Of Caves and Shell Mounds

Preface

Preface Kenneth C. Carstens IN1989 I organized a symposium for the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in Tampa, Florida. The symposium was titled "Twenty-six Years along Kentucky 's Green River: Papers in Honor of Patty Jo Watson." Although a participant of the symposium herself, Watson did not know the symposium was being held in her honor until she was seated among other symposium participants. At the symposium papers were presented by Ken Carstens, Guy Prentice, Bruce Manzano, Jan Hemberger, Philip DiBlasi, Ken Tankersley, Gail Wagner, Cheryl Claassen, Christine Hensley, Valerie Haskins and Nicholas Herrmann, and Patty Jo Watson, followed by discussions provided by Cheryl Munson, Mary Lucas Powell, and Vincas Steponaitis. The purpose of the symposium (and of this book) was twofold. First and foremost, I wished to bring together friends and researchers associated with Patty Jo Watson to honor her for the work, friendship, and guidance she so willingly gave to her students and colleagues throughout 30 years of work along Kentucky's Green River. A more academically oriented goal of the symposium was to bring together papers addressing past and current research taking place in two areas along Kentucky'S Green River that have been associated with Watson : Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP) and the Big Bend (shell mound) region of Green River. Very positive comments from those in attendance followed the symposium, including, "Why don't you bring the papers together and publish them?" Carstens and Watson agreed. Watson further recommended the addition of chapters by Bill Marquardt, Mary Kennedy, Mary Lucas Powell, and David Dye to round out the contents of the present volume. Owing to severe press of other commitments, Marquardt was unable to join us, and Manzano agreed to pull his paper, but other papers by Kennedy, Powell, and Dye were included. The book that came together as a result of the symposium contains fourteen chapters, divided topically into two archaeological areas associated with Watson 's work along Kentucky's Green River: Mammoth Cave National Park and the karstic areas surrounding it (chapters 2-7) (Figure P-1) and the Green River Big Bend (shell mound) area (chapters 8-12) (Figure P-2). Dye's chapter provides a regional perspective on riverine adaptation in the Midsouth, and Watson's xi xii I Preface ~''l. 'J' ~ '-.. '\ Brownsville ~ -"t _ ..... o 1 2 r-1 I MILES EDMONSON co. Si9 48km , Ed 123 : 7.1 203 Cave I- • • t • Mammoth I I Cave \ HART CO. Ed Ed Salts 1./J Ed 85 Ed·12: \ ,Wa6 32km Bn51 14km~ P-l Various Archaeological Sites in Mammoth Cave National Park concluding chapter (chapter 14) ties the Mammoth Cave and the Big Bend research areas together (Figure P-3). Chapter I, by Munson, examines Kentucky's archaeologicaUy significant Green River region, the importance of Watson's archaeological research to that area, and the impact Watson's work has had on our understanding of prehistory in the Green River region. Chapter 2, by Carstens, represents a summary of his doctoral research in MCNP conducted between 1973 and 1975. His work addresses the Park's prehistoric culture history. In particular, Carstens describes the technoenvironmental characteristics of the cultures from which the specialized Late Archaic-Early Woodland cave activities developed. The chapter by Guy Prentice (chapter 3) carries forward from Carstens's work in MCNP. Prentice, working in MCNP between 1987 and 1990, added more sites to the data base and sampled a wider range of prehistoric (and historic ) sites. His work provides the most detailed understanding of MCNP prehistoric cultures currently available. ".' WEBSTER .- / -_// ' , ,\ 1 ,,- . . - ~ HANCOCK --,'\I ( \ / ' . . , DAVIESS A Portion of Western Kentucky ... = Archaeological site o 10 20 I _nJ I " ........ \ > . . . . . . . . . )l / - . / ' ' / I I L-.J .- ........ I \ ~ ... j . -:ft ..... 1 MC LEAN ....... ~--,/ o\lo~~~·_..-"\.. J"~'< / 0:.,/",--.-- ~ " .. , ' " ....... ~- ~--_/ \.., -GRAYSON .-...., ""'~-\ ~ \js"" . 1 :;,-- ,;;, :'o,\(\i -, .. ..r. Madisonville I .. cAr , / -"'\ , / ~------HOPKINS ( '\ ') \ EDMON \ ,Brownsville . SON\ HART \ ____ .......... r __ 0'( MUHLENBERG J , _ P-2 Green River Big Bend Area. Source: Based on a map by William H. Marquardt. Used by permission. 