sitiode Cahokiaamplfannuestroentendimiento de comolos sucesosritualesse relacionabancon la base socialypoliticadel enormecentro.La basuracotidianay extraordinaria comprende desdecomiday ollas de cocinahasta los desechosde la produccio'n artesanaly bienessuntuarios y se asocian a una seriede episodiossingularesde granescala, llevadosa cabo en la plaza principal,en los cuales se depositabala basura.Tomadascomoun conjunto, las capas de materiales cerdmicos, Ifticos, arqueobotdnicos, osteolo'gicos, paleoentomol6gicos y sedimentol6gicos revelanlos mecanzooarqueol6gicos, ismosmediantelos cuales la comunidad y la entidadpolftica fusionadaspara crearel ordenMississippian de Cahokia. fiueron In recentyears,explanations at ofsocialcomplex- an abruptand large-scale politicalconsolidation ityhaveprominently featured havebeen commensal poli- Cahokia(ca.A.D. 1050)wouldnecessarily between tics(see Deitler1996;DeitlerandHayden2001; attended byequallylarge-scale negotiations views, In people with diverse or conflicting "traditional" Hayden1996;Hendon1996;Potter east2000). construction ernNorthAmerica,publicritesinvolving beliefs, interests, and dispositions. The feasting havebeenrecognized tolieattheintersection ofpeo- and use of earthen pyramids and plazas mayhave 2000b).For the embodied these negotiations (Pauketat ple and polityduring Mississippianperiod (Muller1997; Pauketatand Emerson1991; Rees instance, central Cahokia's 19-ha"GrandPlaza"was totheeleventh century Welch and Such a massive labor project dating 1997; Scarry1995). feastsmayhave then comprised intergroup negotiations led to A.D. would have necessitated and enabled that longthat termandlarge-scale collective gatherings ona scalenotseenintheregion socialchanges. Withspecific tothelargest ofMississippian priortoA.D. 1050(Dalan 1997;Holleyetal. 1993; regard polities, 1994,2000a). Pauketat (1994,1997a, 1998b)hasargued that Pauketat TimothyR. Pauketat* Department ofAnthropology, 109 Davenport Hall,607 S. MathewsAvenue,University of Illinois, Urbana,IL 61801 LucretiaS. Kelly* Department ofAnthropology, One BrookingsDrive,CampusBox 1114,Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 One BrookingsDrive,CampusBox 1114,Washington GayleJ. Fritz* Department ofAnthropology, University, St. Louis, MO 63130 Neal H. Lopinot* CenterforArchaeological Research,901 SouthNational,Southwest MissouriStateUniversity, Springfield, MO 65804 ScottElias * Geography ofLondon,Egham,Surrey, TW20 OEX, UnitedKingdom Department, RoyalHolloway,University Eve Hargrave* IllinoisTransportation Archaeological ResearchProgram, 209 NuclearPhysicsLab, 23 East StadiumDrive, of Illinois,Urbana,IL 61820 University American Antiquity, 67(2), 2002,pp. 257-279 2002 bytheSocietyforAmerican CopyrightO Archaeology 257 258 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 67, No. 2, 2002 Suchpublicgatherings werenotunivariate behav- wererefilled andnowlie buriedbeneathor alongioralphenomena butwerea multiplicity ofpractices sidetheGrandPlaza (Dalan 1997).One suchearly coordinated as discrete events(Bell 1997;Kellyand Cahokianborrow pitwas encountered bychancein Kaplan1990;Kertzer1988).Accordingly, individ- 1966 underMound51, a rectangular, flat-topped platform approximately 150m southeast of ual eventsmayhavebeenquiteunlikeotherevents. earthen The mixofhostsandattendees andtheprovisions thelargecentral MonksMound(Figure1). pyramid, andlabormobilizedfortheeventswouldhavedif- In 1961,Mound51 itselfwas beingbolTowedby timeand,certainly, fromregionto localresidents ofa subdivision forfilldirt, promptferedthrough of Illinois, themodeofprovisioning region. Quitepossibly, and ingCharlesJ.Bareis,oftheUniversity thequantity ofprovisions W.Porter, ofSouthern IllinoisUniversity, mayhavebeenuniqueat andJames intheupper theprocess toconductlimitedsalvageexcavations Cahokia'sinception. Thus,understanding In 1966, as Porter of negotiation-ifnotpan-eastern Mississippian fillsof thatearthenplatform. oftheremaining a portion privately owned social history-requires evidenceof removed fine-grained cultural deposits whatpeople and how people came together and moundwitha backhoe,stratified werediscoveredbeneaththebase of Mound51. andpolity. forged community Porter'strench and onthisnegotia- Bareiscleanedup andprofiled Microchronological information tionprocessis precisely whatseemstoexistwithin retumed thefollowing summer toconduct additional thesub-Mound excavations intowhatherecognized as a 51 borrowpitatCahokia.Multiple controlled ' linesofceramic, lithic, zooarchaeological, archaeob- significant anomaly. otanical, osteological, paleoentomological, andsedBareisrecognized theanomaly tobea refilled borevidencearecontained inthestratifiedrowpit.Thispitwasup to3-mdeepandmorethan imentological Wecon- 56-mlong(north-south) layersofthisremarkable subsuiface feature. and19-mwide(east-west); cludethatmultiple linesofevidence indicate thatthe theactualnorth-south dimensions mayextendupto submound refusewas derivedfromdiscrete public an additional 50 m tothesouthgiventhedepthand intheheartofCahokiathathad,as a cen- dip of thestratavisiblein Bareis's southernmost gatherings theconsumption units tralfeature, offoods.Inthispaper, excavation units.Bareisexcavated103-x-3-m we highlight theselinesofevidencetodelineate the intothesub-Mound 51pitin1966,1967,1968,1970, character ofearlyCahokia'scommensal politics. and 1971(Bareis1975;Chmurny 1973).Fivesuch unitswereexcavatedbeneathMound 51, while The Sub-Mound51 BorrowPit fivewereexcavated another 50 mtothenorth (atthe end of theburiedborrowpitin an area Thecentral oftheCahokiasiteis comprised northern precinct thelargest such archaeologists callthe"RameyField").Visibleinall oflargeearthen platforms, including inNorthAmerica,surrounding theGrand 10 unitsat bothendsofthepitweresevenclearly platform owndistinct somewiththeir subzones. Plaza (Figure1). Whilethemoundsin andaround defined strata, thiscentral construc- All strata date to the late-eleventh-century havedifferent plazaprobably tionhistories, theGrandPlaza itselfseemstohave "Lohmann"phase(A.D. 1050-1100),basedon 12 ofdiagnosbeentheresultofa largeconstruction effort (Dalan radiocarbon assaysandlargequantities sherds(see Pauketat andEmerson1997). 1997;Holleyetal. 1993;Pauketat 2000a; Pauketat ticpottery to theGrandPlaza maymean and Rees 1996). As Dalan and associateshave The pit'sproximity oftheplaza,ifnotalso thattheaboriginal defined excavators dughereforfilltolevel it,theconstruction theearly theinitialstagesoftheadjacentplatforms, oftheGrandPlaza ortoconstruct involved portions andfillingtheformerly natural stagesof thecentralpyramids. Likewise,thesubcutting undulating Fillforthisearth-moving to theplaza mayhelp surface. wasmined Mound51 pit'sproximity project fromridgesthatwerebeingleveledor was "bor- explainitsapparent rapidin-filling (see below). 51 borrowpit'sconrowed"froma seriesoflargepits.Manyborrow Untilnow,thesub-Mound pits stilldottheperipheral ofthecentral portions precinct tentshavebeen subjectto limitedstudy.William from (Fowler1997). Chmumy (1973)analyzedsomeoftheremains Giventhecontinuous andintensive constructionthe1966and 1967 seasonsfora doctoraldissertain Cahokia'scentralprecinct, itis notsur- tion.Unfortunately, the 1966 excavationswere activity andartifacts werenotcollectedbystrathatsomeareaswerereclaimed; borrow prising pits exploratory Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 259 0 Figure1.TheCentral Precinct oftheCahokiaSiteandthelocation ofthesub-Mound 51 borrow pit focusedon specificzonesor tum.Furthermore, Chmurny (1973) did notreport andElias necessarily the1967datainsufficient detailtoallow specific"bulk" samples,the latterbeing entire quantitative to hundred forcomparisons withotherregionaldatasets(e.g., unprocessed chunksofmatrix-several cm3each-extracted enmasse(see Collins1990; Emerson1997; Holley1989; Kelly severalthousand 1991,1997;Lopinot1991,1994;Milneretal. 1984; below).The 1970sexcavations haveyettobe anaPauketat 1993,1998b).Thus,weundertook ananaly- lyzed,although of those preliminary observations sisofthefour3-x-3-m unitsexcavated artifact assemblages during1967 collections byPauketat suggest In and1968,whenmaterials werecollected bycultural similar tothosefromthe1967-1968excavations. stratum (a reanalysisof some 1966 samplesdid fact,mostofthepitstillliesintactandunexcavated locationofMound51 atCahokia. occur).Giventhehighdensityof materialsfrom undertheformer unitsanalyzedhererepresent thoseunits, andgivensomecollection irregularities The four3-x-3-m anda lackofflotation vol(32 m3) ofthepit'sestimated samples, Kelly,Fritz, Lopinot, about5 percent 260 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol.67, No. 2, 2002 Figure2. Sub-Mound51 pitproFreat S50-53,E388. umeof3,000m3.Thisis a sizableexcavated volume, waterlaid layersofsiltandfinesandthatwashedover nearlya quarter to one-half thetotalvolumeexca- thefilledpit sometime just beforeor duringthe vatedateachoftworesidential tracts oftheCahokia twelfth century. Theseare similarto mound-wash site.2Moreover, theanalyzed1967-1968sampleof zonesdocumented nearbyat thebase ofCahokia's thesubmoundrefuseis consistent betweenexca- Mound49 andwereprobably derivedfromprecipvatedunitswithinzones.Thesezonesincludethe itation eventsthaterodedtheadjacentplazasurface highestdensitiesof carbonizedand uncarbonized ortheearlystagesofMound51 itself(Pauketat and animalbones,fossilinsects, plants, broken pots,craft Rees 1996;see also Holleyetal. 