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Item A GIS Approach to Understanding Mississippian Settlement Patterns in the Central Illinois River Valley(2020-07) Swoveland, Kayla Jan; Wilson, Jeffery; Wilson, Jeremy; Lulla, VijayGeographic Information Science (GIS) technologies have helped to further the research of archaeologists almost since the inception of the field. Archaeologists have long made observations rooted in what would become GIS, but it wasn’t until the early 21st century that science was able to back up these observations. From the seemingly simple task of organizing and storing spatial data to more robust statistical and spatial calculations, GIS has quickly become a valuable tool used by archeologists to better understand past populations. This research applied GIS to help understand the regional distribution of settlement locations from the Mississippian Period (AD 1050-1450) in the central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) of west-central Illinois. Settlement distribution was examined in two contexts, first in the context of larger, more “metropolitan” site placement in relation to smaller, more transitory sites. Secondly, site distribution was examined to see what, if any, pattern existed between site placement and a set of ecological factors. The results found that while smaller sites were prevalent around many of the larger sites, a few metropolitan sites did have a larger number of smaller sites surrounding them, supporting the idea of certain Mississippian sites serving as hubs. Additionally, it was demonstrated that several different types of GIS based analyses were particularly effective in helping to identify these patterns, thus solidifying and improving the role of GIS in the field of archaeology.Item Late Holocene Climate-Flood Relationships on the White River, Indiana, USA(2022-05) Wright, Maxwell N.; Bird, Broxton; Licht, Kathy; Gilhooly, William, III.The frequency and magnitude of floods in the midcontinental United States have increased in recent decades due to changing precipitation patterns as global temperatures rise. These trends pose major social and economic risks to the region, which is home to tens of millions of Americans and a global agricultural center. It is therefore critical to understand if current fluvial dynamics are within the scope of past fluvial-climate relationships, or if they represent a novel response to recent climate and land-use changes. Presented is a 1600-year-long flood frequency record for the moderately sized (~29,400 km2 watershed) White River, Indiana. Flood frequencies were determined using 14C-based sediment accumulation rates at Half Moon Pond, an oxbow lake on the lower White River’s floodplain. Comparison with regional paleoclimate data shows that White River flooding was frequent when atmospheric circulation resembled the negative mode of the Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection, particularly during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (950-1250 CE) and the Current Warm Period (last ~150 years). During these times, the regional climate was dominated by warm-season precipitation originating from the Gulf of Mexico. Conversely, White River flooding was less frequent during the Little Ice Age (1250-1800 CE) when cold-season precipitation from the North Pacific/Arctic dominated (+PNA-like conditions). The pre-1790 CE White River flood history was antiphased with reconstructed Ohio River flood frequencies from southern Illinois. This dynamic is consistent with discharge in small to moderate sized watersheds being sensitive to rainstorm runoff and large watersheds being sensitive to snowmelt runoff. After 1790 CE, flooding frequencies of both river systems increased to their highest levels, despite a shift to -PNA-like conditions. This change was likely due to extensive Euro-American land-clearance, which increased runoff/erosion by reducing evapotranspiration, interception, and infiltration. While the White River responded strongly to climatic conditions in the past that were similar to present conditions (-PNA-like conditions), recent land-use practices have amplified the effects of the current hydroclimate. Since a warming climate is expected to increase regional average precipitation and extreme rainfall events, and that landscape modifications have lowered surface resilience to hydroclimate events, flooding will likely become more frequent in the coming decades.Item Star Bridge: A Late Mississippian Village in the Central Illinois River Valley(2020-08) Flood, John Scott; Wilson, Jeremy J.; Herrmann, Edward W.; Mullins, Paul R.The late pre-Columbian period in the central Illinois River valley (CIRV) is demarcated by the development of large, often-fortified Mississippian towns, farming hamlets, extensive trade networks, and shifting political alliances between AD 1050 and 1450. The fission and fusion of local polities ceased with abrupt abandonment of the CIRV by AD 1450 as part of the larger Vacant Quarter phenomenon. Located on a hypothesized boundary between Mississippian and Oneota zones of socio-political influence during the 14th century, Star Bridge (11Br17) was a Mississippian village previously believed to have been incinerated during an assault. Through the analysis of an avocational surface collection, a 1992 excavation assemblage, and recent geophysical investigations, my research re-examines Star Bridge and assesses the site’s integrity after decades of agricultural modification. Geophysical data and the material culture from excavations suggest Star Bridge never burned but was abandoned after one or two generations of occupation shortly before the exodus of Mississippian and Oneota groups from the CIRV. Meanwhile, my analyses also revealed a dearth of Oneota-derived or influenced material culture, indicating a dearth of interaction between Star Bridge’s inhabitants and their neighbors upstream. Instead, the material culture suggests Star Bridge was part of a string of late 13th and 14th century villages known as the La Moine River polity.