Added July 2, 2000. Updated January 8, 2001 19:11 hours.
International Colloquium on Comparative Archaeology
Old and New
World Prehistory at the Crossroads
Columbus, Ohio, USA
April 23 to 28, 2001
Organized by
Max Baldia
The Comparative Archaeology WEB,
The Czech-American Research Program (CARPRO),
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man
Southern Methodist
University
Bradley
Lepper
Ohio_Historical_Society
1982 Velma Ave.
Columbus, OH 43211
USA
blepper@ohiohistory.org
Richard Yerkes
Anthropology
The Ohio State University,
140 Lord Hall
124 W. 17th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1364
yerkes.1@osu.edu
|
Mailing Address: Dr.
Maximilian O. Baldia, P. I. |
Preliminary Schedule:
The COLUMBUS meeting is organized in conjunction with the New Orleans SAA symposium on Comparative Archaeology to provide greater in-depth presentation and discussion and excursions to important US archaeological sites, including Ohio enclosures. It is scheduled to allow travel time for participants at the 66th SAA ANNUAL MEETING in New Orleans. Details depend on the final SAA schedule, to be announced in December 2000.
- Sunday, April 22:
Overnight excursion to from New Orleans to Watson Brake and Poverty Point, some of the oldest earthworks in the US (in conjunction with the Annual SAA meeting). Details to be announced.
- Monday, April 23:
Return to New Orleans and travel to Columbus, Ohio.
- Tuesday, April 24:
Excursions to the picturesque Amish Country or to Chillicothe and the largest concentration of prehistoric Adena and Hopewell burial mounds and enclosures.
- Wednesday, April 25:
Excursion to Southwest Ohio prehistoric earthworks:
Visit to Fort Ancient, the largest Hopewell earthwork.
A tour of Indian Mound Park, including Williamson Mound, Pollock Earthworks and rock shelters, under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Robert Riordan, Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio.
- Thursday, April 26:
Public Roundtable Discussion at The Ohio State University.
Excursion to Shrum (Adena) Mound, Campbell Park, Columbus.
Excursion to Highbanks Park Earthworks Adena burial mound and the Late Woodland earthworks in Delaware County.
- Friday, April 27:
Excursion led by Dr. Brad Lepper, Curator, Ohio State Historical Society and Prof. Dr. Yerkes, The Ohio State University:
Flint Ridge, a prehistoric flint quarry
Alligator Mound, a Late Woodland (?) effigy mound
The Newark geometric earthworks
- Saturday, April 28, 9:45 AM – 4:45 PM
Presentation of papers to the interested public at the Ohio Historical Society Headquarters and Museum, Columbus, Ohio.
Presentations:
- All papers will be presented in English
- Presentation time is 15 minutes
Publication of the Proceedings:
- We plan to publish the proceedings.
Symposium Abstract
At the start of the 21st century archaeology finds itself at the crossroads between the traditional textbook-like overviews of world prehistory and the systematic, detailed comparisons and analysis between large cultural regions on a global basis. The ultimate aim of Comparative Archaeology is to ascertain the causes for observable similarities and differences in cultural development in different parts of the world.
This objective has yet to be realized, but the accumulation of large amounts of regional data in the Old and New World, combined with modern communication technology make this kind of research a possibility.
Of special interest is research on the interaction and communication between sites, especially those with monumental architecture. For example:
ˇ How does communication between European causewayed or early medieval enclosures, US Hopewell enclosures or Central American Maya centers manifest itself in the archaeological record?
ˇ Is there evidence for a developing infrastructure that facilitates communication, such as ceremonial avenues or even long-distance roadways?
ˇ At what level of social complexity can one expect the development of such an infrastructure?
ˇ What are the similarities and differences in the way communication is facilitated in different regions of the world?
This symposium brings together burgeoning research that deals with a fascinating array of comparisons and insights into changing communication patterns, economic forms, social structures and religious expressions around the world. It is exemplified by analysis of the spatial reorganization of settlement sites and the development and demise of monumental architecture. It includes research on enclosures, henges, megalithic tombs, burial and temple mounds, ceremonial avenues and roadways. Examples are drawn from Africa, India, Bali, Europe, and the Americas (Maya, the US Southwest and Eastern Woodlands).