1993). objects,icons,varioussortsofdetritus, andpartsof Fourzones (D2, E, F, and G) are consistently humanskeletons knownin trashdepositsfromthe homogeneous fromtoptobottom, inthickvarying Greater Cahokiaregion.Theminimum numbers of nessfroma fewcentimeters to .5 m depending on andorganicremainsarecompa- thelocationat theedgeorcenteroftheborrowpit analyzedartifacts rablein somewaystothosefromwholeresidential (Figure3).4 Threezones(D, DI, andH) areconsistracts at Cahokia.3In addition, notonlyareuncar- tently less homogeneous butarenonetheless combonizedarchaeobotanical remains uncommon foran prisedoffinesandyloams,silts,andsiltyclaysthat open-airsitein theeasternUnitedStates,butthe areeasilydistinguished onefromanother. Allofthe locationof thepit on thenortheastern fringeof principal zonesarefoundthroughout all portions of Cahokia'sGrandPlaza is potentially x 19-mborrow uniquerelative themore-than-56-m pit,as visiblein tootherknowndomestic andmortuary contexts. Bareis'sexcavation units,someofwhicharemore than50 m apart.It is therefore likelythateventhe Depositional History zoneswerestillrelatively more-heterogeneous disThesevenprincipal fillzoneswithin thesub-Mound cretefilling events.Thereis littleevidencethatthe 51 pitaredesignated D, D1, D2, E, F,G,andH (Fig- pitwasfilledwithtertiary deposits from (i.e.,borrow ure2). Threeotherupperzones(A, B, andC) are elsewhere) exceptforpartofzoneD (inwhichsome Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 261 Sub-Mound51 PitCompositeProfile@ S49 building thatpost-dates walltrenchofMississippian thesub-mound pitand pre-datesMound51 excavatedsurfacebeneathMound51 E396 E392 \E393 / E389 E388 ......--_ ''-''' ..................... ... .. . .......................,,,.,,.............-.--...... . : .e ',',. . ................ ......................,--':::...............,l E385 ... ;; projectedimitsoffillzones .......... . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,................S...I pit projectedbase ofborrow unexcavated Figure3. A profileofthecentraleast-westunitsofthesubmoundexcavations. 20-30-cm"basket-loading" isevident), zoneE (anearthen man- natedwaterlaid siltsor sands),another tleoverzone F), andpossiblycertainsubzonesof thicklayerof refuse-laden fill,zone G (withtwo zoneH. Thus,incidental artifactual admixture from subzones),was depositedatopzone H. Then,and a thick earlieroccupations atCahokiais minimal. Instead, againwithout signsofprolonged weathering, mostlygrassstems(probaand ignoring theorganicdecomposition and post- layerofplantmaterial, ofthefills,theestimates blyroofthatch), was laidintothepit,appearing to depositional compression ofzonevolumeforthewholepitindicate thatexceed- coverorfillitinitsentirety. ThiszoneF thatch then inglylargeamounts ofdebrisweredumpeddirectly appearseitherto have been burnedin place,and intothepitovera shortperiodof time(Table 1). immediately coveredwithzone E earth,or,more sterile earth first Therefore, thebestexplanation forthedeposition of likely, coveredwitha layerofnearly mostzones is thatmaterialswerecollectedfrom (thatcontained a highdensity ofants).Inthesecond large,relatively discrete eventsand sweptintothe scenario,thethatchbelow seemsto have spontapitatonetimeorovera short period.Forthisreason neouslycombusted, burning muchof thezone F alone it seemsunlikely thatthepitcontainsmere thatchand theoverlying zone E loamysilt;some (again, remained uncarbonized of Cahokianhouseholddebris,as lowerlevelsofthatch accumulations inChmumy's implicit (1973) earlierstudy. forthespontaneous combustion scenario). arguing Thedepositional history maybereconstructed as The quantity ofthatch was suchthat,afterburning zoneF stillmeasured up to follows.AftertheCahokiansexcavatedtheborrow andlatercompression, amount oftimewith 30-cmthick. vitrified pit,itsatopenforanuncertain Thefrequent globules irregular intothepitbottom. ofplantsilicamarktheintensity ofthezoneF incinsomerefusedisposaloccurring Thatthishugegapingholesatopenforovera year eration. is demonstrated bya thick, odorous, preserved layer NextcamezoneD2, atopzoneE. Zone D2 is a ofuncarbonized marshgrassinthepitatthislowest consistent zone comprisedof threesubzones-a level.Itspreservation also meansthatmuchofthe lower,thinlayerofsand,a lensofash,andanorganfillontop.Owingtoitsconsubsequent fill,zoneH, wasa singlemassivefilling icallyrich,artifact-heavy of alivethemarshgrass.However, the sistency acrossthe50-mlength and19-mbreadth event,burying extent towhichthefiveorso subzonesreflect diverse thesubmound pit,zoneD2 appearsto havebeena fillsourceshauledin to coverthegrassis unclear. tightly spaceddepositional sequencealso involving Whatis certain is thatzoneH marksthebeginning incineration. Atopthiswas zoneDl, againlacking inthevarsurface erosion ofa consecutive seriesofmassivefillepisodes,each obvioussignsofprolonged theprevious iousprofiles andagaincontaining burying entirely layer. pocketsofashin obvioussignsofweathering Without (i.e.,lami- itsloamysilttosiltyclayfill.Thefinalzone,D, was 262 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 67, No. 2, 2002 Table 1. Fill Characteristics andVolumeEstimatesBased on the1967-1968Sub-Mound51 Excavations. Zone D Dl D2 E F G H Total ExcavatedVolume Cubic meters 13.62 3.66 3.64 .48 .72 2.66 6.85 31.63 MinimumEstimatedVolumeof EntirePit (cubicmeters)a 1292 347 345 46 68 252 650 3000 N of Zones/ Subzones ?5 3 3 1 1 <2 ?5 Fill Description loamysiltsandclays loamysilts,pocketsofash,siltyclays loam,ash,siltyclay loamysilt charredgrassand sandysiltloam loamysiltsandclays loamysiltsandsandysiltloams fromBareis 1975:figure 18 andestimated of60 x 19 x 2.65 m. aGivenadditionalinformation averagedimensions ofbeeclearlydepositedas severalfillevents,including zoneD2. Thisis matched bya highdensity ofall sortsinzonesG andH (carsomeintentional loadsofsiltyandclayeyearth. Sub- tles(Coleoptera) sequentto beingcompletely filled,and afterthe rioneaters,planteaters,and predators)and an beetlesinzoneE. Richplant depositssettled,at leasttwo largeMississippian absenceofplant-eating buildings wereconstructed atoptheredeposited sed- and animalwasteswereapparently discardedin iments. Then,sandsandsiltswashedoverthefloors zonesD, G,andH andwereexposedtotheelements ofthesebuildings leavingbehindthelaminated and forsufficient time,severaldaystoseveralweeks,to iron-mottled zonesA, B, andC. Notlongafter this, allowinsectcolonization. may ThezoneD2 detritus depotheconstruction orenlargement ofMound51 itself havebeenburiedrelatively quicklyfollowing coveredoverthearea of thesouthern excavation sitionand thusattracted fewerflies.Zone E was initsfewinsects, unliketheother lownitrounits. pitstrata ofthedisposaleventsrep- genlevels,fewartifacts, thetiming andnumerous ants(probaObviously, resented in thesub-Mound 51 pitis keyto under- bly exterminated whenthezone-Fthatchburned The frombelow). standingwhateach layerof fillrepresents. ofzoneE, all paleoentomological analysisof insectremains, by Thus,withthepossibleexception Elias,establishes someparameters surrounding the ofthesubmound pitzonescontained sizablequanofrefusein theborrowpit.A minimum titiesof insectsactiveduringthe warmmonths deposition AprilandOctober. Somezonescouldhave of 146 insectswas extractedfrom6 previously between openfora fullyear,although theabsence unprocessed bulksamples(totaling 6250 cm3)of6 remained thatanyzoneswere principal zonesusinga kerosene flotation procedure ofweathering makesitunlikely formuchmorethanthat.In (Table2; see Elias 1994).5In termsof numberof exposedtotheelements thesub-Mound insectspercm3,ants(Hymenoptera) aremostcom- short, 51 pitwasdug,satopenforat probably zoneH. Therem- leasta year,andwasthenin-filled rapidly, montozoneE and,tolesserextent, nantexuvialcasingsofflypupae(Diptera)aremost overno morethana fewyearswithout significant commontozonesD, G, andH, andlesscommonin depositional hiatuses.The heterogeneous textures Table2. InsectRemainsfromSub-Mound51, 1967-1968. Numberof IndividualSpecimens Zone D SampleSize (ccm) 1,200 Dl notanalyzed D2 825 E 475 F 3,275 G 175 H 300 Total 6,250 Coleoptera Hymenoptera Diptera 4 12 18 - - - 5 2 18 32 16 85 1 12 1 5 23 3 10 2 5 38 Density(NIS/cubicmeter) Coleoptera 100 - 61 42 55 1,829 533 2,620 Hymenoptera Diptera 33 150 - - 12 253 3 167 468 63 31 114 167 525 - RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA Pauketat et al.] 263 Table3. Summary ofFaunalMaterialsIdentified fromtheSub-Mound51 Pit. Zones KellyAssemblage Mammals NISP Fish Not Identified Totals %Total 1,553 2,681 57.9 583 215 1 4 3 8 2 2 - 206 2 2 25 30 265 5.7 #Taxa 5 2 4 7 873 - 1 NISP 2 261 27 1,163 25.1 #Taxa 9 - 1 7 4 NISP NISP NISP #Taxa Reptiles H 295 #Taxa DeerMNIb Fish G 1 1 Assemblage Chinurn1y Birds F 35 NotIdentified NISP Total NISP Mammals E 3 14 #Taxa Deer MNIa Birds D2 NISP #Taxa NISP #Taxa NISP Total NISP aKelly%NISP Deer %NISP Deer bChmurny - 274 2,906 37 25 324 175 1,044 44 316 518 4,627 11.2 2,847 159 392 647 250 4,295 40.4 1 5 4 9 5 8 2 5 36 327 363 109 6 23 1,363 21 1,549 11 1 1 4 27 1 - - - 5,760 99.8 99.2 222 100.0 100.0 11 1,040 11 - 1,759 100.0 99.0 thefinalzone,D, probably andsubzoneswithin representseveralfillingepisodes,theadditionalfill beingpackedintoorpiledatopthepitas itsettled. As evidenced bythezonecontents, theformer borrowpitwas excavatedandcompletely filledwithin the50-year spancalledtheLohmann phasethatsaw theplannedconstruction ofCahokia'scentral monumental landscape. 