Browsing by Author "Monaghan, G. William"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Anthropogenic Transformation at Angel Mounds: Construction, Chronology and Context for Mounds A and F
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2014-04-11) Wilson, Jeremy J.; Monaghan, G. William
    Investigations at Angel Mounds since 2005 have tackled a series of questions related to anthropogenic transformation, the built landscape and mound construction. During the 2013 NSF-sponsored research, investigations focused on Mound A’s lower platform and the reopening of Mound F. Results from these investigations revealed a series of use-surfaces on Mound A’s lower platform with evidence for burning episodes that were followed by reconstruction. Excavations on Mound F also revealed a burning episode associated with a structure on the “inner mound,” as well as a sub-mound structure and features demonstrating use of the space prior to mound construction.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Beyond the palisade : a geophysical and archaeological investigation of the 3rd terrace at Angel Mounds State Historic Site
    (2014-01-13) Pike, Matthew David; Wilson, Jeremy John; Monaghan, G. William; Zimmerman, Larry J., 1947-
    Research conducted during 2011 and 2012 at the Mississippian site of Angel Mounds outside of Evansville, IN sheds light on an often overlooked portion of the site that falls outside of the palisade wall – the 3rd Terrace. Through a magnetometer survey, a shovel test survey, and a reanalysis of a 1939 legacy collection from the 3rd Terrace, new interpretations about this peripheral area of the site will help to expand our ideas about Mississippian daily life in a wider geographic area and may help to better understand a transitional period in the history of Angel Mounds. In addition to the creation of a magnetic survey for use by the Angel Mounds State Historic Site, the use of minimally invasive and non-invasive research methods paired with previously excavated and curated collections allows for new research to be conducted with minimal disturbance to the archaeological site. While this research is a preliminary investigation of the archaeological potential for the 3rd Terrace, it also provides a solid basis for future research in the area and contributes to the wider understanding of Angel Mounds and the Mississippian world.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Chronology of a Fortified Mississippian Village in the Central Illinois River Valley
    (Cambridge, 2019-06) Krus, Anthony M.; Hermann, Edward W.; Pike, Matthew D.; Monaghan, G. William; Wilson, Jeremy J.; Geography, School of Liberal Arts
    Geophysical survey and excavations from 2010–2016 at Lawrenz Gun Club (11CS4), a late pre-Columbian village located in the central Illinois River valley in Illinois, identified 10 mounds, a central plaza, and dozens of structures enclosed within a stout 10 hectare bastioned palisade. Nineteen radiocarbon (14C) measurements were taken from single entities of wood charcoal, short-lived plants, and animal bones. A site chronology has been constructed using a Bayesian approach that considers the stratigraphic contexts and feature formation processes. The village was host to hundreds of years of continuous human activity during the Mississippi Period. Mississippian activity at the site is estimated to have begun in cal AD 990–1165 (95% probability), ended in cal AD 1295–1450 (95% probability), and lasted 150–420 yr (95% probability) in the primary Bayesian model with similar results obtained in two alternative models. The palisade is estimated to have been constructed in cal AD 1150–1230 (95% probability) and was continuously repaired and rebuilt for 15–125 yr (95% probability), probably for 40–85 yr (68% probability). Comparison to other studies demonstrates that the bastioned palisade at Lawrenz was one of the earliest constructed in the midcontinental United States.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Late-Holocene floodplain development, land-use, and hydroclimate–flood relationships on the lower Ohio River, US
    (Sage, 2019-12) Bird, Broxton W.; Barr, Robert C.; Commerford, Julie; Gilhooly, William P., III; Wilson, Jeremy J.; Finney, Bruce; McLauchlan, Kendra; Monaghan, G. William; Earth Sciences, School of Science
    Floodplain development, land-use, and flooding on the lower Ohio River are investigated with a 3100-year-long sediment archive from Avery Lake, a swale lake on the Black Bottom floodplain in southern Illinois, US. In all, 12 radiocarbon dates show that Avery Lake formed at 1130 BCE (3100 cal. yr BP), almost 3000 years later than previously thought, indicating that the Black Bottom floodplain is younger and more dynamic than previously estimated. Three subsequent periods of extensive land clearance were identified by changes in pollen composition, corresponding to Native American occupations before 1500 CE and the current Euro-American occupation beginning in the 18th century. Sedimentation rates prior to 1820 CE changed independently of land clearance events, suggesting natural as opposed to land-use controls. Comparison with high-resolution paleoclimate data from Martin Lake, IN, indicates that lower Ohio River flooding was frequent when cold-season precipitation originating from the Pacific/Arctic predominated when atmospheric circulation resembled positive Pacific North American (PNA) conditions and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) was in a positive mean state (1130 BCE to 350 CE and 1150–1820 CE). Conversely, Ohio River flooding was less frequent when warm-season precipitation from the Gulf of Mexico prevailed during negative PDO- and PNA-like mean states (350 and 1150 CE). This flood dynamic appears to have been fundamentally altered after 1820 CE. We suggest that extensive land clearance in the Ohio River watershed increased runoff and landscape erosion by reducing interception, infiltration, and evapotranspiration, thereby increasing flooding despite a shift to negative PDO- and PNA-like mean states. Predicted increases in average precipitation and extreme rainfall events across the mid-continental US are likely to perpetuate current trends toward more frequent flood events, because anthropogenic modifications have made the landscape less resilient to changing hydroclimatic conditions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Warfare, Demography & Anthropogenic Transformation at Angel Mounds State Historic Site
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2013-04-05) Wilson, Jeremy J.; Monaghan, G. William; Krus, Anthony; Pike, Matthew; Macadaeg, Gary; Williamson, Aaron
    Recent investigations by the Department of Anthropology (IU School of Liberal Arts) and the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (IU-Bloomington) at Angel Mounds have greatly enhanced our understanding of this Mississippian period (AD 1050-1450) village located on the Ohio River in southwestern Indiana. During this timeframe, the Ohio Valley and adjoining regions witnessed an evolution in social complexity with the emergence of small-scale polities, population aggregation in fortified towns, and associated earthwork construction. Angel Mounds was established, grew in prominence, and was eventually abandoned. However, until recently, absolute ages from the site were sparse and the chronology of the town’s settlement, growth and abandonment was poorly understood. Similarly, chronological models for earthwork and fortification construction were non-existent. Our research has revealed that Angel Mounds began as a ceremonial center between AD 1100 and 1300 with few occupants. The residential population at Angel Mounds grew precipitously after AD 1300. By AD 1400, we estimate that as many as 1,000 people lived at Angel Mounds. Concurrently, a series of fortifications were erected at the site to protect the inhabitants from neighboring polities. Meanwhile, earthworks on site were “capped” and abandoned soon thereafter, which may reflect the sociopolitical disintegration of Angel Mounds. Depending on the type of agricultural production and environmental change with the onset of the Little Ice Age, these patterns have important implications for settlement longevities, the historical ecology of land-use, and population estimates in the Eastern Woodlands of North America by AD 1500. With support from the Nation Science Foundation, the next three years of investigations at Angel Mounds will continue to focus on population dynamics, earthwork construction and use, anthropogenic transformation of the landscape, and environmental change during the Medieval Warm and Little Ice Age.