Bladelets and Middle Woodland Situations in Southern Ohio

ABSTRACT

Chipped-stone bladelets are common at Middle Woodland sites throughout Ohio and many other areas of the midcontinent, reflecting both broad patterns and local diversity characteristic of situations as explored in this special issue. In previous studies, bladelets were often viewed through dichotomous categories such as sacred and secular. In this article, I attempt to break down these artificial oppositions imposed by archaeologists and refocus the interpretation of these artifacts using notions of situations and assemblages. I argue that doing so provides new insights into the use of bladelets at sites throughout southern Ohio and beyond. The related concepts of citations and capacities help illustrate the connections between bladelets and other material elements of Middle Woodland institutions. Examination of bladelet use illustrates how situations lead to shared conditions of action while individuals engage in multiple outcomes during manifestations of Middle Woodland ceremonies.

KEYWORDS:

• Hopewell
• microwear
• lithic analysis
• assemblages

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this article was presented at the MAC-sponsored symposium Ceremonial Situations in the North American Midcontinent: Perspectives from the Middle Woodland Era in Mankato. Thanks to Ed Henry for providing the initial theme of the symposium and helping organize the session and to Ed Henry, Bret Ruby, and Andrew Fortier for providing helpful comments on this article.

Note on the Contributor

G. Logan Miller is an associate professor of anthropology at Illinois State University, Normal. Much of his research utilizes lithic analysis to analyze lifeways of the Paleoindian and Middle Woodland periods. He currently directs field research at the Langford Tradition village of Noble-Wieting in central Illinois.