15 1,359 9 2 - 2,198 - 12 155 4,130 6 - - 20.7 - 38.9 3 1 2,371 99.5 98.6 - 514 10,626 98.6 99.6 - 51 faunalsamless,itispossiblethatthesub-Mound ple maybe biasedtowardlargeranimals,butthe at thistime.Fish degreeof thebias is uncertain bytherecovery techremains maybe mostaffected niquesemployed. However, becauseofthehighlevel ofcareandthoroughness ofBareis'sexcavation (see Chmumy1973),theamountofbias is assumedto be mitigated toa largedegree. Only faunalremainsthatcould be definitely Zooarchaeological Remains zonewereanalyzed;therefore, assignedtoa specific Faunalremains fromzones wererecovered invarying particularly amounts largeamountsof material, fromall zonesofthesubmound pit.Somematerials D and D 1, were not includedbecause in many fromthe1967fieldseasonwereexamined, butthe instances zoneshadbeenmixed.Here,we focuson majority studiedwas fromthe1968season.Faunal thetwozones,D2 andG,from the1968excavations remainswererecoveredthrough handexcavation analyzedbyKellythatyieldedthelargestamounts and fromthemechanizedscreeningof sediment offaunaldebris.ZoneE didnothaveenoughfaunal (NISP = 37), tomakerelevant observations through a quarter-inch mesh(Chmumy 1973).Bulk material samplesofsediment andthatch comweresubsampled and whilezonesF andH yieldedsmallassemblages intheWashington dryfine-screened University pale- prisedof fewtaxa(Table3). Mammalianremains lab andexaminedforsmallbones.A accounted oethnobotany forall 299bonesinzoneF exceptfortwo deer fewfishbonesand scaleswereobservedbutmost birdbonesand twofishbones.White-tailed bonespresent wereunidentifiable was theonlymammalian fragments. Thus, (Odocoileusvirginianus) boneswere it was determined thatthequantity All othermammalian of identifiabletaxonidentified. bonein thesesampleswas insignificant. Nonethe- putintothelargemammal andaremorethan category 264 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol.67, No. 2, 2002 is borneoutby a Spearman'srho of preservation correlation runon bulkbone densitythatshowed 70. animalunits)and bone density MAU (minimum correlated (p = .2312forzone werenotsignificantly andMAU, D2; p = .4457forzone G). Food utility forbothzones correlated however, weresignificantly (p < .0001,see Kelly2000).As canbe seeninFig140 deerpartsaremuch ure4,bothhigh-andmid-utility deerwerereturned ifa complete higher thanexpected to thesite(see Kelly2000 formorecompletedisWhenfoodutility is comcussionoffoodutility). 10 areaofCahokia,the paredtotheICT-Ilresidential bya higher persub-Mound 51 deerarerepresented 0 MidUtety OWUtility HighUtility of and a lowerpercentage centageof mid-utility Food ut kbix of high-utility parts.Thismayindicatetheportions of white-tailed deer eleFigure4. Contrastingproportions in were chosen more deer the submound assemblage ments. thanforthecombined of utility forthemeatutility thattheseutillikelydeer.OfthoseinzoneF,53percent ofthemam- meat,bonegrease,andbonemarrow malianboneswereburned to somedegree,indicat- ityindicesmeasure(Binford1978; Metcalfeand and ingperhapsthemorefragilebirdandfishremains Jones1988;Purdueetal. 1989).Bone marrow ThezoneH assemblage greasemayhavebeenmoredesiredinthedomestic weredestroyed byburning. ofthetotal context ina higher ofhigh-utilresulting proportion yieldedmoretaxathanF,but86 percent Thenearcompleteness number ofindividual specimens (NISP) was mam- itydeerpartsbeingpresent. offewlong ofthebonefrom zoneH exhib- ofmanyforelimb bonesandthepresence mals.Only9 percent in thesubmound assemblagealso ited burningand few bones (NISP = 2) were bonefragments forbone indicate thatdeerboneswerenotprocessed weathered. Bonesfrom zone TheanimalbonesfromzonesD2 andG arevery greaseorheavilyforbonemarrow. intheGreater G exhibit someweathering andcarnivore different from elsewhere gnawing, assemblages northedepth other areasoftheCahokia butneither exposureto theelements Cahokiaregion, including siteitself. Onlythree reptile bones,onebeinga drilled of thezone G depositappearsto havenegatively theassemblage. alligatortoothfoundin 1967 in zone D2, and no affected birdandfish remainswererecovered fromthesubamphibian OnlyzoneD2 yieldedappreciable andfewerthan moundpit.In bothzoneD2 andG, however, there remains fromthe1968excavations, is a largeamount ofwhite-tailed ofspecieswereidentified (Table deer(NISP = 1653; theaveragenumber MNI = 22). OutsideCahokiaproper, deerremains 3). Itshouldbenotedthattheassemblages Chmurny atcontemporary American Bottom (1973)reported from the1966and1967excavations arenotabundant morefishandbirdtaxa.The specieshe sites(Kelly2000).Axialbones,including ribs,ver- contained aremostcommon identified werethesame as mostoften,however, tebrae, scapulae,andinnominates in thesubmound (Kelly fromthe 1968 excavations pit,although upperforeandhind thoseidentified in zone limbsarealso morenumerous thanexpected(Fig- 2000). Onlyfivebirdtaxawereidentified indomesure4). A number ofdeerbonesfrom zoneD2 appear D2; usuallytwiceas manyareidentified in orderof to articulate, sectionsof thoracicand ticcontexts particularly (L. Kelly1997).Identified Elements withlowstructural wereswans(Olorsp.orOlor lumbar vertebrae. den- descending frequency andscapulaeusually buccinator), chickens cupido), (Tympanuchus sities-vertebrae, innominates, prairie or nonexistent in manyassem- Canadageese (Brantacanadensis),commonmerquitefragmentary and mallard(Anas blages-arerelatively coplete inzonesD2 andG. gansers(Mergusmerganser), elements About72 percent oflow-density recovered platyrhynchos). in zone D2 are fromzoneD2 and86 percent ofthesefromzoneG Overhalfthebirdsrepresented areatleasthalfcomplete. Thisis anindication ofthe swans; another28 percentof the zone D2 bird in thispit.The highlevel remains areprairie chickens. Swanbonesfromconexceptional preservation 90o I:- I: Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 265 temporary sitesin theregionarerareoccurrences. are definite or probablefoods.In addition,about Theyarelimited tomodified wingbonesprimarily 22,000 nonfoodspecimensfrom40 samplescolmeshscreens, atsubsidiary centers (see Kelly2000foranin-depth lectedby Bareis,usingquarter-inch discussion). Remainsofprairiechickens fromMis- weresortedbyLopinotintocarbonized anduncarthatwerethenfurther sampled elsewhereat Cahokiaare only bonizedcategories sissippianfeatures from elitecontexts (L. Kelly1997).Thelimited Mis- foranalysis. Morethan30 different of thesetwobirdspeciesat sissippiandistribution typesofedibleplantsare inzonesD through H,thelatter contamtheuniquequal- represented Cahokiaandintheregion highlights itiesof thesubmound refuse.In thesubmound pit inatedbynatural marshvegetation (Tables4 and5). orcultivated there arenoswanwingelements plantsincludecorn(Zea present andnoswan Domesticated bones exhibitbutchery marksor otherformsof mays),bottlegourd(Lagenaria siceraria),two humanmodification. Perhapsthesubmound swans speciesof squash(Cucurbitapepo and Cucurbita wereprocessedfortheirwingsandfeathers, rather argyrosperma, seeFritz1994),sunflower (Helianthus werecommonly used annuusvar.macrocarpus), thanforfood.Swanfeathers sumpweed(Iva annua inrituals during thehistoric period(see Kelly2000, var. macrocarpa), chenopod (Chenopodium 2001). berlandieri ssp.jonesianum),maygrass(Phalaris in zone caroliniana), Like avianspecies,fisharerepresented anderectknotweed (Polygonum erecD2 byfewtaxa.Ordinarily, domesticsitesproduce tum).Fourgeneraofnuts(Caryaspp.,Juglans nigra, largeassemblages ofas manyas twodozenormore Quercussp.,andCorylus americana)arerepresented taxa.Whilethelackoffine-mesh screened samples alongwithninekindsofsweetorsourfruits: grape inthe1968collection mayunderrepresent fish, espe- (Vitissp.),persimmon straw(Diospyros virginiana), fromlargeriverfishsuch berry ciallysmallones,remains (Fragariavirginiana), plum(Prunussp.),bramas buffalo-sucker (Sambucuscanadensis), (Ictiobus sp.),gar(Lepisosteus sp.), ble (Rubussp.),elderberry and freshwater are blackhaw(Viburnum sp.),mulberry (Morussp.),and drum(Aplodinotus grunniens) moreabundant in zone D2 thanbackwater (Solanumcf.ptycanthum). Seeds from species nightshade fromordinary plants thatmight havebeengathered forgreens commonly recovered domesticmid- native orharvested dens(L. Kelly1997). as smallgrainsincludeamaranth (Amaranthus sp.),purslane (Portulaca oleracea),panicoid Remains Archaeobotanical grasses(Digitariasp.,Leptolomasp.,and/or Panand Differences betweenthesubmound faunalremains icumsp.), carpetweed (Mollugoverticillata), and domestic assem- spurges (Acalyphasp.,Euphorbiacf.corollata, andthoseofother Lohmann-phase Thesamemaybe said Euphorbiacf.maculata). observable. blagesarereadily Therichness The oftheplantassemblage is increased ofsome,butnotall,archaeobotanical remains. sub-Mound 51 plantremainsstandapartfromtypi- by thepresenceof uncarbonized specimens,but as wellas uncharred seeds notonlybytheuncarbonized manytaxaincludecharred cal domestic middens ofmanyofthem,butalso bytheirsheer (Table 4). The analyzedsubmoundassemblage, condition all otherclassesofartifacts includingsamplesreported by Chmurny, yielded quantity, outnumbering and bones combined.Unfortunately, as Bareis's morethan3,000squashseeds,allbuta fewfragments with Hundreds wereassociated excavations offlotation beinguncarbonized. predatethestandardization intheCahokiaarea,manyhand- thesamplesfromeach submound zone exceptDl recovery techniques collectedor water-screened submoundarchaeob- andE. Sometimes squashseedsfrombulksamples withmaterial resemotanicalsamplesareless amenableto quantitativewerestucktogether andcovered thathad Themanyhand-collected offruits analysis. samplesarevalu- blingdriedpulp,as ifthecontents left to flotation