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Chapter 23 Woodland Cave Archaeology in Eastern North America George M. Crothers, Charles H. Faulkner, Jan F. Simek, Patty Jo Watson, and P. Willey There are hundreds of thousands of caves throughout the vast limestonebedrock region of the United States that extends from Missouri through southern Illinois and Indiana to the Virginias, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama , Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, and Florida. Beginning at least as early as 4500 years ago, the people who lived in this karstic area traveled into and through dozens of these caves, using them as quarries, mines, cemeteries, and places to communicate with the spirit world. In this chapter, we describe and discuss highlights of Woodland archaeology in caves, focusing on the kinds of materials left there, current interpretations of those materials , and regional patterning in cave use during the Woodland period. We are concerned specifically with subterranean archaeology in deep pits not accessible without special equipment and skills, and with the dark zones of cave interiors, not with rockshelters, cave entrances, or the twilight zones provided by small and/or shallow caves. T T T T The Natur he Natur he Natur he Natur he Nature of Ca e of Ca e of Ca e of Ca e of Cav v v v ve e e e e Ar Ar Ar Ar Archaeology in Easter chaeology in Easter chaeology in Easter chaeology in Easter chaeology in Eastern North n North n North n North n North Amer Amer Amer Amer America ica ica ica ica In basic method and theory, cave archaeology is just like any other kind of archaeology (Watson 2001), but issues of preservation, of access, and of documentation techniques differ from those of above-ground archaeology. Limestone caves in eastern North America are much older (by a million years or more) than the earliest period of human presence in the New World. Preservation conditions for fragile, ordinarily highly perishable materials in the older, inactive, hence dry, passages (i.e., those with no flowing or dripping water, even though humidity may be quite high) are often extremely favorable. This is because of the absence of decay organisms, as well as the stable environment with consequent lack of weathering (Crothers and Watson 1993). Ferns, grass, fabrics and cordage, wooden artifacts, fuel for torches Woodland Cave Archaeology in Eastern North America 503 and fires, human hair, human fecal matter, and human bodies are desiccated but otherwise kept in a state of complete integrity for thousands of years. This is a tremendous archaeological advantage, but also may pose significant curational problems when these items are removed from the cave. Another corollary of the optimal preservation in dry cave passages is that recent and very ancient materials (e.g., wood, leaves, bark) look exactly alike. Torch or campfire debris from a few cave trips by a few people over many generations cannot be distinguished visually from such debris resulting from one or two trips by a larger group. Moreover, because of the geological and hydrogeological processes involved in cave formation, most cave passages of any size are primarily rock-floored rather than being filled wholly or partially with sediment. Even when sediment deposits are present, sedimentation is often very slow, with rates commonly on the order of a few centimeters per millennium. Hence, deep cave archaeology usually addresses large and complex “surface” sites where nearly all the debris is scattered on the substrate, not piled up in stratified sequences. Of course, later cave trips alter or destroy much evidence of earlier ones because most cave passages are constrained spaces without a great many possibilities for optimal movement in and through them. Accessibility to archaeological remains in karstic pits and in the dark zones of cave interiors is frequently physically difficult, but it is the total and perpetual lack of light that distinguishes field work in caves from aboveground work. All illumination must be brought in and carefully maintained during all work periods. This necessity manifests itself primarily as a supply problem (of lights, batteries, lanterns, fuel), but also as a survival issue that requires unremitting attention from every crew member throughout the course of every field trip. The complete absence of all but imported, artificial light also always affects documentation techniques (especially photography). A more serious logistical problem, however, is posed by the small spaces and lengthy routes field crews must traverse to reach the work locale. It is often impossible to transport or use theodolites, alidades, plane tables, and surveying rods, so mapping small, remote cave passages...

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