Cropping in an Age of Captive Taking: Exploring Evidence for Uncertainty and Food Insecurity in the Seventeenth-Century North Carolina Piedmont

Abstract

Engagement in sustained encounters with colonial actors had long-lasting demographic, social, and political consequences for Native American inhabitants of Southeastern North America during the colonial period (AD 1670–1783). Less clear is whether Native peoples who did not regularly trade with colonists also felt the destabilization experienced by more closely affiliated groups. This article explores Native lifeways in the seventeenth-century Eno River valley of the North Carolina Piedmont, a context for which archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence have produced divergent narratives. While extant archaeological findings suggest that daily life from 1650 to 1680 continued virtually unchanged from the preceding Late Woodland period, ethnohistoric accounts indicate that this area was victimized by Native slavers who abducted countless women and children. Seeking to reconcile these narratives, I conducted a diachronic analysis of botanical remains and architecture. Archaeobotanical data reveal that Jenrette site (AD 1650–1680) occupants adopted foodways that differed significantly from those of their Late Woodland predecessors, while architectural evidence indicates a brief village occupation. I argue that Eno River valley inhabitants introduced risk-averse subsistence practices that would have aided in coping with the threat and consequences of slave raiding and that these practices occurred within a social climate of fear and uncertainty that is documented ethnohistorically.

Factors Associated with Food Insecurity Following Hurricane Harvey in Texas

“…A Proquest literature search conducted in December 2019 for the search terms "food insecurity AND disaster AND U.S." returned 1871 peer reviewed articles. A close review of the 100 most relevant articles in that search found that 54 articles were not focused on the United States (US), 36 articles focused on food or disasters but not both, four discussed food and disasters but were not food insecurity focused rather focused on aspects such as agricultural practices or disaster preparedness, one article was a historical piece on 17th century food insecurity [31], and one manuscript was a systematic literature review of the disaster literature [32]. The systematic review found that less than one percent of disaster research focuses on food [32], supporting our literature review finding of only three studies that directly address food insecurity outcomes following disasters in the US.…”

Broken Worlds: Towards an Archaeology of the Shatter Zone

“…The Jenrette site was occupied for only a short period of time-perhaps only 20 years-implying that the community was also aware of their tenuous position. This led them to prioritize short-term strategies over those that would have ensured longer term security and continuity (Melton, 2018(Melton, : 2167. Wider studies of Cherokee and Catawba communities have similarly yielded evidence for intensified foraging and increased consumption of seasonal, fleshy fruits, which not only grew on the boundaries of agricultural areas close to settlements but also required less processing (Fitts, 2015: 312-15;VanDerwarker et al, 2013).…”

“…In connection with the changes in settlement morphology discussed above, for example, the reduced lifespan of houses at the Townsend site noted by Marcoux (2010) reflects a tacit recognition of the uncertainty that permeated the lives of the nascent community residing there. Evidence for changing subsistence practices and foodways at the Jenrette and Ellery sites similarly reflects efforts of communities to mitigate for the impacts of resource scarcity, conflict, disease, and displacement by prioritizing short-term needs over longer term strategies (Hawkins et al, 2018;Melton, 2018). Disruption to trading networks may also be evidenced through the introduction of new cultural materials within burials and settlements, as well as a decrease in the visibility of materials that had previously been widely available (see, e.g.…”

Regional Conflict, Ceramic Senescence, and Pawnee Raw Material Choice in the Late Contact Era

“…Attacks could disrupt farming activities enough to cause food shortages and uncertainty (Jensen 2010; cf. van der Logt 2016:35), a problem faced by other Indigenous people in North America (Melton 2018). They also may have constrained other activities by women outside the village, such as ceramic raw material collection.…”