The Late Woodland South Branch Phase: New Insights from the Mississippi Floodplain of Northeastern Missouri. Issue 3 (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Herndon, Richard L.
• Is Part Of: Midcontinental journal of archaeology. Volume 41:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 255
• Page End: 273
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: South Branch -- Late Woodland -- northeastern Missouri; Indians of North America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; United States -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; 977
• DOI: 10.1080/01461109.2016.1213549
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-1109

Abstract

Abstract : Investigations associated with the Avenue of Saints highway project resulted in the documentation of a series of Late Woodland South Branch phase (cal A.D. 600–850) occupations in the Mississippi floodplain of northeastern Missouri. These settlements represent the first South Branch sites excavated in Missouri and provided an opportunity to update what is known about the phase. This article summarizes the artifact, feature, and subsistence data recovered. As a result of this work, it is proposed that the original South Branch phase (cal A.D. 400–600) be extended and divided into two phases: South Branch I (cal A.D. 400–600) and South Branch II (cal A.D. 600–850). Reinterpretations of some large South Branch bluff-base settlements as periodically occupied focal points on the landscape are offered.