A Partial Charred Wooden Bowl From Aztalan (47JE1), Wisconsin

ABSTRACT

Fragments of a charred wooden bowl were recovered from Aztalan during excavations by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW) in 1964. Recent advances in analytical methods facilitated a multidimensional study of these fragments. Radiocarbon-dated to cal AD 994–1154 and found in association with Late Woodland, Mississippian, and hybrid forms of ceramics, the bowl augments our understanding of perishable technologies in these cultural contexts. 3-D models of the fragments allow for a virtual reconstruction of a portion of the bowl, which was carved from a solid piece of ash. Strontium isotope analysis of the wood indicates that the bowl was manufactured from wood locally available to the people at Aztalan.

KEYWORDS:

• Late Woodland
• Mississippian
• perishable technology

Acknowledgments

Late SHSW curator of anthropology and Wisconsin state archaeologist Joan E. Freeman recognized the fragments of the vessel when she sorted through charcoal from the feature in 1964 and made sure that the pieces were preserved for future analyses. Prior to her death in 2017, she encouraged reexamination of the vessel. Alex Wiedenhoeft (USDA Forest Products Laboratory, University of Wisconsin–Madison) identified the wood samples and provided other information. Scott Roller, Rachel Harvieux, and Denise Wiggins (SHSW) arranged for sampling of the vessel and twig during a multiyear move of the museum’s collections to a new off-site storage facility. Radiometric ages were supported by the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Grant at the University of Wisconsin. Karl Williamson and Katelyn E. Miller (UW Makerspace) facilitated scanning of the vessel fragments. We are grateful to them for their assistance. John Richards (UW–Milwaukee) provided information, confirmed identification of hybrid ceramic types, and commented on a draft of the manuscript. At the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS), John Lambert read and commented on various drafts and is also responsible for the virtual reconstruction of the vessel, while Tom Loebel confirmed crenation fractures on F17 lithics. Also at ISAS, Mary Simon provided information on the East St. Louis Center vessels. David Dye (U Memphis) offered helpful comments on a rather different draft manuscript, which further allowed us to improve it. Matt G. Hill drafted Figure 1 and Amanda Jones Figure 2. At Eastern Tennessee State University, Emily Simpson and Gideon Bartov assisted with Sr isotope analyses. MCJA editor Tom Emerson offered helpful criticism and supplied us with information; we are grateful to him for both. We would like to dedicate this paper to the late James B. Stoltman. After long contemplation of PLA replica vessel sherds (shown to him by Hawley) in the days before his death, he finally commented, “Archaeology, isn’t it fun?” Amen.

Notes on Contributors

Marlin F. Hawley is an archaeology curator with the Museum Archaeology Program, Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison. His research interests include the use of museum collections and the history of archaeology, especially in the U.S. Midwest and Great Plains.

Sissel Schroeder is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research is focused on elucidating the nature of the relationships between humans and built landscapes, natural and cultural environments, and climate change over the past 2,000 years in the Midwest and Southeast and the implications of these relationships for understanding the dynamics of sociopolitical complexity.

Christopher C. Widga is head curator at the East Tennessee State University Museum of Natural History at the Gray Fossil site. His research focuses on the zooarchaeology and paleontology of large mammals, animal domestication, and stable isotope methods in paleoecology.

Correction Statement

This is a regular article and not a part of special thematic section “Middle Woodland Ceremonial Situations in the North American Midcontinent”. The article have been included on this issue, because it is the last issue published by Routledge

Notes

1 Almost all bone and shell from the SHSW fieldwork in 1964, 1967, and 1968 at Aztalan was remanded to the UW Zoological Museum for analysis in the early through mid-1970s. The bone was, however, all but forgotten and remains there, largely unanalyzed. Indeed, much of the bone is still in the original bags with some of it unwashed. This material has been omitted from Table 1.