Of Caves and Shell Mounds

10. Shell Mound Bioarchaeology

10 Shell Mound Bioarchaeology Valerie A. Haskins and Nicholas P. Herrmann THE RICH ARCHAEOLOGICAL resources of the Green River drainage in Kentucky have yielded some of the most important collections of human skeletal remains in the southeastern United States. It has been widely acknowledged that excavation of these sites, particularly the large shell middens, was critical in developing our conception of the Archaic tradition in Kentucky (e.g., Chapman and Watson 1993). Analyses of the skeletal remains recovered from these sites have similarly shaped the field of bioarchaeology. In this chapter we examine the impact of such analyses and demonstrate that skeletal research in this region may be viewed as a microcosm of trends and techniques in North American archaeology and in physical anthropology during the past century. The role of the best known of the Green River shell mound sites, Indian Knoll (150112), is examined in detail. A summary of paleodemography at the Read site (15Btto) is offered as an example of current research. The three orientations that characterized the history of North American archaeology -the speculative, empirical, and explanatory approaches outlined by Schwartz and others-may be seen in the history of Kentucky archaeology as well (Schwartz 1967). The evolution of skeletal research in the Green River drainage mirrors that of archaeology through the past few decades. These trends are demonstrated in the first descriptive reports of isolated exotic phenomena and in the most recent multidisciplinary synthetic approaches. Speculation, Description, and Racial Typology (1700S-1930s) The earliest human remains described from the Green River drainage include the desiccated bodies found in the large, dry caves of south-central Kentucky . Many antiquarians believed that there was a connection between Egypt and the New World. These "mummies," as the preserved bodies were called, initially provided substantiation for the common misconception that Egyptians, rather than prehistoric American Indians, built the large earthworks that dotted the landscape. Others, such as Squier and Davis (quoted in Putnam 1875:31422 ), Jones (1876:1-5), Bushnell (1920:66), and Nelson (1917:27) were confident that the preserved bodies were indeed those of prehistoric Indians. In addition 107 1.08 I Valerie A. Haskins and Nicholas P. Herrmann to the descriptions of mummies, other early reports include accounts of isolated skeletons in caves and tales of huge, cavernous charnel structures filled with bodies beneath the city of Lexington. (See George, ed., 1990; Haskins 1988; Meloy 1971; Meloy and Watson 1969 for comprehensive assessments of historical cave burial documentation in Kentucky and elsewhere in the southeastern United States.) These finds (and fantasies) were recorded in the early histories of the settlement of Kentucky as curiosities, but little or no explanation was offered . Following these early speculations, a more empirical approach was taken by the turn of the century. "Modern" excavations were undertaken by Nels C. Nelson in the Vestibule of Mammoth Cave and by Clarence B. Moore at large shell middens along Green River (Table 10.1). Moore spent nine weeks during the fall and winter of 1915-16 investigating sites along Green River before he devoted, as he says, "nearly five months ... to rather profitless work on Ohio and Mississippi Rivers" (C. Moore 1916:431). Few human remains were recovered from Nelson's endeavors at Mammoth Cave, but Moore's excavations at Indian Knoll alone yielded 298 burials in addition to a number of scattered bones. An idea of the methods employed by Moore's workmen may be inferred when one realizes that eight men spent only 179 hours excavating the site (C. Moore 1916:445). Although clearly not recovered under ideal conditions, these collections were the first of the large skeletal series to be obtained from this region. Consistent with conventions current at the time, most of the burials were not completely removed, and much post-cranial material was reburied at the sites. Only 66 crania from Indian Knoll were saved. Moore (1916:438) notes, "As usual, we have forwarded to the Army Medical Museum, Washington, D.C., all pathological specimens obtained during our season's work, otherwise all skulls and skeletons saved have been sent to the United States National Museum" (now known as the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution). There the remains were analyzed by Ales Hrdlicka, curator of the Division of Physical Anthropology, and his young assistant, T. Dale Stewart. Hrdlicka's preliminary observation was that the crania were "typical, undeformed , Algonquin skulls" unrelated to the Shawnee (Moore 1916:448). Of particular interest was a human lumbar vertebra...