Domestic structures are central to understanding Mississippian social dynamics in eastern North America. This study examines the depositional history of an infilled semi-subterranean house basin at the Angel Mounds site in southern Indiana. Distinctive microscopic coarse anthropogenic aggregates in the house midden were assessed through three hypotheses: daub, animal dung, or human excrement. A multi-method approach, including micromorphology, scanning electron microscopy, and geochemistry, revealed midden enrichment in Ba, Ca, Cu, Na, Mg, P, S, Si, Sr, Rb, Zn, Zr, and LOI%. The aggregates specifically showed enrichment in P, Ca, Al, Fe, and K, with microscopic evidence of authigenic phosphatic minerals. While identification remains uncertain, results most strongly indicate human excrement, with animal dung as a secondary possibility and daub least likely. The potential recognition of human waste within a domestic feature offers rare insights into sanitation practices and demonstrates the value of multi-proxy approaches for reconstructing Mississippian lifeways.

Earth ovens are a ubiquitous feature of eastern North America, used throughout many cultures and periods, leaving a highly visible signature of habitational life. This study focusses on one of the four uniquely outsized earth ovens from the center of a woodhenge at Hopewell Mound Group, the type site of the Hopewell culture. Cleaned of artifacts and fire-cracked rock, this feature required specialized analysis to shed light on its function: macrobotanical methods of seed identification and wood charcoal analysis along with phytolith and soil micromorphological analysis. These analyses create a holistic picture of the earth oven, the woodhenge, and the nature of feasting and ritual at Hopewell Mound Group, along with a snapshot of the paleoenvironment. Results show ritual use of ash wood (Fraxinus sp.), Eastern Agricultural Complex seeds seasonally timed with a summer solstice ritual, and grass leaf phytoliths deposited deeper than the surrounding natural strata. Feasting at this site seems to be focused on feeding large numbers of people, as opposed to a small set of competitive elites.

The potential influence of bias long has haunted archaeological practice and discourse. In North America, late Pleistocene fluted-point studies commonly assess the role of sampling, or recovery, bias on site distributions, often with conflicting results. Interestingly, archaeologists rarely examine potential sampling bias on the distributions of later, post-Paleoindian assemblages. In this study, I evaluated how three commonly cited sources of bias in fluted-point research — modern population density, land cover, and research intensity — impacted late Pleistocene through middle Holocene site distributions in the upper Ohio Valley. Results indicate that Paleoindian, Early Archaic, and Late Archaic site locations all positively correlate to areas of dense modern populations, presence of agricultural land, and intensity of research activity. This highlights the conspicuous fact that sampling bias is ubiquitous and affects more than just our oldest assemblages. Since bias is impossible to eliminate entirely from legacy collections, this study proposes two quantitatively simple methods for working with biased datasets: (i) data scaling and (ii) cross-temporal comparison. Data scaling transforms site counts into a ratio to facilitate comparison between analytical units with variable research histories. Cross-temporal comparison relies on the presence of artifacts from one period at find spots to validate the absence of artifacts from additional periods. Application of these approaches reveal several cultural trends, most notably that strong cultural ties existed between the Bluegrass region of the Ohio Valley and the Midsouth during the late Pleistocene with subsequent localization of group interaction during the succeeding Holocene.

S e c t i o n M e e t i n g , C i n c i n n at i , O h i o, A p r i l 7 , 2 0 2 2 •Windblow, or eolian, sediments in the form of dunes and loess blanket portions of inland high terraces in alluvial valleys and upland settings in the upper Midwest (U.S.) •Traditionally, eolian sedimentation processes were thought constrained to just after the Last Glacial Maximum (~21 ka) and largely prior to human occupation of eastern North America. •Recent geochronological research, primarily optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), demonstrates that considerable reactivation or remobilization, and in some cases initial construction, of eolian landforms occurred throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene. •Such sedimentation is commonly interpreted as a response to periods of increased aridity or wildfire activity.Most notably is the association between eolian sedimentation and drought conditions such as the 4.2 ka climate event (e.g., Booth et al., 2005) or cold/dry conditions such as the 8.2 ka climate event (e.g., Lutz et al., 2007). •Although archaeologist long have employed geoarchaeological methods in alluvial settings, the potential for site burial in other environs such as high terraces or uplands is rare.• Since precontact Native Americans arrived in North America sometime after 16 ka, and certainly by 14.5 ka, we must consider the potential that late Pleistocene and Holocene eolian sedimentation cover archaeological resources.

