Clearing Up Clouded Waters: Palaeoenvironmental Analysis of Freshwater Mussel Assemblages from the Green River Shell Middens, Western Kentucky

Despite much progress in the analysis of Middle and Late Archaic Period (c. 6000–3000bp) shell midden sites along the lower Green River, many issues remain unresolved. One area of concern is the relationship between malacological and geoarchaeological data. Specifically, archaeological mussel assemb...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of archaeological science 1998-09, Vol.25 (9), p.907-926
Main Authors: Morey, Darcy F., Crothers, George M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
America and Arctic regions
AQUATIC PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION
ARCHAIC PERIOD
FRESHWATER MUSSELS
GEOARCHAEOLOGY
GREEN RIVER
KENTUCKY
North America
Preceramic cultures
Prehistory and protohistory
SHELL MIDDENS
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Despite much progress in the analysis of Middle and Late Archaic Period (c. 6000–3000bp) shell midden sites along the lower Green River, many issues remain unresolved. One area of concern is the relationship between malacological and geoarchaeological data. Specifically, archaeological mussel assemblages have been interpreted to suggest shallow, swiftly flowing sections of river near the sites, whereas geoarchaeological discussions have been interpreted to indicate a deep, sluggish channel. This apparent contradiction has contributed to discussions that question the traditionally presumed dietary role of the shellfish, positing instead, for example, that shell could have been transported long distances in order to construct mortuary monuments. In this paper we show that the notion of a contradiction between malacological and geoarchaeological data is false. On the one hand, an analysis of mussels from the Haynes site (15BT11) supports a previous reconstruction of stream conditions based on malacological data from the nearby Carlston Annis site (15BT5). On the other hand, geoarchaeological discussions have been misconstrued through literal interpretation of generalizations that apply at a broad, geological scale. Supporting data, especially from pre-impoundment survey maps, suggest that the stretches of river in question included suitable habitat for the mussel species that dominate the middens. With this point of confusion resolved, we plan subsequent research to expand the data base at Haynes and other shell-bearing sites, focusing on overall palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, taphonomic processes, site distributions in relation to geomorphological contexts, and dietary analysis.
ISSN:0305-4403
1095-9238
DOI:10.1006/jasc.1997.0272