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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Kiwanis Site: A Multi-Method Geophysical Approach To Investigating Mound Features, Luke Burds Jan 2021

The Kiwanis Site: A Multi-Method Geophysical Approach To Investigating Mound Features, Luke Burds

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Subtle mound-like landforms can be genetically ambiguous features within a landscape. A variety of geomorphological and anthropological processes can result in these equifinal forms being difficult to interpret. Being able to reliably and noninvasively differentiate them is important for legal as well as cultural and spiritual reasons. A suite of non-invasive geophysical methods were thus used on mounds at the Kiwanis site in western Wisconsin in order to determine if culturally diagnostic indicators could be recorded in geophysical data. Genesis of these mounds is ambiguous given the presence of aeolian landforms in immediate proximity. As a control, the same geophysical …


The Dirt On The Collins Mounds Site, Carmelita Angeles Aug 2016

The Dirt On The Collins Mounds Site, Carmelita Angeles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Building monumental architecture has been one method used by humans to rise above an earthbound existence. In the United States, large earthen mounds were constructed from the Archaic period to the Mississippian period. The Collins Mound Site in Arkansas was recently dated to the Late Woodland period. For this study, soil samples were extracted from the northern section of the site for description and particle-size analysis. Erosion from plowing, wind, water, and gravity is the most likely process causing a decreased mound height and increased basal diameter. Mound fill likely originated near the river for two of the mounds and …


Seeing Below The Surface With Electrical Resistivity Tomography: Exploring The Deepest Reaches Of Arkansas' Tallest Prehistoric Mounds, James Robert Zimmer-Dauphinee Dec 2014

Seeing Below The Surface With Electrical Resistivity Tomography: Exploring The Deepest Reaches Of Arkansas' Tallest Prehistoric Mounds, James Robert Zimmer-Dauphinee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of research and over a century of public interest, the most prominent features at Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, Mound A and Mound B, remain virtually unexamined by modern archaeological techniques, and poorly understood. The tremendous scale and importance of these mounds makes most standard research methods difficult if not impossible. Electrical Resistivity Tomography, a geophysical technique rarely used in North America, was employed to survey both Mound A and Mound B, resulting in models of the subsurface that provide insights into the construction, modification and condition of the mounds.


Religious And Ceremonial Microartifacts From The Winterville Archaeological Site (22ws500), Caitlyn E. Burkes May 2014

Religious And Ceremonial Microartifacts From The Winterville Archaeological Site (22ws500), Caitlyn E. Burkes

Honors Theses

The Winterville Archaeological Site (22WS500), located near Greenville, Mississippi, served as a ceremonial center during the Mississippian Period (approximately 1000-1500 AD). Originally consisting of twenty-three or more mounds, Winterville was a significant social and religious gathering place and was home to the elite classes of the society. This study analyses microartifacts from two locations on the site, leading to comparisons and conclusions of the types of religious activities occurring at each. Mound C was home to an elite group while Mound B likely served as a temple or religiously significant mound. The findings indicate that elites and elite mounds played …


Mounds In The Landscape: A Comparative Study Of Landscape Archaeology In English-Speaking Northwest Europe And North America, Jennifer Ann Rich Jan 2013

Mounds In The Landscape: A Comparative Study Of Landscape Archaeology In English-Speaking Northwest Europe And North America, Jennifer Ann Rich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans have been intrigued by their surrounding landscape for centuries. Sometimes intrigue has led to particular manipulations of the land by groups of people, such as the building of mounds and other monuments. Thus, the study of past landscape use is an important part in understanding our own interests. Over the years, developments in archaeology have come to include various perspectives on how past landscapes should be interpreted. This thesis will examine the changes within the theoretical perspectives in landscape archaeology through the decades. Within the regions of English-speaking Northwest Europe (including Britain and Ireland) and North America, I will …


Geophysical Study At Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, Manchester, Tennessee, Stephen Jay Yerka Dec 2010

Geophysical Study At Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, Manchester, Tennessee, Stephen Jay Yerka

Masters Theses

The Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park covers over 800 acres within Manchester, Tennessee, and is owned and managed by the Tennessee Division of State Parks. The central archaeological site within the park boundary is The Old Stone Fort mounds that enclose about 50 acres on a plateau above the convergence of the Big Duck and the Little Duck Rivers. The hilltop enclosure dates to the Middle Woodland Period, and radiocarbon dates obtained at the site range from the first to the fifth century A. D. Because of its size and apparent complexity, previous investigations of the site have been …