or,alternatively, able,butnotcomparable assemblages. beenscoopedoutanddiscarded fruits. wasgiventoa seriesof20 previously todecayalongwithpiecesofrindsorentire Thus,attention Giventhedensityof otheruncarbonized bulksampleslikethosenotedearlier, unprocessed plant and a singlesamplelabeled"FloatedAsh."These remains,it is perhapssurprisingthatonly one richinseedsandother cornspecimen-acupulefragment-was samples, phenomenally plant uncharred intheanalyzed wereanalyzedbyFritzandstudents, result- found remains, assemblage. Chmurny's (1973) ofthecornfrom the1967excavations revealed of50taxa,atleast30ofwhich study ingintheidentification AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 266 [Vol. 67, No. 2, 2002 Table4. FruitsandEconomicSeed TypesfromSub-Mound51. Total Zone D Fruits Persimmon Strawberry Zone D2 Zone G Zone H Zone Unknown Charred Uncharred 4 9 3 3 2 5 16 - 26 212 98 1 17 3 - - 336 1 49 Plum - - - Bramble (Rubus sp.) Elderberry - 2 1 29 7 Nightshade 6 66 139 - - 1 - - 6 3 - - 423 7 11 740 1 537 - Blackhaw - - - Grape 5 30 41 526 1 45 Mulberry - 5 22 1 - - 28 1 - 25 2 4 5 11 3 4 3 3 3 42 10 - - NativeSeed Crops Sunflower Sumpweed Chenopod: charreda thin-testa uncharred uncharred thick-testa Maygrass ErectKnotweed Barley OtherEconomicSeed Types PanicoidGrasses Amaranthb Purslaneb Carpetweed - 12 2 51 364 134 - 22 8 150 15 - 67 55 301 1,442 244 - - - 29 126 316 389 66 18 50 294 58 36 - - - 145 4 60 4,299 469 2 271 6,552 882 2 170 208 987 23 16 147 233 32 283 928 1,361 2,151 1,352 31 10 48 40 10 133 90 1 128 11 Spurge (Euphorbia spp.) aMostcharTed chenopodseedsappearto be thin-testa. bMostamaranth andpurslaneseedswereuncharred, buttheywerenotsortedintocharredvs. uncharred. - 237 1,022 - 67 - 1,394 703 5,942 144 341 238 cobfragments inzoneF (outofa totalof263 in squashseedsandpaucity ofcorn,andunlikethelow his sample,all charred).Zone D1, by contrast, speciesdiversity of thezooarchaeological assemyieldedno cob fragments; zone D2 yieldedfour; blage,thesubmound plantfoodassemblageis as ker- diverse as anordinary domestic assemblage. Inorder zoneG had14;andzoneH hadseven.Charred withonefromzone ofabundance, ranksatthetopofthestarchy nelsweresimilarly distributed, maygrass zone seed remains,withmorethan6,500 seeds sorted D 1,29from zoneD2,23 from zoneE, 687from F, 19fromzoneG, andsevenfromzoneH. Someof fromthebulksamples.A totalof 1,530chenopod andthin-testa forms, thesecob fragments andwholekernelscouldhave seedsincludeboththick-testa been previously removedby Chmurny frombulk the latter being domesticated, dark-coated samplesanalyzedrecently atWashington University Chenopodium berlandierissp.jonesianum.Erect inSt.Louis,butChmurny's lowcountsofcornfrom knotweed, thenextmostabundant starchy seedtype a foodcropas well. all zones exceptzone F matchtherelatively low (n = 949,was almostcertainly numbers offragments remaining (seeTable5). Sim- Mostknotweed from thepitarenakedkerspecimens in newlysoitedsam- nels,andmostofthepericarps ilarlylow densities occurred aresmooth rather than ples fromthe 1968 excavations, whichwerenot striate-papillose. Littlebarley(Hordeum pusillum), is strangely absent,withtheonlytwobarand appearedto havehad however, analyzedby Chmurny of leyspecimens nothing separated fromthem.The low visibility resembling H. jubatum. corn-charredor uncharred-inthesamplesfrom Exceptforbarleygrass,nativestarchy seedcrops in thesame orderof sub-Mound51 indicatesthatrelatively littlecorn fromthepitare represented inthefirst abundanceas thoserecoveredby flotation from wasdeposited place. Otherthanthe prominenceof uncarbonized Cahokia's Interpretive CenterTract-Il(ICT-1I). Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA cn 267 0 t V 00 cq \I kr v OC 3 : '?vc~~~~~~~~OC cq | g~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~c u r: |s : = 0<k) t s OC 4 M:_ k|3c> kr):0001Xc Nt ) | s 4-c C 5 OC >_ c > (01 C )cq | C > s - ff f )rO9 X t A > 2 C1It 2 4 rn X s 7 268 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 67, No. 2, 2002 Lopinot(1991)foundmaygrass seedstobethemost Lopinotrandomlyselectedsubsamplesof 50 abundant (n = 269) inthosedomestic wood specimens contexts, fol- carbonizedand50 uncarbonized lowedbybarley(n = 234),chenopod(n = 161),and fromeachofthe40 sortedwoodsamplescollected erectknotweed (n= 47).TheICT-I1seedsweresorted by Bareis. Judgingfromthesesubsamples,carfrom189litersoffloatedfeature filltakenfrom15 bonizedwoodis moreabundant inzonesD, D 1,D2, external pits,oneinternal pit,andfourstructures, a andE, whileuncarbonized woodis moreabundant thathighlights notofdifferential comparison theabundanceofsmall in zonesF, G, andH, a function butofincomplete burning intheselatseedsintheunfloated bulksamplesfrom sub-Mound preservation 51. Nativecropseedsoutnumber corninLohmann terthreezones.Uncarbonized barkis particularly atICT-I1as theydointhesub-Mound abundant in mostofthesamples,comprising phasedeposits over 51 pit,butnotbyas greata margin. Lopinotreports one-halfof thewoodymaterialsfromsix of the inthesam259 cupulesor glumesand 174 kernelfragmentssevenzones.Itis noticeably infrequent fromtheICT-I1,givinga cornto starchy at about10 percent seedratio ples fromzone D2, estimated of.541compared to .023forthenewlysortedsam- of over 1,400specimens.Thenagain,small,terofeastern redcedar(Juniperus virples fromsub-Mound 51 (excluding uncarbonized minalbranchlets inzoneD2. A totalof of giniana)treesareprominent seeds).Thisis duein largeparttothethousands charred seedsin thepit,manyof which 44 branchlets, werefoundinthe maygrass all uncarbonized, occurin clumps.Theseratiosneedto be carefully zone-D2bulksamples. considered byarchaeologists whoassumethatcorn One of themoststriking aspectsof theuncardominated bothdietandritualsymbolism great forearly bonizedwooddataforthepitis therelatively Cahokians. abundance ofuncarbonized coniferous wood,includAll 700 amaranth seedsfromsub-Mound baldcypress (Taxodium and 51 are ingredcedar, distichum), inthe black-coated flattish, typesthat,likethethick-testapine(Pinusspp.).Allthreewoodsarepresent chenopod, mayeitherrepresent foodor incidental domestic middens ofCahokia'sICT-I1,severalhunPurslaneis extremely weedyinclusions. common, dredmeterssouthof Mound 51 (Figure 1; see with5,920seedsactuallycountedandtensofthou- Lopinot1991). However,theyare seldomif ever sandsmoreintheunsorted residueofothersamples. associated withdomestic refuse outsideofCahokia.6 wereverycommonin Manyoftheuncarbonized cypresswoodfragments Grapesandpersimmons conthepit.One samplefroman uncertain provenience anda fewoftheredcedarandpinespecimens fromzone D2 or G) sistofthinsplitpieceswithroughly parallelsides. (excavatedin 1966,probably consistedof 400 uncarbonized grapeseeds,with Someofthesethinpiecescouldhavebeenderived driedskinsofthefruits stilladhering, the fromdiscardedfragments of basketry or matting, resembling summer by-products. grape(Vitisaestivalis).Zone G was espe- butmostare probablywoodworking with41 grape Thin,butirregular-sided chipsandsplintered fragciallyrichin grapesandotherfruits, seeds comingfromone sample,along with212 ments, withcutmarks, occurinmanyof sometimes thesamples.Few piecesofcarbonized wood,most strawberry seeds,28bramble (blackberry/raspbenry, fromuplandforests etc.) seeds,and 139 Americannightshade seeds, oftenwhiteoaksandhickories whosefruits arenottoxicwhenfullyripe(Heiser overthree-km away,appearto havebeen shaped. wouldhave Thesehardwoods, unliketheconifers, 1969). theprincipal fuelforfires. Ofthenonfood tobaccoseedswerefound comprised plants, inlargenumbers in zonesD andD2 andinsmaller Items numbersin the otherzones. The totalcountof Pots,CraftDebris,andMagicoritual tobaccoseedsfromsortedsubsamplesis 917, but Theremaining material culture, analyzedbyPaukeresiduesofthebulksamplescontainthou- tat,revealsthesubmound unsorted pittobeinsomewaysordiThequalitative sandsmore.Thehighest concentration ofcarbonized naryandinother waysextraordinary. of mostindividual vesselsin the anduncarbonized tobaccoseedsis inzoneD, atthe attributes pottery pitarenotunique.Mostpottery vessels, topofthepit.Mostoftheseseedsdo notconform submound to thefamiliar Nicotianarustica, especiallycookingjars,aretypicalCahokianvarimorphologically ceramic backmorecloselyNicotianaquadrivalvis or eties;theystandoutagainsta regional butresemble N. multivalvis. butnotagainsta purely Cahokianone(Table ground Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 269 Table6. Pottery VesselsbyZone, 1967-1968Sub-Mound51 Excavations. Zone Jars D DI D2 E F 158 33 53 G H Total Seed Jars Bowls/ Beakers Funnels/ Stumpware Hooded Bottles 24 10 7 6 1 - - - 1 - 221 58 83 5 26 3 1 12 1 1 2 197 133 723 1 - 8 6 33 15 22 4 11 113 73 439 43 31 121 37 27 149 Total - Table7. CeramicCookingJarOrificeDiameters,1967-1968Sub-Mound51 Excavations. Zone 6-9 D 3 Dl NumberofVesselsbyOrificeDiameterRange(cm) 10-13 14-17 18-21 22-25 26-29 30-33 34-37 38-41 42-45 12 15 25 15 22 8 7 7 25 - - - 1 - - - - 1 4 17 14 14 1 15 6 1 2 8 13 5 3 3 72 42 66 45 16 16 10 couldnotbe measuredonjars represented Note:Orificediameters bysmallrimsherds. 1 - - 8 1 3 6 1 1 7 95 63 378 - 5 9 - 13 11 - 1 G 3 H 5 Total12 1 7 7 32 1 12 12 54 - - 2 7 1 1 3 3 2 1 4 1 1 - total 145 - 2 3 - D2 E F 1 - 46-49 50-53 1 5 - 26 40 been sizesandsooting matchthe diskbeads. Such necklaceshavepreviously 6).7 Cooking-jar patterns standard profile ofdomestic assemblages (e.g.,Table foundonlyin special centralmortuaries around 7). Thatis,thecookingactivities represented bysub- Cahokia. Thenagain, andindomestic moundpotsparallela domestic pattern. Alsoinoneofthesemortuaries, thelargesizeofindividual vesselfragments, theden- refuseon Cahokia's Tract 15A, are numerous projectilepoints(see Fowler1991; sitiesofbroken vesselsand,tolesserextent, thepro- Cahokia-style domestic Fowleretal. 