Maize and Villages: A Summary and Critical Assessment of Current Northeast Early Late Prehistoric Evidence

TitleMaize and Villages: A Summary and Critical Assessment of Current Northeast Early Late Prehistoric Evidence
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2002
AuthorsHart, JP, Means, BK
EditorHart, JP, Rieth, CB
Book TitleNortheast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700-1300
Series TitleNew York State Museum Bulletin
Series Volume496
Pagination342-358
PublisherThe University of the State of New York
CityAlbany, New York
Keywordsmaize, northeastern North America, villages
Abstract

The early Late Prehistoric period (A.D. 700 to A.D. 1300) is the time when evidence for subsistence and settlement traits of native societies described by early European explorers first appear in the archaeological record throughout much of the Northeast. Except in the far north, these traits include maize-based agriculture and large, nucleated villages. Our knowledge of these traits grew considerably during the last few decades of the twentieth century, the result of the increased use of flotation recovery for macrobotanical remains,the development of paleoethnobotany, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating on crop remains, stable carbon isotope analysis (SCIA) of human bone, large-scale cultural resource management excavations, a renewed interest in museum collections, and developments in method and theory. All of these are reflected in the chapters of the present volume.