List of Participants
Dirk Raetzel-Fabian
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Kassel
Mailing
Address
Herkulesstrasse 69
D-34119 Kassel
Germany
dirk.fabian@online.de
Douglas
S. Frink
Archaeology Consulting Team, Inc.
57 River Road, Suite 1020
Essex, VT 05452
USA
DSFrink@aol.com
Ronald
I. Dorn
Arizona State University
Main Campus
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of Geography
PO Box 870104
Tempe, AZ 85287-0104
USA
atrid@IMAP1.ASU.EDU
J.
McKim (Kim) Malville
Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences
University of Colorado at Boulder
USA
Kim.Malville@Colorado.EDU
Bradley
Lepper
Ohio_Historical_Society
1982 Velma Ave.
Columbus, OH 43211
USA
blepper@ohiohistory.org
Ronald Hicks
Anthropology Dept.
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306
USA
ronhicks@yahoo.com
Richard
Yerkes
Anthropology
The Ohio State University,
140 Lord Hall
124 W. 17th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1364
USA
yerkes.1@osu.edu
Attila Gyucha
Munkácsy Mihály Múzeum, Békéscsaba
Széchenyi 9
5600 Hungary
William A. Parkinson
Anthropology Dept.
The Ohio State University
244 Lord Hall, 124 W. 17th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1364
John
Staeck
College of DuPage
425 22nd Street
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599
USA
staeck@cdnet.cod.edu
Markus Vosteen
Württembergisches Landesmuseum Stuttgart
Schillerplatz 6,
70173 Stuttgart
Germany
mvosteen@gmx.de
Vernon L. Scarborough
Anthropology Dept
University of Cincinnati
2624 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45221
USA.
vernon.scarborough@uc.edu
Christel
Baldia
Amish Cancer Project
The Ohio State University
A. James Cancer Hospital & R. J. Solove Research Institute
Human Cancer Genetics
300 West 10th St.
Suite 519
Columbus, OH 4321-1240
USA
giesdorf@surfree.com, Chandle-1.@medctr.osu.edu, Baldia.1@osu.edu
Mailing Address
3616 Dinsmore Castle Dr.
Columbus, OH 43221
USA
Maximilian
O. Baldia
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man
Heroy Science Hall
Southern Methodist University
3225 Daniel Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75275-0274
USA.
mobaldia@earthlink.net
Mailing Address
3616 Dinsmore Castle Dr.
Columbus, OH 43221
USA
Received Abstracts
J.
McKim (Kim) Malville
Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, Campus Box 391
University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, CO 80209
USA
Kim.Malville@Colorado.EDU
Self-organization of Ritual
Landscapes and Monumental Architecture
Abstract
A useful concept for Comparative Archaeology is that of self-organization,
which is a characteristic of natural landscapes and spontaneous human behavior.
If the social dynamic has been natural and not planned or imposed, monumental
architecture and settlement patterns should display the geometrical
characteristics of self-organized systems. Comparisons of spontaneous versus
planned landscapes are provided by the megalithic ceremonial center at Nabta in
southern Egypt, the royal city of Vijayanagara, patterns of pilgrimage in Chaco
and Varanasi, and the spatial organization of shrines and temples of the
Kathmandu valley. A number of these sites display features of both spontaneous
and controlled behavior.
Markus Vosteen
Württembergisches Landesmuseum Stuttgart
Schillerplatz 6,
70173 Stuttgart
Germany
mvosteen@gmx.de
Mailing Address:
Sofienstr. 2
70806 Kornwestheim
Germany
Sacred or Profane: Earthworks from a Religious Point of View
Abstract
Different kinds of Earthworks are known in the Old and the New World. All share
just one common characteristic: the circumvallation with rampart and/or ditch.
These circumvallations played an important role for the archaeological
interpretation: either as a profane attribute with characteristics of a
fortification, or simply as a border of a sacred area. All these
interpretations are made by archaeologists. A more complex interpretation based
on the history of religion is presented, focusing on the common phenomena of
the sacred area and the associated sacred way. Their specific meanings are
explored and expanded through a view from the outside.
