Afternoon Program

Paul N. Eubanks  (Middle Tennessee State University)
Kevin E. Smith (Middle Tennessee State University)

In the summer of 2023, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) hosted an archaeological field school at the Castalian Springs mound site (ca. AD 1200 – 1350). For the second year in a row, the focus of the field school was Mound 25. Our work here uncovered the remains of a large, un-daubed rectangular structure, known as Structure 6. A strikingly similar structure, Structure 1, was investigated by MTSU in 2006-2007 approximately 200 m to the east. These two structures share a unique method of construction containing at least one wall trench partially lined with limestone wedges, and it is possible that they served a similar, non-domestic function. In this paper, we provide an update on the 2023 MTSU field school and put forth the hypothesis that structures 1 and 6 may be sequential versions of the same structure.

Lauren A. Averill (Middle Tennessee State University)
Paul N. Eubanks  (Middle Tennessee State University)

It has been argued by Michael Moore and colleagues that the Castalian Springs mound site (40SU14) was home to a Mississippian-era crystalline workshop. The paper presented here aims to identify potential locations for this workshop based on the density of raw and worked crystalline artifacts recovered at the site. Comparisons between the average crystal(s) per square meter for three potential production locales suggest that the southern part of the site may be the most probable location for crystal working, though this result could be potentially explained by other factors, such as proximity to the cosmologically significant mineral springs and/or data collection and reporting methods.

Steve Rogers (Tennessee Historical Commission [retired])

Scholarship into the development of archaeology in Tennessee as a scientific discipline has cast little light on the accomplishments of those women who participated in its early history. Recalling even one female name prior to the 1930s work of Madeline Kneberg (1903-1996) is often difficult. Fanny Ritter Bandelier’s decade-long fieldwork at the end of the nineteenth century in Peru and Bolivia has been overshadowed by her noted archaeologist husband, Adolph Bandelier, yet her achievements are many. Fanny’s work for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, publishing the results of her transcription of sixteenth-century Spanish manuscripts, and teaching courses in anthropology and archaeology at Fisk University based on her fieldwork in South America, demonstrates a life devoted to documenting the lives of prehistoric Native Americans. Her career endeavors should qualify her as Tennessee’s first female archaeologist.

Aubrey Roemer (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

Researchers have continually grappled with different ways to document and reproduce cave art sites so they can be further studied and shared more broadly. This paper discusses the methodology used to create a comprehensive and phenomenological archive of the Southeastern cave art site, Mud Glyph Cave. This process is a synthesis of traditional methods of drawing, analog photography, digitization methods, and design technology. The complexity of the artwork and ritual activity in Mud Glyph Cave includes drawings, impressions, incisions, smoothing, and other types of surface preparation into wet Pleistocene mud deposits. The simultaneous homogeneity of color and variability in mark-making both present a unique challenge for art reproduction. Drawing on past and present technological methods, this research presents a novel approach to documenting ancient three-dimensional cave art created solely in clay.

Lauren Walls (New South Associates, Inc.)

The dry-stacked stone construction method was a technique brought to Tennessee by white settlers, mainly the Scots, in the formative decades of our state. The abundance of limestone and other stone materials in Tennessee made this method a logical way to build durable structures such as fences, bridge abutments, dams, and retaining walls. In this paper, I lay out a few recent examples of CRM projects that encountered, documented, and evaluated dry-stacked stone features for the National Register. Critical to assessment and evaluation, the goals and scope of each project defined the degree to which the stacked-stone resources could be researched and investigated. Further, historic documentation containing information about this type of infrastructure is often limited. In this presentation, I discuss future approaches to the recording and evaluation of these significant historical and archaeological resources, as well as their important role in understanding the historic landscape of Tennessee.

Adam Fracchia (Metro Nashville Historical Commission)

Nashville has been called the Athens of the South. Today, Nashville is the most populated city in Tennessee and ranks as the 13th largest city in the country by area. In recent years, growth has spurred development throughout Davidson County. Nashville is also home to a deep and significant archaeological record spanning thousands of years. Currently, archaeological resources have limited to no protection in the Metro area. This paper details the current preservation climate in the city and efforts to build a city-wide archeological ordinance to protect and preserve this rich heritage.

Meagan Dennison (Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc.)

In July 2023, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc. conducted a phase I survey for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Dayton City School in downtown Dayton, Tennessee. The main portion of the survey area was adjacent to a baseball field complex. Shovel tests excavated near the baseball field revealed a thick layer of fill dirt capped a dark, organic-rich layer with dense concentrations of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century artifacts. The layer was interpreted to be a midden deposit, likely related to one or more houses previously located in the vicinity. The area was obtained by TVA in the 1930s ahead of Chickamauga Dam construction and structures were demolished due to potential flooding. The baseball field was in use by 1948 indicating that the midden deposit was sealed shortly after abandonment. Historic documents, map data, and the intact deposit offer a unique glimpse of this historical event.

Edward R. Henry (Colorado State University)
Seth B. Grooms (Appalachian State University)
Lia G. Kitteringham  (Colorado State University)
Caroline P. Graham  (Colorado State University)
Abhishek Sathiakumar  (Colorado State University)
William L. Lawrence (Tennessee Division of Archaeology)

The Middle Woodland landscape in West Tennessee is dominated in the literature by the monumental earthen architecture at Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park (PMSAP). However, the Pinson Landscape includes the Johnston and Elijah Bray sites, situated west and east of PMSAP, respectively. The 2023 field season in this area offers new insights into the Middle Woodland landscape in the MidSouth and pushes the temporal boundaries for what we know about human occupation in the area. In this presentation we will discuss the field verification of a unique mound form at Pinson, summarize new investigations at Pinson’s Duck’s Nest Sector, and present soil analyses from a cut-bank profile at the Elijah Bray site.