Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Peacock, Evan

Committee Member

Rafferty, Janet

Committee Member

Hogue, S. Homes

Date of Degree

5-3-2008

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Applied Anthroplogy

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

Abstract

Prehistoric cultures are often studied by intrasite artifact variation and quantity without much consideration of how prehistoric populations interacted locally and regionally. Archaeologists can identify and study patterns associated with activities within a specified radius in order to gain an understanding of cultural operations. Identifying a social framework for a prehistoric society allows the investigation of group organization such as status differentiation, shared rituals, and the construction and maintenance of earthworks and living areas. That facilities were constructed for specialized use within a community is evidenced by the presence of earthworks and mounds at many sites (Lewis et al. 1998:16-17). Less well understood is how community patterns reflect social organization. The purpose of this thesis is to better document the number and distribution of structures at Lyon’s Bluff, a Mississippian to Protohistoric-period mound site in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. The focus will be on the last part of the occupation at the site, i.e., on materials recovered from the plowzone. A method employing molluscan remains and sedimentological evidence is used that allows for the delineation of structure locales using plowzone samples. Additional evidence is provided by artifact distributions and geophysical (magnetic gradiometer) data.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15099

Comments

freshwater snails||sphaeriidae||pelecypodia||pill clams||sand floors||house floors||settlement||archaeology||seriation||evolutionary theory||site use||habbitation||Mississippian||mound||standard deviation||daub||temper||plowzone||plow||disturbed||river snails||Surfer||kriging||contour||isomap

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