To evaluate a model of the travel-route selection process for upper Ohio Valley Paleoindian foragers (13,500–11,400 cal BP), this study investigates archaeological data through the theoretical framework of landscape learning and risk-sensitive analysis. Following initial trail placement adjacent to a highly visible escarpment landform, Paleoindians adopted a risk-averse strategy to minimize travel outcome variability when wayfaring between Sandy Springs, a significant Ohio River Paleoindian site, and Upper Mercer–Vanport chert quarries of east-central Ohio. Although a least-cost analysis indicates an optimal route through the lower Scioto Valley, archaeological evidence for this path is lacking. Geomorphic and archaeological data further suggest that site absence in the lower Scioto Valley is not entirely due to sampling bias. Instead, evidence indicates that Paleoindians preferred travel within the Ohio Brush Creek–Baker's Fork valley despite its longer path distance through more rugged, constricted terrain. Potential travel through the lower Scioto Valley hypothesizes high outcome variability due to the stochastic nature of the late Pleistocene hydroregime. In this case, perceived outcome variability appears more influential in determining travel-route decisions among Paleoindians than direct efforts to reduce energy and time allocation.

Medical practitioners, trained to isolate health within and upon the body of the individual, are now challenged to negotiate research and population health theories that link health status to geographic location as evidence suggests a connection between place and health. This paper builds an integrated place-health model and structural competency analytical framework with nine domains and four levels of proficiency that is utilized to assess a community-based photovoice project's ability to shift the practice of medicine by medical students from the surface of the body to the body within a place. Analysis of the medical student's photovoice data demonstrated that the students achieved structural competency level 1 proficiency and came to understand how health might be connected to place represented by six of the nine domains of the structural competency framework. Results suggest that medical student's engagement with place-health systemic, institutional and structural forces deepens when they co-create narratives of their lived experiences in a place with patients as community members during a community-based photovoice project. Given the importance of place-health theories to explain population health outcomes, a place-health model and structural competency analytical framework utilized during a community-based photovoice project could help medical students merge the image of patients as singular bodies into bodies set within a context.

The study of active and stabilized late Quaternary aeolian landforms provides important proxies for past climate events and environmental transitions. Despite an overall increase in the study of aeolian landforms in previously glaciated and coastal settings in eastern North America, the history of aeolian sedimentation in many unglaciated inland alluvial settings remain poorly understood. This study reports on the geochronology and depositional history of aeolian landforms and sediments in the unglaciated upper Ohio Valley at the Sandy Springs site. Aeolian landforms and sediments include complex, linear, barchan-like, and climbing dunes; an interdune sand sheet; and sandy loess that blankets high valley surfaces. At Sandy Springs, aeolian dune sands and sandy loess are restricted to intermediate (S2) and higher (S3) geomorphic surfaces. Eight optically stimulated luminescence age estimates constrain the initiation of aeolian processes on the S2 surface to sometime after 17 ka and episodic deposition on the S2 and S3 surfaces between 11 and 1.4 ka. The distribution of aeolian sediments at Sandy Springs is influenced by several past factors including local wind fetch potential, sediment availability, and underlying alluvial topography. Sediment availability is interpreted as the primary factor controlling aeolian processes and appear linked to several pan-regional paleoclimate events. Sandy loess deposition at ca. 8.2 ka on the S3 surface may reflect hydrologic variability and cooling, associated with the final pulse of meltwater into the North Atlantic from the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Dune reactivation and erosion at ca. 4.5 ka on the S2 surface indicate enhanced sediment availability possibly associated with drought conditions. These results illustrate that the deciphering the coupled fluvial-aeolian records in this catchment of the Ohio River provides new insight into the nature of changing surface processes against the backdrop of climate variability over the past ca. 20 ka.