2000; Pauketat1998a).Thesearerepportions ofvesselforms areunlikeordinary thesubmound intheanalyzedsamplesfrom assemblages(e.g.,Figure5; see Pauketat1998a). resented a disproportionately Seedjarscomprise largenumPoibryVessl Assemblages ber-overa quarter-ofthetotalnumber ofceramic vesselsfrom lowerzonesF,G,andH (Table6),while 60 i a distinctive beakeror varietyof brownfineware 50.F1IT1A ofcontemporary restwopercent bowl-ordinarily identialceramicrefuse(see Holley1989;Pauketat inthesubmound entirely pit. 1998a)-is missing thismixof Otherartifacts helpus understand andextraordinary evidence(Table ordinary pottery ofbeadmanufacture, save 8). Thereis scantevidence 10. threebrokenmarine-shell diskbeads,one broken marine-shell columellabead, and21 fractured pieces ofmarineshellintheanalyzedlayersofthepit(cf. Bote Jr Bowl Sed Jr Fuwel VeYd Type Pauketat notrepresenting evidence 1993).Although formanufacturing there arealsofiveAncuactivities, Figure 5. Comparisonof potteryvessel type proportions losa snail-shell beads,oneMarginella bead,andone betweena Lohmannphase Cahokian domesticassemblage entirebead necklacemadeup of 345 marine-shell(Tract15A) and thesub-Mound51 Pit. -r llL ap20 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY 270 [Vol.67, No. 2, 2002 use, and disposalof shellbeadsand manufacture, ofpigment usagepointsto the pattern arrowheads, 4600 - U Sandstone ofmatemanipulation anactiveandlikelyritualized Basalt 4000 activities. as partoftherefuse-producing rialculture Che. 35 3- , o3Burlington vesselsor ofpottery Thereareatleastfourinstances vesselsthathadbeenusedtomix ofpottery portions or dispensered and black paint,as revealedby 15000 andsmudgesoftheresidues smears,encrustations, ~2000seemstohave thekaolinite In addition, themselves. cp1500 white of a paintapplied been the basal component 1000 refired. to a suiteof vesselsthatwerethenlightly 500 Therearea totalof28 paintedpotsintheexcavated 0 pit,abouttwicethetotal thesubmound samplefrom SubMd Zone D2 SubMd Zone G Tract15A the restofCahokiaand from pots number of such Asembla Halfofthe relatedLohmannphasesitescombined. 90 vesselsarebowls,followedby paintedsubmound 80 *Quartz Xstl_ Thepaintsinclude andahoodedbottle. seedjars,jars, * 70- _ ExoticChert linesoras a sliptoentire appliedas thick a white film, 2 _OP ...ats paintapplied vessels,anda thinblackcarbonaceous lines.Justoverhalfofthe28 vesselshave as narrow designsovera redslip.Another whitefilmorpainted ~40ofthepaintedvesselshaveblackpaintover quarter ~30 haveeither plainwhite redslips,andtheremainder 20 one With possible films. only or black-on-white 0 theblackandwhitepaintsseemtohave exception, vessel.The redbeen appliedto an already-fired 0 blackand white were vessels that painted slipped Tract 15A SubMd Zone SubMd Zone G D2 Lohmann phasebowls,seed common wereotherwise Assmblage jars,andjars.Thus,itis likelythattheextrapaints oforas partof wereappliedinanticipation Figure6. Comparisonof Lohmannphase artifactdensities orfilms betweenCahokia's tract15A and thesub-Mound51 Pit,by thesortsofevents inthesubmound pit. represented weight(top) and count(bottom). oddsandends artifactual Amongtheremaining anda barbed inthe1967-1968unitsarea boneearspool,a bropitbyeightchippedstonespecimens pipe, limestone smoking a broken stone, bonetip.UnliketheLohmannphasepointsfrom kenchunkey be assothat can calcite and were and crystals stone points plagioclase thechipped Tract1SA,however, coninother archaeological made mostlyfromexoticcherts(not thermally ciatedwithpublicevents Like and beyond. in Cahokia region texts the Greater stone chert).Oneofthechipped Burlington altered pigment flakes theseobjects,and thebeads,arrowheads, wasmadefrom quartzcrystal, points projectile of five the expepresence and pots, than painted residues, indensities 10timeshigher ofwhichwerefound on indicate icons or sketched pots soil In one engraved diently thatofTract1SArefuse(Figure6). fact, Fromzones culture. ofmaterial manipulation sample(probablyfromzone D2) producedthe a ritual one cross-hatched and H are two eyes, D2, D, DI, perfromquartzcrystalknapping, microdebitage anda charcoalsketch ofquartzcrys- design,a possiblewingmotif, fromtheproduction hapsoriginating the faceofa largepoton human of a figure possible talprojectile points. ofa seated terra cotta is also a figurine sherd. There galena, Thereis evidenceofpigments-rubbed the terra cotta This figurine, from zone G. beingexceedingly person andkaolinite (thelatter hematite, be called sketch could and the 51 pit.In the engravedsherds, rareat Cahokia)-in thesub-Mound used items,as theywereprobably evidence "magico-ritual" themosttelling caseofpigments, however, Wilson 1996). 1989; in contexts (Emerson special butoftheresiduesof density is notthatofmineral of andtheunusualcharacteristics usage.Like thepossibleevidenceof the Thesedepictions pigment 6000 - - - Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 271 Interpretations thematerial cultureassemblagemaybe indicative ofmanufacture, ofcontexts use,anddisposalsimilarinthenondomestic applications totobacco,med- The sub-Mound 51 strata provideevidencethatthe andmanipulation ofcraftgoodswas in icinalplants, andspecialwoods.Ifso,thentheywere production all potentially usedindivinations oratpubliccere- alllikelihood a component ofthesamegarbage-promoniesandimportant socioreligious functions. ducingeventsinwhichpaints,pots,crystals, beads, andboneswereused.Besidesthequartz-crystal debHuman Remains itageand,perhaps, theconiferous-wood chippage, Thehuman bones,studied byHargrave, maybecom- thisproduction is indicated bylargebiface-reduction flakes, exoticchert debitage, andbasaltaxheaditemsabove.In theana- chert parabletothemagicoritual lyzed1967-1968collection, theyincludeisolated making debitage (Table8). Specifically, theBurlingandunburned cranialandpostcranial bonesfrom one ton-chert bifacereduction flakeswereassociated child(7-9 years),oneadolescent fromtheman(12-18years),and withzoneD2 andseemtobe derived ofoneormorelarge"Ramey"knives oradze threeadults(one ofunknown sex,one youngadult ufacture male,andone mid-oldadultfemale).The isolated bladesviasoftpercussion. Thissortofprimary reducbonesoftheadultsandthechildwerefoundinzones tionis notanordinary ofdomestic activcomponent was itiesat Cahokia,wheremostdomesticdebitage D, D 1,D2, orG,whiletheadolescent individual represented byboneinzoneH. Noneofthefiveindi- originated fromexpedient toolmaking. The exotic vidualsappearedtobe intentional bulials.8 chert islessdiagnostic oftooltype, butmay debitage Cutmarks,fractures, from themanufacture ofarrow points carnivore-gnawing marks, haveoriginated onthehuman andpolishwereobserved boneandmay andunifacial tools.The submound exoticdebitage helpexplainitsrelationship tothesubmound pit.Cut waslargely limited toCobdenchert (oneofthealnow markswereobservedon a leftfibula(bothanterior pointswas madefromCobdenchert)and Hixton andpostelior tothemidshaft) andon a right radius silicified sediment.Oddly, anothercommon to thetuberosity (inferior on theproximalradius) Lohmannphaseexoticchert, FortPayne,wascomofpostmortem A greenstickpletely suggestive processing. absentinthesubmound pit.Theaxheadmakispresent fracture onthefibulaimmediately superior ingdebitage iscomparable tothatfound onTract15A to thecutmarks. Carnivore gnawingin theformof at CahokiaandfewotherLohmannphasecontexts furrows andtoothpunctures was pre- (Pauketat 1997b,1998a).Thewaste,whichincludes tooth-groove endofa leftfemur, of unfinishedcelts, consists senton theproximal theproxi- brokenfragments malendofa lightulna,anda right radius.Finally, entirely ofigneousrockfrom dikesintheSt.Francois is present onseveralelements, Mountains evidenceofpolishing 100kmsouthofCahokia.Thehighdenin mostcases to generaltaphonomic sitiesof thisrock(calculatedas gramsperm3of attributable the excavated thatthe processessuchas abrasionwithsand.However, fill)inthesubmound pitindicate femur nota natural, manufacture ofaxheadsfrom exoticrock,alongwith was probably polishon a right effectof sand abrasion,and the chippedstonebifaces, that postdepositional mayhavebeenanactivity femur andsumptheuseofother fragment mayhavebeenusedas a tool.This accompanied magicoritual socialeventsproducedthe fact,alongwiththecutmarksandtheevidencefor tuaryitemsin whatever thecarnivore thattheseparticular submound indicates refuse. gnawing, hadbeenretained, elements andpreservaClearly,in termsoftype,density, used,andexposedforan indeterminate 51 pitrefuseis unliketypical periodoftime,perhapsina mortuarytion,thesub-Mound suchas a charnel houseortemple middens either atCahokia phasedomestic facility (seeDePrat- Lohmann ter1991).Theabsenceofweathering orsunbleach- oratoutlying As a pointofcomparison, settlements. ingon thisandotherelements suggests that,ifthey we may look to the Lohmannphase domestic wereexposedin thepit,exposurewas fora brief remainsofCahokia'sTract15Aandoutlying sites, indicate theimportanceremainsthatthemselves pointto Cahokia'sapical period.Thehumanremains ormanipulating ina regional oftheactofprocessing themateri- position economy (Pauketat 1998b:Figinthesubmound als subsequently toruralsites,higher dendeposited pitlike ure6). Thatis,compared ornumber/ orexotic thevariousornaments, woods,medicinalplants, sities(grams/m3 