Cooking and Community: An Exploration of Oneota Group Variability through Foodways

Death at distance: Mobility, memory, and place among the late precontact Oneota in the central Illinois River Valley

“…Both sites date to the 14th century ad . Recent work based on new excavations at Morton Village and new considerations of Norris Farms 36 by O'Gorman, Conner, and colleagues (e.g., Bengtson & O'Gorman, 2016; O'Gorman & Conner, 2015; Leito & O'Gorman, 2014; Painter & O'Gorman, 2019) suggest Bold Counselor occupation here was characterized by intense interaction, cohabitation, and coalescence between Mississippian and Oneota people.…”

“…Both sites date to the 14th century AD. Recent work based on new excavations at Morton Village and new considerations of Norris Farms 36 by O'Gorman, Conner, and colleagues (e.g.,Bengtson & O'Gorman, 2016;O'Gorman & Conner, 2015;Leito & O'Gorman, 2014;Painter & O'Gorman, 2019) suggest Bold Counselor occupation here was characterized by intense interaction, cohabitation, and coalescence between Mississippian and Oneota people.Readers are directed toSanture and Esarey (1990) for an exquisitely detailed description and interpretation of the Bold Counselor mortuary component at Norris Farms 36, but a summary of the most pertinent information is provided here. Norris Farms 36 is a low, mounded cemetery just south of Morton Village and built on a ridge that had been used as a mortuary site by earlier groups(O'Gorman et al, 2020;) (Figure3).…”

“…590–591). However, new interpretations of skeletal and mortuary evidence in light of recent village excavations view Morton Villagers as a community that managed to procure a diverse subsistence base and foster a dynamic and novel material culture (Bengtson & O'Gorman, 2016; Leito & O'Gorman, 2014; Nordine, 2020; Painter & O'Gorman, 2019) in spite of the violent world within which they were not simply victims but active participants.…”

Making Community: Implications of Hybridity and Coalescence at Morton Village

“…Pottery can effectively provide insight into negotiations concerning individual and group identity, status, integration, and other factors. Here, we focus on the pottery production and use in identity formation (Peelo 2011)-and in expressing alliances and boundaries (Bowser 2000;Hegmon et al 2000) -and its related intersections with multidimensional foodways and group identity (Bardolph 2014;Painter 2021;Painter and O'Gorman 2019;Twiss 2007Twiss , 2012. Complementary analyses focusing on the foods and their role as sociocultural symbols in negotiation is ongoing on several fronts.…”

“…Dual Oneota and Mississippian ceramic traditions continued at Morton Village, suggesting that cultural distinctions between the two groups were maintained at some level. Cooking practices are also distinct (Painter 2021; Painter and O'Gorman 2019), and subsistence data indicate nuanced differences in the use of common plant and animal foods (Nordine 2020; Painter 2022). At the same time, the migrant group members adopted the plate form, but did so while using plates according to their own culinary standards and decorating them in their own style.…”