The potential role of saline springs in Paleoindian settlement models has been espoused for over 50years. An early example of this adaptive strategy was proposed in 1973 by Roger Cunningham in his formative discussion of the Paleoindian Sandy Springs site in Adams County, Ohio. Cunningham argued that saline springs located among local sand dunes acted as a significant draw for migrating game animals and, subsequently, the Paleoindian hunters that pursued them. Despite being widely accepted and repeated in the literature, the claim of saline-enriched groundwater at Sandy Springs has never been evaluated quantitatively. To assess the accuracy of Cunningham's claim, this study completed electrical conductivity and pH analysis of surface water and sediment samples within a 20-km radius of Sandy Springs. Testing failed to identify water samples >320ppm total dissolved solids, a result far below established thresholds for brackish or brine classification. Underlying local bedrock geology also is not conducive for the presence of saline springs, and no mention of salt licks, commercial salt wells, or animal trails has been identified in the literature for Adams County, Ohio. Sediment samples from sand dunes locations previously argued to contain saline springs at Sandy Springs also failed to yield statistically different pH values than those from non-dune, alluvial contexts. Overall, the reported presence of saline springs at Sandy Springs could not be verified by geochemical data. Instead, it is suggested in this article that saline groundwater was not a principal factor in determining Paleoindian occupation of the site. Alternative explanations for site occupancy include the possible presence of rare resources associated with a sand prairie ecosystem and the potential that Sandy Springs was positioned along an early trail system connecting the upper Ohio Valley with the Tennessee and Cumberland Valleys.

CLOVIS LITHIC TECHNOLOGY: INVESTIGATION OF A STRATIFIED WORKSHOP AT THE GAULT SITE, TEXAS, by Michael R. Waters, Charlotte D. Pevney, David L. Carlson, with contributions from William A. Dickens, Ashley M. Smallwood, Scott A. Minchak, Eric J. Bartelink, Jason M. Wiersema, James E. Wiederhold, Heidi M. Luchsinger, Dawn A. J. Alexander, and Thomas A. Jennings, with foreword by Michael B. Collins. College Station: Texas AM $27.49 (ebook, Kindle). ISBN: 978-1-60344-467-5.As an Eastern U.S. geoarchaeologist, I often have looked with some envy at the multitude of stratified Paleoindian sites that the West has to offer. After reading this book, the Gault Site is no exception to this general yearning. This well-crafted book focuses on Area A, a small, 41 m2, stratified Clovis occupation nestled within the larger, ~20.2-hectare, multicomponent Gault Site in central Texas. This 10-chapter volume reports the results of the Area 8 field investigation by Texas A&M in 2000. The Clovis component is interpreted as a quarry, workshop, and a temporary habitation site. Interestingly, much of the Area 8 research, as reflected throughout the book chapters, is based on the results of various Master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations.The beginning sections, including Chapter 1, provide a broad context for the Gault Site, which is located within the Buttermilk Creek drainage and associated with surface-exposed Edwards Chert. Given that site-wide excavations have recovered an astounding ~8oo,ooo artifacts assigned to Clovis-age occupations alone, 67,ooo of which are from Area 8, chert availability appears to have been a major draw for early Paleoindian groups. Chapter 2 provides an excellent overview of the Area A stratigraphy, chronology, and site formation processes, and is a model for how geoarchaeological investigations can inform on the archaeological record. Two lithostratigraphic units, 3 a and 3 b, contained the bulk of the Clovis material. Collectively ranging in thickness between 2o and 4 o cm, these undisturbed deposits were identified approximately i m below the current ground surface. These units reflect two distinct depositional environments including low-energy ponded clay (Unit 3a) and fine-grained overbank alluvium (Unit 3b). Optically stimulated luminescence samples from these units provided a depositional age range of 13,22o +/74o and 12,92o +/7oo years B.P.Chapters 3 through 7 provide detailed discussion of Clovis lithic technological organization including blade technology (Chapter 4), bifaces (Chapter 5), scrapers (Chapter 6), and lithic use-wear (Chapter 7). These chapters are well illustrated and the authors employed a range of useful analytical techniques, such as fractal analysis and kernel density estimation, which all archaeologists will find interesting regardless of their temporal or regional research focus. Results suggest heavy emphasis on early and middle stage reduction of both highand low-quality Edwards Chert. The knapping of lower quality chert is noteworthy given the oft-mentioned statement that Paleoindians preferred high-quality cherts to the virtual exclusion of lower quality material. …