mi3)ofallcraft ofMillCreekchert hoe andpots. materials (exceptforresidues beads,magicoritual objects,pigments, 272 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol.67, No. 2, 2002 Table8. OtherArtifacts fromthe1967-1968Sub-Mound51 Excavations. Zone D DI D2 E F G H Burlington Mill Creek Chert Chert Wt (g) Wt (g) 5,170.7 1,282.7 3,711.7 132.5 572.1 3,052.2 2,789.1 Total 1,6711.0 Zone D Quartz Unmodified UnmodifiedAxhead-making Crystal Limestone Sandstone Debitage Abraders Wt (g) Wt (g) Wt (g) Wt (g) N 62.8 .6 3.2 27.3 7.1 73.7 - - - 1.3 6.0 1.2 75.1 .8 31.8 1.8 142.5 3.6 92.1 2.2 23.7 62.6 23,092.0 10,106.5 80,498.1 219.9 3301.0 49,236.8 12,075.0 178,529.3 6,613.0 319.0 1,898.0 - 323.2 3,146.7 3,682.0 15,981.9 Fresh-waterMarine-shellGastropod Marine-disk HammerBeads stones Copper ShellFrags. Fragments Beads N N N N N N 2 3 1 46 345 115 - 151 10 2 - 3 140 234 2 1 1 7 690 DI 1 D2 1 E F G H - Total Exotic Chert Wt (g) 1 21 2 - 1 2 - - - - 1 - - - 6 349 3 1 447.0 54.1 1,821.4 7 - 1 7.4 3 1 5 2 19 120.6 5,965.9 245.5 8,661.9 Pigment- Pottery stones Icons N N 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 6 Arrowheads N 2 1 2 - 1 1 2 5 8 - Tract15A's domesticrefuse ofthewholeornearlycomplete blades) characterize largesecartifacts, whiledensities dropoffwithdistance from Cahokia.9 tionsofpots,articulating animalbones,clumpsof Yetthedensities ofcertain craftorexoticmaterials squashseedsandpulp,absenceofobviously weathinthesubmound pitzonesD2 andG arehigher than eredfillsandartifacts, verandtheunderrepresented theTract15Apeakvalues(Figure6). sus overrepresented remainsofotherartifact types As arguedearlier,thecontinuous and discrete (i.e., FortPayne and Mill Creek chert,brown zonesofconsistent ifnothomogeneous fillsinclude finewares, littlebarley, maize,variousanimaltaxa ofmaterial extraordinarily highdensities objectsin vs. quartzcrystal, paintedpots,seedjars,funnels, and thesubmound maygrass, woodchippage, pitthatarematched bythehighden- tobaccoseeds,fruits, In zone F and somesub- deer,swan,andprairiechickenparts). sityof organicdetritus. zones,thereis almostno associatedearthen Givena single-event zones, matrix; originforsubmound it is purelycarbonizedand uncarbonized organic the densityfiguresderivedfromthe excavated In otherzones, 1967-1968samplesofartifacts canbe anddetritus materials and associatedartifacts. D2 andG, thefillmatrix estimates ofvolumefor bytheminimum notably includeslessearth multiplied toordinary intheregion theentire compared secondary refuse zoneinthesubmound pittogiveusa rough (precisequantitative measuresof soil samplesare senseoftheoverallquantities ofpots,foods,magicothedisposal objects, insects, etc.thatcomprised LikezonesA-C,thesiltsandsandsin ritual unavailable). thesezonesmayderiveinpartorall fromtheGrand events.Assuming a relatively uniform artifact denPlaza's earthenmantlevia erosionor intentional sityacrossthepit,theresulting quantities pointto procesweeping.Combinedwithartifactdensity,the hugeevents(Table9). Eveniftheestimation matrices thetotalsinvolved,10 individual organic-rich appeartoindicate thatmostof dureoverinflates A.D. thesubmoundzones werederivedfroma tightly gatherings at Cahokiain theeleventh century theuse andbreakageofhunspacedseriesoflarge-scale depositional episodes.In seemtohaveinvolved of thecase oftheliveburialofmarshgrassbyzoneH dredsifnotthousands ofpots,theconsumption deer,andtheuse orthecombusted zonesor subzonesofD1, D2, E, hundreds ofindividual white-tailed of andF,themassivesingle-deposit orrapid-sequence-of sufficient tobaccoto leave behindhundreds is wellsupported. ofseeds! deposithypothesis Rapiddisposal thousands inthe eventsseemlikelyforzonesD2 andG alsobecause Therichness anddiversity ofplantremains Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 273 Table9. ProjectedTotalNumbersofSelectMaterialsin theSub-Mound51 Pit.a Zone D DI D2 E Ceramic Vessels 20,961 MNI Deer - Arrowheads 190 - 95 7,872 2,031 190 474 1,518 - 5,501 Tobacco Seeds 624,0911 Fossil Coleoptera 129,181 - 1,398,988 - 21,060 1,912 95 2,466 3,897 3,756 18,685 5,440 663,927 446,809 352 12,615 190 9,485 346,290 Total 760 68,574 13,238 8,313,311 949,008 aExcavatedmaterialdensity(N percubicmeter)from1967-68excavations multiplied byminimum estimated volumeofentire pit,dividedbyexcavatedvolume;deernumbers derivedfrom1968sampleonly. F G H sub-Mound 51 pitindicatethattheprocessing and Lopinot1991; Pauketat1998a).Cypresswas also in important community marker postsand eatingof plantfoodswas in somewayssimilarto featured mostdomesticcontextsin theGreaterCahokia possiblycanoes(e.g.,Porter1977:Figure 60), and region.Particularly evidentis thelow densityof the manycypresswood chips and prodigious maizeandthehighdensity of somestarchy seeds amounts ofbarkseemto indicatewoodworking as suchas maygrass(see Lopinot1991, 1994). Pro- a significant partoftheactivities represented inthe portions ofotherplantfoodsvary,inpartowingto submound pit. theuniquedepositional factors Chmumy(1973:150),havingculledwoodfrom surrounding theinfilling ofthepit.Thenearabsenceoflittle barley, for the1967excavation, notedwhatcouldhavebeenporinstance, is unusualbutcouldbe due eitherto the tionsof "wall support posts"and "one verylarge post,8 inchesin diameter." Besidesthese short-term accumulation of refuseor to thecon- hickory Inaddi- posts,thewood chips,and thebark,theabundant ofmealsthatexcluded little sumption barley. of fruits, notunlikeone other zoneF thatch tion,thefrequency anda fewpiecesofworkedwoodare Cahokiandomesticcontext(ICT-1I)butdifferentalso suggestiveof architectural construction and fromnon-Cahokian domesticrefuse, mayindicate reconstruction. Cahokian buildings presumably posoftheaddedflavorofCahokianrecipes, sessedthatched something roofsthatwereperiodically replaced; at leastone knownhigh-status Cahokianbuilding possiblyforpublicgatherings (see below). thefrequent tobaccoseeds,redcedar was associated withshaped wooden elements Certainly, andcypress woodchippage is suggestive (Dunavan1993; Pauketat1995). It is potentially branchlets, thentonotethatrebuilding andrethatchofmeaning-laden "ritual" oftheincorporation plants important andwoodsalongsidethetraditional foodsof ingof templesandcertainhousesat Cahokiamay starchy events(Pauketheregion. there areethnographic accounts havebeentiedtoannualceremonial Certainly with tat1993). oftheuseofswanwingsanddeerinconjunction feasts(Douglas1976;Radin1990). Based on an extensively redcedarinritual analyzedbodyofconRed cedarwas a wood withmanymythical, reli- textually and controlled ceramic, archaeobotanical, gious,andmedicinal usesamongitsmorepractical mound-construction Cahokiaresearchers evidence, redcedarbroomssweptawaydustand havepreviously inferred thatcentral publicriteswere applications: ofsociallife(e.g.,Emerevil spirits; cedarandcedarpostswereassociated annual,integrative features withsacredspaces,directions, creation and son1989,1997;Pauketat andEmer1993;Pauketat stories, mythical figures; twigs,leaves,andbarkwereused son 1991; Porter1974). Such early Cahokian inpurification cedarwoodwasusedtocon- ceremoniespresumably wouldhave involvedthe rituals; structnon-domesticbuildings (e.g., Lopinot manipulation ofthecontents ofmound-top buildings 1991:51-53; Moerman1986:241-249). In and (following Knight1986).Templesin laterMissisaroundCahokia,red cedarwas used in thecon- sippiancentersin theSoutheasthousedancestral struction of specialbuildings, as thepostsof the bones and sumptuary objectsand werethefocal andas thepolesofbur- pointsofannualfertility andrenewalrites(DePratmonumental "woodhenge," ial litters inMound72 (Fortier 1992;Fowler1991; ter1991;Hall 1989;Knight1986,1989).Thearray 274 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 67, No. 2, 2002 of Moreover, itshouldbe notedthatthepresence of thesubmound materials and pit'smagicoritual sumptuary goods beads,quartzcrystals, pigments, suchgameanimalsmakessenseas partofsomeperiicons,fancypots,tobaccoseeds,cedarbranchlets,odiccalendrically basedmobilization ofmeat.That gameanimals,unlikedomesticstock and a smokingpipe are consistentwiththese is, terrestrial analogs.At suchannualgatherings, peopleateand orspecialherds,maynothaveprovedveryreliable friend- provisions ifregularity ofavailability wasa concern. drankfoodsingroupsforged alongkinship, and, lines(seeBell 1990;Howard1968; Thenagain,meatscanbe driedandstockpiled ship,andgender as documentedin complexsocietiesaroundthe Waring1968;Witthoft 1949). Besidessuggestive fruit remains andthehighden- world,specialsumptuary rulesand gamereserves themeanstoregulate meatavailsityofbrokencookingjars,thesubmound pitpro- couldhaveprovided vides strong evidence of select faunal ability (see Rees 1997;Zeder1996).Inanycase,the provisions-swans, prairie chickens, largefish,and sortoflarge-scale seeninthesubmound provisioning in pitwouldhaverequiredsomesubstantive measure deer-notfoundinsuchquantities orproportions domestic contexts. The articulations andcomplete- ofcoordination suitedtoa ritualcalendar. in nessofmanydeerbonesmayreflect themanner All of thelinesof submound evidencepointin whichmeatwas brought to Cahokiaforwhatever thedirection ofa seriesofshort-term andlarge-scale inthesubmound eventsarerepresented theuse ofmagicolitual and feasts, specific pit. eventsinvolving Butchering debris, suchas skullfragments andlower sumptuary goods,theshapingof craftgoods and limbs metapodials, phalanges,and carpals are wood,andpossibly therethatching orreconstruction almostnonexistent in