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Title
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Cultural Resources Reconnaissance of Three Borrow Pits for U.S. 80 Construction, Marengo County, Alabama
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Date
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1985
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Bibliographic Citation
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Futato, Eugene M. 1985. Cultural Resources Reconnaissance of Three Borrow Pits for U.S. 80 Construction, Marengo County, Alabama. Report submitted to Newell Roadbuilders, Inc. Office of Archaeological Research, University of Alabama, Moundville.
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annotates
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• The tracts, totaling ~30 acres, are located on chalky, eroded ridgelines forming the southern divide of the Cottonwood Creek drainage, within the Black Prairie region.
• The study included a background literature review, surface inspection, and shovel testing in “areas with poor visibility.”
• Two nearby sites (1MO35 and 1MO36), previously tested by Mistovich (1985), are referenced as regional comparatives for Late Mississippian to early Choctaw-period farmsteads.
• One new site, 1MO40, was recorded during the survey.
Choctaw / Ancestral Choctaw Relevance
• Choctaw are not explicitly named, but the temporal and settlement pattern references in this report are highly relevant:
o The author references a broader pattern of “small, very late prehistoric sites” interpreted as farmsteads associated with the Late Mississippian to protohistoric period, a framework previously used by Mistovich (1985) to identify early Historical Choctaw occupations nearby at 1MO35 and 1MO36.
o The Cottonwood Creek and Big Prairie drainage area lies within the Black Prairie region, an area of confirmed Choctaw settlement including scattered valley farmsteads noted in ethnohistoric accounts.
• Site 1MO40 produced plain shell-tempered ceramics, consistent with regional late Mississippian through early Historical ceramic traditions, including those attributed to Choctaw farmsteads by earlier studies in the same area.
o Based on site type and location, interpreted as Late Mississippian/postcontact-era farmstead.
o Determined not eligible for NRHP, and no further work was recommended.
Data Presentation / Decolonizing Commentary
• Brief and procedural report in keeping with mid-1980s CRM Phase I standards.
• While Choctaw are not mentioned, the interpretation of the site as part of a population dispersion pattern during the Late Mississippian–postcontact transition invites cultural contextualization.
• Builds directly on Mistovich’s 1985 work, which identified Choctaw-affiliated ceramic types and settlement forms in this immediate area.
• A decolonizing reading would:
o Reconsider 1MO40s potential cultural significance as part of a Choctaw heritage landscape.
o Acknowledge the cumulative importance of small, farmstead-type sites in reconstructing Indigenous land use and persistence during periods of colonial disruption.
o Recommend tribal consultation before clearing similar sites with postcontact-era indicators.
CRM Utility Assessment: Moderate
o Serves as a supplementary reference to the more robust analysis in Mistovich (1985).
o Reinforces the presence of Choctaw-era settlement patterns in the Faunsdale area, particularly in relation to upland ridgelines and agriculturally viable soils (e.g., Trinity clay).
• Recommendation:
o Use in conjunction with Mistovich’s findings to support broader interpretations of Choctaw-affiliated site distribution in the Black Prairie region.
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owner
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sprice@wiregrassarchaeology.com