Over the past thirty years, geoarchaeology has moved from the fringe to mainstream status within Mesoamerican archaeological investigations. This review focuses on works published since the year 2000. Five themes are identified as central to recent studies: (1) the correlation of environmental change and cultural history; (2) anthropogenic environmental impacts; (3) ancient land cover, land use, and diet; (4) archaeological prospection; and (5) provenance studies. These themes are often interwoven in the application of complex systems approaches that allow scientists to more accurately model the intricacies of ancient human–environment interactions.

In 2004-2005, salvage excavations at the Madisonville Village and Cemetery Site, a Late Fort Ancient settlement in southwestern Ohio, provided an opportunity to gather new information concerning post-A.D. 1550 occupation at the site. This article documents the use histories of excavated features and their resultant archaeobotanical remains. Results indicate that Madisonville features have incredibly complex formation histories which reflect continual reuse of a geographically restricted landform. Archaeobotanical analysis indicates a high reliance on maize by site inhabitants, although such reliance was not constant but instead increased threefold over time. Maize agriculture was supplemented by a diversity of additional cultigens (e.g., beans, erect knotweed, little barley, sunflower, and squash) and wild foods, especially nut resources, which remained an important dietary component throughout Madisonville's long occupation.

Effigy mounds occur across the midcontinent of North America but their cultural purposes and construction chronologies are rarely known and often controversial. Determining the age and construction history of monuments is important to relate religious symbolism, scientific knowledge, and cultural continuity to groups within a region. Based mainly on circumstantial evidence, researchers have long held that Serpent Mound in Ohio, USA, was constructed 2000-3000 years ago during the Early Woodland (Adena) or Middle Woodland (Hopewell) periods. Excavations in 1991 recovered charcoal buried at shallow depths (35-45 cm) in fill units of the mound and the C-14 ages from two of these units indicated that Serpent Mound was built similar to 900 years ago, during the Late Prehistoric (Fort Ancient) period, much later than originally thought. Our recent multidisciplinary work provides a more complex, robust construction history of Serpent Mound. We used geophysics to map the mound, and solid-earth cores to provide accurate stratigraphy and organic samples for C-14 age estimates from the base of the mound. Bayesian statistical analyses of the seven C-14 ages from Serpent Mound suggest that it was first constructed similar to 2300 years ago during the Early Woodland (Adena) period but was renovated 1400 years later during the Late Prehistoric (Fort Ancient) period, probably to repair eroded portions of the mound. Modification of the mound is also indicated by a possible abandoned coil that is located near the head of the Serpent and visible only in the magnetometer survey. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Circular paired-post structures have been recognized as a quintessential trait of the "Adena" concept. Although once thought restricted to ritual contexts beneath burial mounds, work over the last 30 years has identified several open-air structures in contexts apart from burial mounds or ditches. Uncluttered by overlapping features, open-air examples present a unique opportunity to document the initial roles played by these features. Currently, no unequivocal evidence for mortuary processing has been found directly associated with open-air paired-post structures. This fact calls into question the prevailing belief that most of these features were used to process, or prepare, the dead. Instead, a more reasonable interpretation is that these structures were involved in rituals minimally related to, or entirely devoid of, mortuary activity.

Recent cultural resource management investigations at the Buckeye Ordnance #2 site in Lawrence County, Ohio, and the M.B. Green site in Boone County, Kentucky, have afforded an opportunity for detailed study of two directly dated Early Woodland ceramic assemblages from the Mid-Ohio Valley. Each assemblage represents plain-surfaced wares that were manufactured between 600 and 350 B.C. Because raw data for early ceramics are essential for the continued development of regional artifact taxonomies, this paper presents a description of each assemblage. This research also presents an example of the analytical potential of a trait-based approach to the study of Early Woodland ceramics in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Preliminary research indicates considerable promise for utilizing average body sherd thickness as a means for dating Early Woodland assemblages.