theanalyzedassemblages. ofarchitecture. Theabundant insectremains clearly Thus,itis reasonableto concludethatmeat,espe- indicatethattheseeventsoccurredduringwarm on sitein theformofbulkcuts, weather ciallydeer,arrived months. Fruitsinthepitindicate bothearly andexpected and mulberries), latersumpossibly prescribed bytradition bythe summer(strawberries hostsof publicevents.At leastsomeof thebones mer(blackberries, elderberries, andgrapes),andfall inthepitina semi-artic- (persimmon) wereseemingly all couldhavebeen deposited harvests, although ulatedstateandwithraw,softtissuestilladhering to eatenfrom driedstores. Thedeerandwaterfowl may someas evidenced intheearlyautumn bytheflyexuviae.Thisindicates havebeenmosteasilycaptured thatthemeatwasprobably cutfromthebonesprior (seeBent1962)andcertainly abundant starchy-seed tocookingandthebonewastetossedintothesub- cropswouldhavebeenharvested bythattime.Thus, moundpit.II a mid-summer to earlyautumnorigin,at leastfor The submound faunalpattern, differs zonesD2 andG, is mostlikely. therefore, fromdomesticcontexts elsewhereat Thecontextual evidencefortheuseorconsumnpsignificantly foodsand the CahokiaandacrosstheGreater Cahokiaregion. The tionof certainobjectsor traditional is generally withmod- absenceofothers is as interesting as thegeneralpatconsistent pattern, however, els of "ritualfeasting"elsewhere(Hayden1996; terns andseasonalindicators. thesubmound Viewing Jackson andScott1995).Thecharacteristics thatthe strataas a timeseries,we maysee someclearand inartifact Themost sub-Mound 51 faunalassemblagesharewiththese othersuggestive trends density. densedeposits is theextraordinarily feastingmodelsincludelow taxonomicdiversity,obviouspattern materihighmeat-yielding speciesinall faunalclassespre- offruits, primemeats,uniquemagicoritual objectsinzonesD2 andG. Zones sent,relatively completeandin somecases articu- als,andsumptuary ofmanythings. The latedbones,largequantities of bonespresentin a E andH havelowerdensities rarespecies(swansandprairie chick- alrtifact ofzoneF is difficult toassessowing density singledeposit, ens),andconsistent body-part representation (sug- to its thatchmatrix.The zone appearsto contain deerportionsor bulk fairly ofthesamesortsofdebrisfound highdensities gestingpossiblyprescribed cutsof meat).All of thesecharacteristics suggest in zonesD2 and G. Lastly,zonesD and DI have densities ofmaterial, owingtoaccuperhaps feastingon meatthatwas in some way selected reduced becauseof thesymbolicmeaningwithwhichthe mulations thatspanned moretimethantheother layanimalswereimbuedandpresumably provisioned ers or to the intentionalfillingof the pit with in Cahokia'scen- sediments to thegreatcollective hauledfromelsewhere on site. gatherings tralplaza. We couldposit,basedon thepaleoentomologi- Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 275 cal,zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, andsediThereis muchinthepitthatcouldbe interpreted mentological evidence,thatzonesD2 andG were as ordinary domesticrefuseifviewedin isolation. comparable deposits perhaps resulting from thesame Amongthesethingsarecookingpotsandtheplant annualevent-possibly a harvest feastora renewal foodscookedinthem.However, theseemingordinisquiteprobceremonyin twoconsecutive years.In anycase, aryprofile materials ofsomesubmound thetwozones are quitealike,althoughtheabun- ablywhatwe shouldexpectto see giventhatmost danceofcedarbranchlets butreducedquantities in large-scalegatherings wouldhave of participants barkinzoneD2 contrasts withzoneG. In addition, beenofordinary status. On theother hand,thecomthereis no quartzcrystalin zone G (or in zone H binedqualitative andquantitative aspectsoftheanibeneath specialwoods,quartzcrystals, it)atthesametimethattherearehighden- mal bones,fruits, points, sitiesof exoticchertandexoticigneousrockdeb- shellbeadnecklace,paintedpots,projectile of axheads.Compared tobacco,andhumanbonesdo notmatchthewellitagefromthemanufacture to this,zone D2 has lowerdensities of theaxhead established domestic fortheregion. Thisdoes profile arehighdebitage, negligible quantities ofexoticchert, buta notmeanthatthesubmound pit'scontents veryhighdensity ofquartzcrystal. statusrefuse.Instead,theexoticandmagico-ritual craftgoods,and nonfoodplantremains Thebetween-zone variance is alsoattested bythe materials, actuallyusedand different proportions ofanimalandplantfoods,the appearmoreas theparaphernalia reduction ofspecialevents. byparticipants presence oflarge-biface flakes, thegreater- discarded observation, as thepitneed than-usual numbers ofseedjarsinlowerzones,and Thisis an important thevirtual absenceofsuchthings as FortPaynechert, notbe interpreted as the"materialization" of some and local brown alreadyestablished Mississippian ideology(in the shell-bead-making tools,funnels, fineware. Thisvariancemayhavebeenan sense of DeMarriset al. 1996). Rather,thesubpottery outcomeofsituational orformalsocialvariation in Mound 51 pit dates to theearliestphase of the theactivitiesthatproducedthedense submound youngest andlargestMississippian polityin North theprocesswhereby Americaandmayencapsulate deposits. (orevenresisted) peopleacceptedoraccommodated Conclusions a Cahokianorganization, or way of life. identity, Viewedtogether, themultiple linesofevidenceana- Thatprocessseemstohaveinvolved a dramatically andcentralized senseofcommunity, the1967-1968excavation ofsub-Mound enlarged polity, lyzedfrom At thesametime,material remains 51 indicate thatthestratified layersofrefuseastride and economy. thatCahokiawascontinuously derived from being Cahokia'sGrandPlazaprobably large- seemtoindicate via thecentralized manufacheldintheGrand createdandre-created scalecollective gatherings, perhaps Plaza and articulated ofpotsandcraft withannualtemplerenewals tureanddispersal goodsandviathe of architecture, earthen orother GivenitsLohmann continuousconstruction ceremonies. mound-top andvariousothermonuments (Pauketat takeonadded pyramids, phasedate,thesubmound pit'sremains inunderstanding andEmerson1991, Cahokiaitself. Thepit 1997a,1997b,2000b;Pauketat significance to feedthegathmayhavebeendugtoleveltheplazaortoraisethe 1999).The cookingofprovisions earliest Theopenpit, eredthrongs wouldhavebeenan integral certainly stagesofthecentral platforms. rather then,mayhavebeenrefilled quicklyas part partofsucha process.Theuseofhumanbonesand of thecontinued andplaza ritualsof templesumptuary ofcraft constructions objects,themanufacture densities all couldhave ofmagi- goods,andthedisposalofroofthatch earlyCahokia.Theextraordinary ofthissamecultural-construccoritual materials, sumptuary goods,human remains, beenan integral palrt foodresidues,brokenpots,woodworking practicesmayhave debris, tionprocess.Thatcoordinated craftproduction and been components of a collectiveculturalprocess waste,architectural elements, howpeopleaccommoevenfirewood fromdiscrete andseemingly maybe central toexplaining perhaps to shifts theinter- datedthesocialanddemographic thought large-scale depositional episodeswarrant thatthesub-Mound51 pitcontainsthe have attendedtheLohmannphaseregimein the pretation remains Cahokiaregion(see Pauketat1998b). ofpublicritesfocusedaroundfeasts.Ifthis Greater individuis correct, thenthesubmounddata Itis worthy ofmention thatprominent interpretation inCahokia'sLohmann phase pointtocommensal politicson a grandscale. als,suchas thoseburied 276 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 67, No. 2, 2002 MuseumResearchSeries,Papersin Anthropology No. 3, Mound72 (Fowler1991,1997;Fowleretal. 2000), Springfield. mayhaveplayedkeyrolesinCahokia'scommensal Bell,A. R. politics.However, mostpeopletakingpartin such 1990 SeparatePeople:SpeakingofCreekMenandWomen. American Anthropologist 92:332-345. eventswould nothave been of highrankor of Bell,C. of whohosted esteemedreputation. So, regardless 1997 Ritual:Perspectives a)tdDimensions. OxfordUniverthepresumed orcoordinated GrandPlaza rites,the sityPress,Oxford. events themselves wouldhavebeencollective exper- Bent,A. 1962 LifeHistoriesofNorthAmzericanz WildFowl,PartII. iencesthatdefypigeonholing intostatuscategories. DoverPublications, NewYork. wouldhavebeensimultaneously lowsta- Binford, Suchevents L. R. AcademicPress,New 1978 Nutnamiut Ethnoarchaeology. tusandhighstatusorcommunal andpolitical(see York. Pauketat 2000;Pauketat andEmerson1999). W.W. Chmurny, EarlyCahokiamayhavebeena blendoftheordi1973 The EcologyoftheMiddleMississippian Occupation of the American Bottom. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, and the a extraordinary, recipe cooked up along naly Departmentof Anthropology, University of Illinois at withthefeastfoodsduring collective of gatherings Urbana-Champaign. a grandscale.In theend,thismaybe theonlyway Collins,J.M. MoundsICT-II: Site oftheCaahokia to understand whypeopleof theeleventh century 1990 TheArchaeology IllinoisCultural Strulctutre. ResourcesStudyNo. 