Histories of Southeastern Archaeology Histories of Southeastern Archaeology Edited by Shannon Tushingham, Jane Hill, and Charles H. McNutt THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS Tuscaloosa Copyright © 2002 The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America The typeface is Minion ∞ The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Science–Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Histories of southeastern archaeology / edited by Shannon Tushingham, Jane Hill, and Charles H. McNutt. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8173-1139-4 (paper : alk. paper) 1. Indians of North America—Southern States—Antiquities. 2. Archaeologists— Southern States—Interviews. 3. Archaeologists—Southern States—History. 4. Excavations (Archaeology)—Southern States—History. 5. Southern States— Antiquities. I. Tushingham, Shannon. II. Hill, Jane, 1964– III. McNutt, Charles H. E78.S65 H57 2002 975′.01—dc21 2001005411 Contents List of Illustrations / vii Précis / ix Charles H. McNutt Introduction / xv Shannon Tushingham and Jane Hill PART I: TOPICS 1. Excerpts from “Bringing the Past Alive”: Interviews with William Haag and George Quimby / 3 William Haag, George Quimby, and Ann F. Ramenofsky 2. Museum Paradigms and the History of Southeastern Archaeology / 13 David S. Brose 3. Forty Years of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex / 26 James A. Brown 4. Historical Archaeology in the Southeast, 1930–2000 / 35 Stanley South and Kathleen Deagan 5. Paleogeography and Geomorphology in the Lower Mississippi Valley / 51 Roger T. Saucier PART II: STATES 6. Some Ruminations on the Archaeology of Southeast Missouri / 63 Stephen Williams 7. Pot Hunters, Salvage, and Science in Arkansas, 1900–2000 / 77 Hester A. Davis 8. Louisiana Archaeology: A Selective History / 88 Robert W. Neuman 9. Rediscovering Illinois: The Development of Archaeology in Illinois / 99 Jon Muller 10. The History of Archaeology in West Virginia / 115 Bettye J. Broyles 11. Virginia’s Archaeology: A Look Back and a Look Ahead / 126 Howard A. MacCord Sr. 12. North Carolina Archaeology in Historical Perspective / 136 Bennie C. Keel 13. A History of Archaeological Research in South Carolina / 145 David G. Anderson 14. Forty Years of Kentucky Archaeology or Incidents of Recent Archaeological History in a Border State: A Review / 160 R. Berle Clay 15. A History of Tennessee Archaeology / 172 Charles H. Faulkner 16. One Hundred Years of Archaeology in Mississippi / 183 Jay K. Johnson 17. Alabama Archaeology in the Twentieth Century / 194 John A. Walthall, Vernon J. Knight Jr., and Gregory Waselkov 18. A Personal Perspective on Georgia Archaeology at the End of the Twentieth Century / 209 Lewis Larson 19. Florida Archaeology: A Recent History / 219 Jerald T. Milanich PART III: COMMENTARY 20. Histories by the Archaeologist, for the Archaeologist / 233 Kenneth E. Sassaman References Cited / 243 Acknowledgments / 351 Contributors / 353 Index / 363 vi Contents Illustrations 0.1. Charles H. McNutt and Bill Dunson at Sully Field Camp, 1958 / x 0.2. Phoebe McNutt, Charles H. McNutt, James B. Grif¤n, and Stephen Williams at Southeastern Archaeological Conference meeting, 1982 / xii 0.3. Symposium participants at Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Histories/Lower Mississippi Survey reception, 1999 / xvii 0.4. Map of southeastern U.S. archaeological sites / xxi 1.1. William Haag and George Quimby / 5 1.2. James B. Grif¤n / 10 3.1. Eliza McFadden, Richard Bartlett, Phil Phillips, Jim Brown, Barbara Page, and Jeff Brain at Peabody Museum, 1980 / 28 5.1. Early and Late Wisconsinan stage valley train surfaces and deposits / 54 5.2. James A. Ford / 55 5.3. Distribution of Dalton points / 56 6.1. Map of Sikeston Ridge / 67 6.2. Thomas Beckwith / 68 6.3. Beckwith collection / 69 7.1. Cob Cave, 1931 / 80 7.2. Means site, 1940 / 82 7.3. Map of reservoir surveys and testing in Arkansas / 85 8.1. Watson Brake site / 93 9.1. Kincaid, 1936 / 104 9.2. Kincaid, 1940 / 105 10.1. Archaeological sites in West Virginia / 117 13.1. Archaeological sites in South Carolina / 146 15.1. Madeline Kneberg Lewis and T. M. N. Lewis / 175 17.1. WPA excavations at sites Ma31 and Ma32 / 197 18.1. Excavations at Mound C, Etowah / 216 19.1. Charles Fairbanks and Jerald T. Milanich / 221 19.2. Workmen at shell midden near Thursby Mound, St. Johns River / 226 viii Illustrations Précis Charles H. McNutt This volume has grown from seeds planted by two of my past graduate students, Jane Hill and Shannon Tushingham, who wished to organize a ses- sion at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in my honor, featuring senior scholars giving their personal views of the history of Southeastern ar- chaeology. I made some of the initial contacts; responses were more than any- one could hope for—a real geriatric happening. Hill and Tushingham followed up in all phases of organization and also laid the groundwork for publication of our efforts by the University of Alabama Press. I am suf¤ciently honored to be a participant in the project. As you all know, one of our most highly respected and fondly regarded con- tributors, Roger Saucier, was not able to present his paper at SEAC in person. It is our good fortune that Roger had completed his critical contribution to our volume before his untimely death. My colleague Charles Faulkner discusses the history of archaeology in Ten- nessee. This leaves me free to add a brief personal note told, it is hoped, against a background of more than three decades of Southeastern archaeology. My ¤rst association with Southeastern archaeology came when I was a graduate student at the University of Michigan. I accompanied Jimmy Grif¤n and Al Spaulding to Poverty Point in 1955, I think, where we joined such other notables as William Haag, Junius Bird, George Quimby, Clarence Webb, Stu Neitzel, and Robert Greengo to discuss the puzzle of Poverty Point with Jim Ford. The Michigan contingent returned by way of Nodena Plantation, where I met the Hampsons; from there we went to see Cahokia, which I refused to believe was a mound. In 1957 Grif¤n and Spaulding also took me to the four- teenth SEAC in Macon, Georgia. In those days, professors took graduate stu- dents to sites and went out of their way to introduce them to other professionals. As auspicious as this was, I was an ingrate. I had gotten my master’s degree in the Southwest and could not understand why people would dig among roots, mud, poison ivy, mosquitoes, and chiggers. I still don’t really understand it. After passing my preliminary doctoral exams and digging my “dissertation site”—in the Southwest—I went to work for Robert Stephenson in 1957 at the River Basin Surveys located in Lincoln, Nebraska. My position was absolutely