Maximilian
O. Baldia
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man
Heroy Science Hall
Southern Methodist University
3225 Daniel Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75275-0274
USA.
mobaldia@earthlink.net
Mailing Address
3616 Dinsmore Castle Dr.
Columbus, OH 43221
USA
Monuments at the Crossroads: Comparative Archaeology of North American and European Monuments.
Abstract
Archaeologists on both sides of the Atlantic raise the controversial question of prehistoric roads in “middle-range” societies. Spatial analysis of 5000 European Neolithic/Copper Age (megalithic) tombs indicates that they were built along major communication lines. Tombs mass near enclosures, which are often located near streams in elevated positions, implying that overland and water routes intersect near them. This suggests that enclosures function as nodes in the communication network. However, European evidence for actual roads remains elusive. Applying the model to American monuments of the Ohio/Mississippi drainage and the US Southwest provides evidence for (“graded”) ways, showing that many societies at similar technological stages of development adopt similar communication strategies.
Bradley Lepper
Ohio_Historical_Society
1982 Velma Ave.
Columbus, OH 43211
USA
blepper@ohiohistory.org
The
Serpent and the Alligator: Ohio's Effigy Mounds in Context
Abstract
Efforts to understand Ohio's effigy mounds have been hampered by the lack
of an objective chronology. Serpent Mound has been attributed to the Adena
culture based on its proximity to Adena burial mounds. Alligator Mound has been
attributed to the Hopewell culture based on its nearness to the Newark
Earthworks. New data indicate both effigies are the work of the Fort Ancient
culture and are approximately contemporaneous with the Effigy Mound culture of
the upper Midwest. In this context, I interpret them as representations of the
two principal inhabitants of the traditional Algonquian underworld: the serpent
and the underwater panther.
Christel
Baldia
Amish Cancer Project
The Ohio State University
A. James Cancer Hospital & R. J. Solove Research Institute
Human Cancer Genetics
300 West 10th St.
Suite 519
Columbus, OH 4321-1240
USA
giesdorf@surfree.com, Chandle-1.@medctr.osu.edu, Baldia.1@osu.edu
Mailing Address
3616 Dinsmore Castle Dr.
Columbus, OH 43221
USA
Cultures at the Cross Roads: A Comparative Study of Native American, African and European Symbolism during the Early Colonial Period of the Southeastern US.
Abstract
During the early colonial days, West African, European
and Native American peoples met in the Southeast of this country. They share
similar social structure and iconography, although the assigned symbolic
meaning may have been different. This created the basis for intense interaction
between these peoples. Many of the symbols used found their way onto textiles,
such as clothing, early slave quilts, or other body decorations. They can be
traced back to West Africa, Europe or the Mississippian period in North
America. Even today, the uniquely pieced costumes of the Seminole in Florida
continue to use some of these symbols.
Richard W. Yerkes
Anthropology Dept.
The Ohio State University
244 Lord Hall, 124 W. 17th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1364
Attila Gyucha
Munkácsy Mihály Múzeum, Békéscsaba
Széchenyi 9
5600 Hungary
William A Parkinson
Anthropology Dept.
The Ohio State University
244 Lord Hall, 124 W. 17th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1364
Tribal “Cycling”: A Comparison of Long-Term Social Processes in the Copper Age of Central Europe and the Woodland Period of the Midwestern United States.
Abstract
This paper explores the utility of a comparative analysis for understanding
long-term patterns of social change in “middle-range” or “tribal” societies
living during the Middle and Late Woodland periods in the Ohio Valley and
during the Neolithic and Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain. These
societies inhabited relatively similar temperate floodplain environments and
exhibited comparable levels of political and economic organization. Despite the
fact that the social trajectory of each region was affected by its own
historical factors, similar patterns of integration and interaction suggest
cross-cultural similarities in the nature of social organization in tribal
societies.
Ronald Hicks
Anthropology Dept.
Burkhart Building
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306
USA
Phone: 756 285 2443, 756 285 2163, Fax: 756 284 1639
ronhicks@yahoo.com
It
Would Look Right at Home in Wessex: New World-Old World Parallels in Early
Agricultural Sacred Landscapes.