10.Illinois haveparticipated inwhatconstituted, A.D.might at Historic Preservation Agency, Springfield. leastin scalarterms, a radicaldeparture frompre- Dalan,R. A. ofMississippian 1997 TheConstruction Cahokia.InCahokia: traditions Mississippian (Alt2001;Pauketat 1998b). Domination andIdeologyintheMississippian edited World, byT. R. Pauketat andT. E. Emerson, pp. 89-102.UniversityofNebraskaPress,Lincoln. DeManiis,E., L. J.Castillo,andT. Earle andPowerStrategies. Cur1996 Ideology,Materialization, rentAnthropology 17:15-31. De Mott,R. C., D. J.Marcucci,andJ.A. Williams 1993 ChippedLithicMaterials.In TheArchaeology ofthe CahokiaMoundsICT-II:Testing andLithics, byW.I.Woods, R. C. De Mott,D. J.Marcucci,J.A. Williams,and B. L. ResourcesStudy Gums,PartII,pp. 1-135.IllinoisCultural 13.IllinoisHistoric Preservation Agency, Springfield. C. B. DePratter, in the 1991 Late Prehistoric and EarlyHistoricChiefdoms Southeastern UnitedStates.GarlandPress,NewYork. M. Dietler, 1996 FeastsandCommensalPoliticsin thePoliticalEconomy:Food,Power,andStatusinPrehistoric Europe.InFood edited andtheStatusQuest:AnInterdisciplinaty Perspective, andW.Schiefenhovel, byP.Wiessner pp.87-126.Berghahn Books,Oxford. Dietler, M., andB. Hayden(editors) 2001 Feasts:Archaeological andEthnographic Perspectives onFood,Politics, andPower.Smithsonian Institution Press, D.C. Washington, Douglas,J.G. 1976 Collins:A LateWoodlandCeremonial Complexinthe Woodfordian Northeast. Ph.D. dissertation, Unpublished Departmentof Anthropology, Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dunavan,S. L. 1993 PlantRemains.In Temples forCahokiaLords.Prestoni ReferencesCited Holder's1955-1956Excavations Mound,by ofKunzeenannz Alt,S. M. T. R. Pauketat, ofMichigan, Mempp. 125-133.University 2001 CahokianChangeand theAuthority of Tradition. In oirsoftheMuseumofAnthropology, No. 26. AnnArbor. TheArchaeology ofTraditions: AgencyandHistoty Before Elias,S. A. andAfter Columbus, editedbyT. R. Pauketat, pp. 141-156. Smith1994 Quaternaty Insectsand TheirEnvironments. PressofFlorida,Gainesville. University sonianInstitution D.C. Press,Washington, Bareis,C. J. T. E. Emerson, 1975 Reportof 1971University ofIllinois-Urbana ExcavaAn Exploration andtheUnderworld: 1989 Water, Serpents, tionsat theCahokiasite.In CahokiaArchaeology: Field In TheSouttheastern Ceremonial intoCahokiaSymbolism. Reports,editedby M. L. Fowler,pp. 9-11. IllinoisState editedbyP.Galloway, Complex: Artifacts andAnalysis, pp. We are mostfortunate to havebeen given Acknowledgments. access to the sub-Mound51 materialsand notesby thelate CharlesJ.Bareisand theUniversity ofIllinoisDepartment of The qualityofourresultsis directly Anthropology. due to his excavationskillsand theeffort of University of Illinoisfield schoolstudentsin 1966, 1967,and 1968. The Department's Lab ofAnthropology AngelaNeller,patiently assisted Curator, our workwiththislargecollectionbetween1994 and 1999. The NationalScience Foundationprovidedprimarysupport forouranalyses(BNS-9305404),partof the"EarlyCahokia Project"(1993-1997).Additionalassistancewas givenby the IllinoisTransportation Archaeological ResearchProgram, the of Oklahoma,Washington Southwest University University, MissouriStateUniversity, and theCahokiaMoundsMuseum Society.Assistants compiledmuchof thedatareported here, mostnotablyGregWilson,StephaniePauketat, andKatherine Roberts,withadditionalwork by Ksenija Borojevic,Paul Blonsky,Steve Casper,Karla Hansen,ElisabethHildebrant, KimberlySchaefer,and KristiTaft.Additionalthanksare owed LeonardBlake, WilliamChmurny, Hugh Cutler,and JamesSchoenwetter fortheirrecollections and original1970s analyses,and to MelvinFowler,forgraciouslyallowinghis Cahokiamapto be adaptedforFigure1. Thanksare owed to HelaineSilvermanfortheSpanishabstract and to translation, the anonymousreviewersfor their helpful suggestions. in presentation areentirely ourown. 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Zeder,M. ofCahokia.Southeastern Archaeology 16:1-15. toComplexity: A View 1996 Zooarchaeological Approaches Cahokia:TheTract15A 1998a TheArchaeology ofDowntown at the53rdAnnual fromtheOld World.Paperpresented and DunhamTractExcavations.IllinoisTransportation Archaeological ResearchProgram, StudiesinArchaeology Archaeological Conference, Meetingof theSoutheastern No. 1. University ofIllinois,Urbana. Birmingham, Alabama. ofGreaterCahokia. Jour1998b Refiguring theArchaeology Research6:45-89. nal ofArchaeological Notes 2000a A WaterlineThroughCahokia's Grand Plaza. 1. There are modest "Green Corn"or "renewal"pitsconCahokian(Spring): 10-12. refuseat outlyingsettlements oftheCommoners. 2000b TheTragedy InAgency inArchae- tainingsuggestivesingle-event ology,editedbyM.-A.DobresandJ.Robb,pp. 113-139. (Emerson 1997:94, 132), but large-scale excavationsat London. Routledge, Cahokiaandoutlying centershaveproducedonlya fewcomPauketat, T. R.,andT. E. Emerson possiblefeasting parablelargeshallowfillareas containing and thePowerof thePot. or collective-ritual 1991 The IdeologyofAuthority refuse(see Fowleret al. 2000; Holleyet American Anthropologist 93:919-941. al. 1993;J.Kelly1997).Thisis thecase despitethelargeresandIdeologyin theMissis1997 Introduction: Domination idential"tract"excavationsat Cahokia and the large-scale anidIdeologyinthe sippianWorld.In Cahokia:Dominiation regionthathave, archaeologyof thesurrounding Mississippian World, editedbyT.R. Pauketat andT.E. Emer- settlement collectively, excavatedhundredsof domesticbuildingsand ofNebraskaPress,Lincoln. son,pp. 1-29.University of Hegemonyas Community at thousandsof refusepits,fill areas, post molds,etc. (e.g., 1999 The Representation Culture andEconomy inPre- Collins 1990; Emerson1997; Milneret al. 1984; Pauketat Cahokia.InMaterialSymbols: editedbyJ.E. Robb,pp.302-317.OccasionalPaper 1998a, 1998b). history, No. 26,CenterforArchaeological Investigations, Southern 2. Fromthe Lohmannphase occupationsat Tract15AIllinoisUniversity, Carbondale. Dunhamand theICT-II, a totalof 64 and 135 m3of fillwas Pauketat, T. R., andM. A. Rees excavated, respectively (Pauketat 1998a:88; Collins atMound49, 1996 EarlyCahokiaProject1994Excavations tothe 1990:Tables5.7-5.33). Cahokia(11-S-34-2).Unpublished submitted report and Tract15A/Dunham, 3. For example,thesubmound, IllinoisHistoric Preservation Agency, Springfield. ICT-II excavationsproduced723, 506, and 913 Lohmann J.W. Porter, and 17, 34, and 97 kg of vessels,respectively, as Viewedfrom 1974 CahokiaArchaeology theMitchell Site: phasepottery (see Collins 1990; De A Satellite atAD 1150-1200.Ph.D.dissertation, chippedchertdebitage,respectively Community of Anthropology, of Wisconsin, Mott et al. 1993; Gums 1993; Holley 1989; Kelly 1991; Department University AnnArbor. Madison.University Microfilms, Lopinot1991; Pauketat1998a). at 1977 TheMitchellSiteandPrehistoric ExchangeSystems threeofthefourunitprofilesand 4. Thisfigureillustrates intoCahokia Cahokia:AD 1000 ? 300. In Explorations of the pit availprovidesthe only compositecross-section Archaeology (2nd edition),editedby M. L. Fowler,pp. able. The fourth unitis offsetfromthesethreeand analyzed Bulletin 7. Urbana. 137-164.IllinoisArchaeological Survey is notillustrated here.The westernmost unit(E393-396) was J.M. Potter, 2000 Pots,Parties,andPolitics:CommunalFeastingin the notexcavatedto thebottomofthepitin 1968 anda complete profileis notavailable. American American Southwest. 65:471-492. Antiquity 5. Additionalinsectremainswereobservedand counted Purdue,J.R.,B. W. Styles,andM. C. Masulis DeerExploitation from by KatherineRobertsduringsortingof some archaeobotaniandWhite-Tail 1989 FaunalRemains a LateWoodlandUplandEncampment: The BoschertSite cal samples at WashingtonUniversity. These hand-picked Missouri.Midcontinental samples typicallyoverrepresent (23SC609), St. CharlesCounty, Diptera pupae, which are 14:146-163. Journal ofArchaeology more easily recognizableunder the microscope.Diptera Radin,P. wererecognizedfromzones D2, G, and H. pupae of NebraskaPress, Tribe.University 1990 The Winnebago 6. Ifthesewoodswereused at domesticsites,butnotcarLincoln. bonized,theymayhaverottedaway,leavingno archaeologiRees,M. A. TheRegional callyrecoverablesignatures. Tribute andChiefly 1997 Coercion, Authority: ofMississippian PoliticalCulture. 7. Thatis, Cahokianceramicassemblagesincludehigher SoutheastDevelopment emArchaeology 16:113-133. of well-madevessels as opposed to contempoproportions A. J.,Jr. Waring, raryoutlyingvillages(see Alt 2001). Cultand MuskhogeanCeremonial.In 1968 The Southern unitsfromtheRameyField 8. In theyet-to-be-analyzed TheWaring J.WarPapers:TheCollectedWorks ofAntonio portionof the submoundpit, Bareis (1975:11) notedthat ing,Jr.,editedby S. Williams,pp. 30-69. Papersof the of humanremainsthathe zone G containeda concentration andEthnology 58. HarPeabodyMuseumofArchaeology "individualswithlittleor no statusin thoughtrepresented vardUniversity, Massachusetts. Cambridge, and "placed in Cahokia society"who were "dismembered" Welch,P. D., andC. M. Scarry a thezone F thatchto constitute intheMoundville thepit."He theninterpreted 1995 Status-RelatedVariationinFoodways ritualsealingof thelowerzone G event. Chiefdom. American 60:397-419. Antiquity Pauketat et al.] RESIDUES OF FEASTING AND PUBLIC RITUAL AT EARLY CAHOKIA 9. Rock wasteand chipped-stone debitagedensitiesare calculatedas grams/m3of excavatedfill,whileformalartifactsand potsare calculatedas number/mr3 of excavatedfill. 10. The reasons, beyond the presentpaper's scope, include the methods by which Minimum Number of Individualsor MinimumNumberofVessels,etc.,are calculated and thepotentialforsamplingerror,especiallyusing thebulkarchaeobotanical samples. 11. Cut marks,however,are not abundanton the deer remains.Only32 deerbones(1.9 percent)fromzonesD2 and 279 G possess cutmarks,18 of whichare interpreted as filleting marks.If meatwas beingcookedon thebone,however, more fragmentation oftheboneswouldbe expectedso theywould fitinto the cookingpots. If deer meat was roastedmore burnedbones or bones singed at their ends would be expected. ReceivedMay 15,2001; RevisedOctober15,2001; Accepted October15,2001.