1 $:I ~ ~ .. . ... ... xiv I Preface P-3 Various Midsouth Sites and Site Areas MCNP / eAdairCave o 50 100 I I Ikm Ken Tankersley (chapter 4) examines the special nature of prehistoric mining activities in the big caves of MCNP and in particular the mining of renewable mineral resources (mirabilite and satin spar). In chapter 5 Philip DiBlasi discusses several newly discovered mud and cane charcoal drawings in Adair Cave, Salts Cave, and Mammoth Cave that appear to be considerably different from (and older than) previously described protohistoric artwork (Faulkner 1988; Faulkner, ed., 1986; Faulkner et a1. 1984). DiBlasi recognizes a Late Archaic-Early Woodland artistic tradition. Chapter 6, by Mary Kennedy, presents a thorough discussion of 35 radiocarbon determinations from Salts and Mammoth caves. Kennedy makes comparisons among the various radiocarbon laboratories, kinds and types of Preface I xv possible contamination, and the temporal and spatial variations present within the radiocarbon sample retrieved from Salts and Mammoth caves. The last chapter in the cave section of the book (chapter 7), by Jan Hemberger , draws principally from three caves in the Central Kentucky Karst and examines management problems, laws that protect caves, and the role public education can play. Gail Wagner's chapter (chapter 8) centers on methodological concerns relevant to paleoethnobotanical studies in the Shell Mound area. In her study, Wagner takes a retrospective look at, and reevaluation of, pioneering botanical studies initiated by Watson and her associates. Chapter 9, by Christine Hensley, focuses on the importance of studying archaeological collections made during the Works Progress Administration era in the Green River Shell Mound area. Although archaeologists today are pressured to excavate their own data, Hensley, who examines archaeological materials from the Read shell midden (15Bho), demonstrates that valuable information can be gleaned from studying older collections. In chapter 10 Valerie Haskins and Nicholas Herrmann review the bioarchaeological literature associated with shell mound archaeology and provide further insight into the bioarchaeology of the Read shell midden. In chapter 11 Mary Lucas Powell contributes an examination of health and disease in Green River Archaic populations. Chapter 12, by Cheryl Claassen, calls into question previous interpretations of archaeological shell from the shell mounds. Claassen opens new avenues for shell mound research with her innovative ideas and observations about Archaic shell-fishing societies. Chapter 13, by David Dye, examines riverine shell mound adaptation in the Midsouth at the Eva, Mulberry Creek, and Anderson sites. Dye notes that an increased exploitation of riverine aquatic species led to an intensive occupation of floodplain habitats in the Midsouth. The last chapter (chapter 14), by Patty Jo Watson, details her interests in the caves and shell mounds of Kentucky'S Green River, refers to the work she and her colleagues have accomplished since 1963, and forecasts future studies in the two geographically different, but related, Green River areas. One of the reviewers of a draft version of this book questioned why the chapters in this book, especially those dealing with the Shell Mound area, would precede the long-awaited shell mound book by Marquardt and Watson. Owing to a series of delays-primarily the fault of the project directors, Marquardt and Watson-a detailed report of the Shell Mound Archeological Project is not yet available. Many of the report's components are completed in final draft manuscripts , however, and have been consulted by several contributors to the present volume. References to those manuscripts are noted in the present text as "author, in prep." The manuscripts themselves are with the Shell Mound Project docu- xvi I Preface mentation files at Washington University in St. Louis, where the preparation of the final publication is taking place. Archaeological research along Kentucky's Green River by Watson and her associates has had considerable impact on our understanding of prehistoric lifeways in the Eastern Woodlands, as indicated in part by the present volume. Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Patty Jo Watson, and her interdisciplinary research teams, have been fortunate, indeed. Whether above ground or below, growth in knowledge and friendship have long been a hallmark of this research. Thanks, Pat! ...