Though separated by over 3000 miles in space and 2000 years in time, early
agricultural societies in two midlatitude mixed forest environments--southern
Britain and the Ohio River drainage in North America--developed some remarkable
parallels in manmade features of the landscape that appear to have been of a
sacred or ritual nature. In both we find burial mounds and circular enclosures,
the latter often with internal ditches and astronomical orientations. There are
other parallels between these societies as well. This paper will compare these
in some detail and offer possible explanations.
Douglas
S. Frink
OCR Carbon Dating, Inc.
57 River Road, Suite 1020
Essex, VT 05452
USA
Phone:
802 897 2017
DSFrink@aol.com
and
Ronald
I. Dorn
Arizona State University
Main Campus
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of Geography
PO Box 870104
Tempe, AZ 85287-0104
USA
atrid@IMAP1.ASU.EDU
Beyond Taphonomy: Pedogenic Transformations of the Archaeological Record in Monumental Earthworks.
Abstract
Mesolithic and later peoples acted as aggradational and erosional geomorphic
agents -- producing monumental earthworks including enclosures, mounds, and
earth figures in temperate and arid environments. Taphonomic laws governing
geologic processes underlie conventional interpretations of artifacts
associated with monumental earthworks. Taphonomic explanations, without
consideration for temporal and spatial scale, and ecological settings can
render misleading conclusions for aggradational earthworks. Aerobic soils and
rock surfaces are dynamic autopoetic systems whose metabolic processes affect
the organization of associated artifacts. Studies from Texas, Louisiana,
California, and the Czech Republic exemplify pathways by which pedogenic and
weathering processes define spatial and temporal contexts.
Dirk
Raetzel-Fabian
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Kassel
Mailing
Address
Herkulesstrasse 69
D-34119 Kassel
Germany
dirk.fabian@online.de
Vacant Center - Vacant
Periphery: Spatial Distribution of Monumental Enclosures
Abstract
Can the Hopewell "Vacant Center Model" by O. H. Prufer (1964)
serve as a reasonable concept for the interpretation of monumental enclosures
in Central Europe? The discussion of the use and function of earthworks has its
roots in the 19th century, and arguments developed parallel in both parts of
the world without an observable exchange of ideas and concepts. The high
density distribution pattern of monumental enclosures on the northern fringe of
the highland regions of Germany now raises questions similar to those in the
Hopewell core region of Southern Ohio: which models are applied best to explain
the distribution pattern against the background of social as well as spatial
organization, communication and ritual?
John Staeck
College of DuPage
425 22nd Street
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599
USA
Phone: 630 942 2022,
Fax: 630 858 9845
staeck@cdnet.cod.edu
Rethinking the US
Woodland/Mississippian and the Central European Neolithic/Copper Age.
The Neolithic in Central Europe and the Eastern Woodlands of the US are described and characterized in many, sometimes contradictory ways. The archaeology of the Woodland and Mississippian periods, as well as the TRB (Funnel Beaker) manifestations in Central and Northern Europe are subject to disparate interpretive schemes that portray the people as everything from egalitarian farmers to expansionist traders. Cross-cultural perspectives on independent sociopolitical developments are examined for both cases, taking into consideration new evidence from excavations in Moravia, Czech Republic.
Vernon L. Scarborough
Anthropology Dept
University of Cincinnati
2624 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45221
USA.
vernon.scarborough@uc.edu
Tropical Ecology and Economy: The Ancient Maya and the Living Balinese
The origins and
development of statecraft constitute one of the fundamental arenas of
anthropological enquiry. Considerable thought has been invested in the processes
that stimulated the rise of complex societies, especially in regard to the
primary or incipient archaic states that are well-defined in the great
floodplain margins of the Old World and apparent in the incised drainages of
Peru and the lakeshore settings of Highland Mexico. Less attention has
been focused on semitropical and tropical statecraft as a meaningful dataset
from which to assess the processes that mark complex society more
generally. This presentation will examine aspects of early state
development as a subset of the broader political economy; it focuses on the
relationship between state formation, water management and the engineered
landscape in both the Maya Lowlands and Bali, Indonesia.
Please send comments or questions to Max.Baldia