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Title
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Woodland Ceramics and Prehistoric Chronology in the Middle and Lower Alabama River Valley
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Date
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1998
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Bibliographic Citation
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Jenkins, Ned J., and Catherine C. Meyer. 1998. Woodland Ceramics and Prehistoric Chronology in the Middle and Lower Alabama River Valley. Journal of Alabama Archaeology 44:1–51.
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annotates
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• This article is typologically detailed, reflecting processual-era archaeology with strong emphasis on material culture sequencing and a detailed synthesis of ceramic sequences and cultural phases in the middle and lower Alabama River valley, focusing on the Middle to Late Woodland period.
o Builds heavily on Jenkins’s earlier work and incorporates more recent testing and excavation data from the 1980s and early 1990s.
o Provides descriptions and figures of ceramic types, surface treatments, rim forms, and tempering, as well as summaries of site contexts.
• The article does not explicitly mention Choctaw or ancestral Choctaw groups, but the cultural phases and geographic zones discussed are highly relevant to CRM efforts involving ancestral Choctaw landscapes.
• Particularly relevant: The Whiteoak Phase (ca. A.D. 700–900), characterized by distinct plain, brushed, and incised ceramics, is centered around the Black Prairie region and Lower Alabama River, which has a documented 18th–19th century Choctaw presence and Postcontact cultural continuity.
o The McLeod Phase (earlier than Whiteoak) and Cobbs Swamp Phase may represent culturally continuous traditions leading into later Choctaw-affiliated groups in the western Alabama region.
• 1MN1 (Buzzard Roost): Repeatedly cited as a key multicomponent site with deep stratified deposits and multiple Woodland occupations.
o Provides radiocarbon dates supporting early Woodland ceramic traditions in the region.
o While no direct link to Choctaw ancestry is stated, the site's location and ceramic profile make it useful for assessing long-term Indigenous presence in Choctaw-relevant zones.
• 1MN7: Includes Catoma and Cobbs Swamp phase material; stratigraphy less clear than at 1MN1.
o Not as extensively interpreted, but contributes to defining early Woodland ceramic baselines in Monroe County.
• 1PI85 (Dead River Mound): Important stratified site for the Cobbs Swamp and Catoma ceramic series.
o Provides context for non-shell-tempered Woodland traditions in central Alabama, offering a baseline for distinguishing Mississippian intrusions from local continuity.
o Potential relevance for distinguishing Indigenous persistence through the Woodland–Mississippian transition in areas later tied to Choctaw territory.
• 1TU500 (Sand Ridge): Produces fiber-tempered and early grog-tempered ceramics consistent with the Sandy Phase.
o Its very early dating (pre-500 B.C.) contributes to understanding the deep time Indigenous occupation of Choctaw ancestral lands.
• A decolonizing interpretation would:
o Reframe these ceramic phases as potential material markers of Indigenous persistence, not just archaeological taxonomies.
o Encourage use of this data in collaboration with Choctaw and other Muskogean descendant communities for site reevaluation and territorial mapping.
o Push for naming conventions and phase descriptions that reflect Indigenous place-names, continuity, and mobility rather than archaeological shorthand.
CRM Utility Assessment
• Offers site-specific examples that can be referenced in field evaluations and reporting (especially 1MN1, 1MN7, 1PI85).
• Recommended Use: As a foundational reference for ceramic identification, and as supportive background for Choctaw-related site evaluations in central and southwestern Alabama.
• Limitations:
o No cultural or tribal attributions; requires additional framing and consultation to interpret materials in a Choctaw-affiliated context.
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owner
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sprice@wiregrassarchaeology.com