CONFIRMATION OF AN ARCHAIC PERIOD MOUND IN SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI

Abstract

Site 22LI504 is a predominantly Archaic period site in Lincoln County, Mississippi. One of its primary elements of interest is a single conical mound from which small-diameter cores revealed evidence of advanced pedogenesis. A radiocarbon sample from one soil core produced a date suggesting that the mound was Archaic in age (Fulmer 2001); however, it was unclear whether the sample came from within the mound or an underlying midden. In the spring of 2006, we excavated a 1-x-1-m unit in the mound to investigate this question. Diagnostic lithic artifacts, an advanced state of soil horizonation, and a lack of ceramics indicate that the mound is of Archaic period construction, with as many as five construction stages and artifact-rich features. We describe the soil profiles, features, and artifacts recovered from the mound, with comparisons to excavation units in an adjacent Archaic midden to show that there is no clear evidence for the mound being a functionally specific locus. We also present radiocarbon dates that indicate the earthwork is over 5,000 years old. These results are evaluated within the broader context of Archaic mound building, focusing in particular on environmental parameters underlying bet-hedging behavior.