Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yield... more Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yielded numerous examples of metal artifacts of European origin. Our study suggests that they derive from contact between the AD 1540–1541 winter encampment of the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition and the local Indigenous polity. The artifacts display a wide range of modifications, uses, and depositional contexts congruent with hybrid practices. We argue that the early colonial setting of Stark Farms requires a different perspective on cultural mixing than is often applied in studies of European colonialism. This is highlighted by the strongly improvisational nature of the modification of the metal objects, embodying a political climate in which European incursions were precarious and in which hybridity and power were heterogeneous and fluid.
The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesu... more The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesuit missionizing in three contexts in the colonial Americas: substantial missions that also served as plantations, missions lacking full-time clergy, and short-term outposts on the edges of colonial empires. By relying on evidence from the landscape, the built environment, and objects, these studies demonstrate that the Jesuit enterprise was not subservient to, or a simple accomplice of, European colonial ambitions. Instead, missionizing by all Christian orders was intertwined with an evolution of both secular and religious philosophies that gave rise to modernity.
Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human dep... more Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human depopulation event during the Mississippian period (AD 1000–1600) known as the Vacant Quarter phenomenon. The Middle Cumberland region (MCR) of Tennessee is within the Vacant Quarter area, and six villages from the final phase of Mississippian activity in the MCR have been subjected to radiocarbon dating. Complete radiocarbon datasets from these sites are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The results provide a unique history of each settlement and demonstrate that Mississippian occupations at each site likely terminated in the mid- to late fifteenth and possibly early sixteenth centuries AD, which is 50 to 100 years later than the most recent estimate for the timing of the Vacant Quarter. Mississippian abandonment in the MCR was relatively quick, likely occurring over less than a century. The exact reasons for abandonment are not entirely clear but appear to...
Colour symbolism permeated the world of indigenous North America. This symbolism was often tied t... more Colour symbolism permeated the world of indigenous North America. This symbolism was often tied to the cosmos where the earth was viewed as a quadrilateral disk and each of the four cardinal directions was linked with a colour array such as red, white, black, and blue. We suggest that the recurring use of certain colours and colour contrasts comprised a suite of long-term historical practices that were essential for reproducing certain views about the world and about being in the world. Further, the rendering of colour had a plasticity that allowed it to enter a discourse about daily life that was intertwined with notions of the long-term. As a case study, we focus on well-known ceramic head effigies in the central Mississippi Valley to argue that their veneers of contrasting red and white were imbued with a notion of time immemorial that converged with other conceptions of temporality, most importantly, a pressing concern with regional violence, personal safety, and spiritual integ...
▪ During the Mississippian period (a.d. 1000–1500) the southeastern United States witnessed a b... more ▪ During the Mississippian period (a.d. 1000–1500) the southeastern United States witnessed a broadscale fluorescence of polities characterized by impressive earthwork construction, rich mortuary offerings, and intensified agriculture. Research on the nature of complexity in these so-called chiefdoms has been an enduring issue in North American archaeology, even as this research has undergone several paradigmatic shifts. This study focuses on the primary dimensions of the archaeological record used to describe and explain variation in Mississippian complexity—polity scale, settlement and landscape, the organization of labor, mortuary ritual and ideology, and tribute and feasting. Changing perspectives toward the organization of complexity and power have become increasingly pronounced in each of these categories.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2018
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance... more Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2018
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance... more Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yield... more Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yielded numerous examples of metal artifacts of European origin. Our study suggests that they derive from contact between the AD 1540–1541 winter encampment of the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition and the local Indigenous polity. The artifacts display a wide range of modifications, uses, and depositional contexts congruent with hybrid practices. We argue that the early colonial setting of Stark Farms requires a different perspective on cultural mixing than is often applied in studies of European colonialism. This is highlighted by the strongly improvisational nature of the modification of the metal objects, embodying a political climate in which European incursions were precarious and in which hybridity and power were heterogeneous and fluid.
The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesu... more The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesuit missionizing in three contexts in the colonial Americas: substantial missions that also served as plantations, missions lacking full-time clergy, and short-term outposts on the edges of colonial empires. By relying on evidence from the landscape, the built environment, and objects, these studies demonstrate that the Jesuit enterprise was not subservient to, or a simple accomplice of, European colonial ambitions. Instead, missionizing by all Christian orders was intertwined with an evolution of both secular and religious philosophies that gave rise to modernity.
Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human dep... more Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human depopulation event during the Mississippian period (AD 1000–1600) known as the Vacant Quarter phenomenon. The Middle Cumberland region (MCR) of Tennessee is within the Vacant Quarter area, and six villages from the final phase of Mississippian activity in the MCR have been subjected to radiocarbon dating. Complete radiocarbon datasets from these sites are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The results provide a unique history of each settlement and demonstrate that Mississippian occupations at each site likely terminated in the mid- to late fifteenth and possibly early sixteenth centuries AD, which is 50 to 100 years later than the most recent estimate for the timing of the Vacant Quarter. Mississippian abandonment in the MCR was relatively quick, likely occurring over less than a century. The exact reasons for abandonment are not entirely clear but appear to...
Colour symbolism permeated the world of indigenous North America. This symbolism was often tied t... more Colour symbolism permeated the world of indigenous North America. This symbolism was often tied to the cosmos where the earth was viewed as a quadrilateral disk and each of the four cardinal directions was linked with a colour array such as red, white, black, and blue. We suggest that the recurring use of certain colours and colour contrasts comprised a suite of long-term historical practices that were essential for reproducing certain views about the world and about being in the world. Further, the rendering of colour had a plasticity that allowed it to enter a discourse about daily life that was intertwined with notions of the long-term. As a case study, we focus on well-known ceramic head effigies in the central Mississippi Valley to argue that their veneers of contrasting red and white were imbued with a notion of time immemorial that converged with other conceptions of temporality, most importantly, a pressing concern with regional violence, personal safety, and spiritual integ...
▪ During the Mississippian period (a.d. 1000–1500) the southeastern United States witnessed a b... more ▪ During the Mississippian period (a.d. 1000–1500) the southeastern United States witnessed a broadscale fluorescence of polities characterized by impressive earthwork construction, rich mortuary offerings, and intensified agriculture. Research on the nature of complexity in these so-called chiefdoms has been an enduring issue in North American archaeology, even as this research has undergone several paradigmatic shifts. This study focuses on the primary dimensions of the archaeological record used to describe and explain variation in Mississippian complexity—polity scale, settlement and landscape, the organization of labor, mortuary ritual and ideology, and tribute and feasting. Changing perspectives toward the organization of complexity and power have become increasingly pronounced in each of these categories.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2018
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance... more Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2018
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance... more Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
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Papers by Charles Cobb