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Title
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Archaeological Reconnaissance of Selected Areas of the Alabama River Drainage, Dallas County, Alabama
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Date
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1988
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Bibliographic Citation
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Atchison, Robert B. 1988. Archaeological Reconnaissance of Selected Areas of the Alabama River Drainage, Dallas County, Alabama. Report prepared for the Alabama Historical Commission. Office of Archaeological Research, Alabama State Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama, Moundville.
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annotates
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• Phase I cultural resource survey conducted in Dallas County, focused on tracts near the Alabama River Cut-Off and Molette Bend, in advance of channel and bank stabilization projects by USACE.
o Identified 27 archaeological sites, including mounds, multicomponent occupation sites, historical homesteads, and “lithic scatters.”
o Recovered material spans from the Late Archaic through Mississippian and into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
• No explicit mention of Choctaw or ancestral Choctaw is made in the report.
• However, several aspects are relevant for Choctaw-contextual CRM research:
o Multiple sites (including 1DS158 and 1DS172) are tied to Alabama River Phase Mississippian occupations, which some scholars (e.g., Sheldon, Regnier) have linked to groups later absorbed into or affiliated with the Choctaw confederacy, especially those in southwest Alabama.
o The report identifies multiple mound sites and ceramic-bearing occupations along Molette Bend, a region noted in other sources for its Postcontact continuity.
o 1DS158: Multicomponent site with both 19th-century Euro-American (e.g., transfer print pearlware, glass) and what is stated as Woodland/Alabama River phase components (grit-tempered ceramics, a hammerstone, and fire-cracked rock).
No direct Choctaw attribution, but its location and temporal range align with phases linked to Choctaw ancestors in regional literature.
o 1DS172: Described as a large, truncated pyramidal mound tested by Curren (1982), who also recorded a nearby village site, and an African American cemetery (recorded by Curren) with artifacts diagnostic of Moundville I or II Mississippian cultural affiliation.
o While not linked to Choctaw specifically by the author, its cultural phase and preservation make it important for tracking ancestral Mississippian lineages potentially relevant to later Choctaw territory.
• Report is typical of 1980s CRM survey standards: practical, descriptive, and focused on artifact counts and surface conditions. No interpretive effort is made to contextualize Indigenous presence beyond culture history (e.g., Mississippian, Woodland).
• Mound sites and mortuary areas are presented with minimal ethical commentary.
• A decolonizing critique would:
o Push for descendant community engagement in assessing mounds and domestic sites.
o Reframe multicomponent sites like 1DS158 as potential nodes of cultural persistence, not just data points in a typological record.
o Encourage a more critical look at the spatial clustering of mound and domestic sites along Molette Bend as evidence of long-term Indigenous occupation.
• Highly relevant for CRM in Choctaw-affiliated areas:
o Many sites reflect Mississippian and Alabama River Phase components that are culturally relevant to Choctaw heritage and Protohistoric studies.
o Preserved mound sites (e.g., 1DS172) and domestic scatters (e.g., 1DS158) should be revisited with descendant input, especially in NAGPRA-related contexts.
• NRHP evaluations are practical but culturally generic — burial and ceremonial significance is not considered beyond artifact presence.
• Recommended Use:
o Strong reference for site locations and integrity, especially for planning testing or protective strategies.
o Should be paired with updated cultural interpretations and Choctaw consultation if relevant to project scope.
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owner
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sprice@wiregrassarchaeology.com