Mound Construction and Site Selection in the Lafourche Subdelta of the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana, USA

Mehta, Jayur Madhusudan; Chamberlain, E. L.

doi:10.1080/15564894.2018.1458764

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The results of our point-process models and model selection suggest that elevation—rather than the distance to marine sources—provides the best prediction for where shell rings occur. This finding fits results from other studies in the Southeast that suggest elevation was actively preferred by Native Americans in their settlements (e.g., Guccione et al 1988; Mehta and Chamberlain 2019; Smith 1978). Although our analyses demonstrate that people were building rings farther from water sources than previously assumed, it does not mean marine resources were unimportant.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The Integration of Lidar and Legacy Datasets Provides Improved Explanations for the Spatial Patterning of Shell Rings in the American Southeast

Davis

DiNapoli

Sanger

et al. 2020

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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Archaeologists have struggled to combine remotely sensed datasets with preexisting information for landscape-level analyses. In the American Southeast, for example, analyses of lidar data using automated feature extraction algorithms have led to the identification of over 40 potential new pre-European-contact Native American shell ring deposits in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Such datasets are vital for understanding settlement distributions, yet a comprehensive assessment requires remotely sensed and previously surveyed archaeological data. Here, we use legacy data and airborne lidar-derived information to conduct a series of point pattern analyses using spatial models that we designed to assess the factors that best explain the location of shell rings. The results reveal that ring deposit locations are highly clustered and best explained through a combination of environmental conditions such as distance to water and elevation as well as social factors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The Integration of Lidar and Legacy Datasets Provides Improved Explanations for the Spatial Patterning of Shell Rings in the American Southeast

Davis

DiNapoli

Sanger

et al. 2020

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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“…Relatively coarse and homogenous mouth bar sand deposits characterize the prograded portion of the subdelta (Chamberlain et al, 2018). A patchwork of generally finer-grain crevasse splay and natural levee deposits, which may overlie progradational facies or peat, characterize the near-channel overbank depositional environment (Törnqvist et al, 2008;Shen et al, 2015;Esposito et al, 2017;Mehta and Chamberlain, 2018). Discharge was shared between the Lafourche and Modern (Balize) 135 subdeltas beginning with Modern subdelta initiation at ~1.4 -1.0 ka and continuing until Lafourche subdelta abandonment at ~0.6 ka (Hijma et al, 2017), although the exact timing and nature of the discharge split is unknown.…”

Section: Mississippi Delta Stratigraphy and Osl Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluvial sediment pathways enlightened by OSL bleaching of river sediments and deltaic deposits

Chamberlain

Wallinga

2018

Preprint

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Abstract. While a number of studies have investigated bleaching of the optical signals of sediments in rivers and deltas, unified trends and mechanisms for bleaching in these settings remain unresolved. Here, we explore the bleaching of the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal of quartz sediments in a large fluviodeltaic system across time and space, by comparing residual doses of sand and silt from the modern Mississippi River channel with estimated residual doses of sand isolated from Late Holocene Mississippi Delta mouth bar and overbank deposits. Further insight is obtained from a comparison of burial ages of paired quartz sand and silt of Mississippi Delta overbank deposits. Contrasting some previous investigations, we find that the bleaching of the OSL signal is at least as likely for finer sediment as for coarser sediment of the meandering Mississippi River and its delta. In addition we find an unexpected spatiotemporal pattern in OSL bleaching of mouth bar sand deposits. We suggest this may be caused by changes in upstream pathways of the meandering channel belt(s) within the alluvial valley, or by distributary channel and coastal dynamics within the delta. Our study demonstrates that the degree of OSL bleaching of sand in a large delta can be highly time- and/or space-dependent. Silt is shown to be generally sufficiently bleached in both the modern Mississippi River and associated paleo-deposits regardless of age, and may provide a viable option for obtaining OSL chronologies in megadeltas. In addition to informing dating approaches, our work contributes to initiatives to use luminescence signals to fingerprint sediment pathways within river channel networks and their deltas.

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“…Within the dynamic delta of the Mississippi River, the creation and maintenance of mounds appears to "mimic natural process of land formation" (Mehta & Chamberlain, 2018, p. 3). The Grand Caillou site is located on a natural levee, at the intersection of Bayou Grand Caillou and a smaller crevasse channel (Mehta & Chamberlain, 2018). The purposefully selected location of the mounds provided abundant resources and transportation along the primary distributary, a protected channel for storing canoes and access to the backswamp, and greater pro-tection from flooding on an elevated landscape along the natural levee and crevasse splay (Mehta & Chamberlain, 2018, p. 16).…”

Section: Discussion With a View Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Unthinkable Loss

Bethell

Bezemek

Book

et al. 2020

NFJA

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As climate change has become a global issue, it is important to assess its impacts on not only our modern day resources, but also our archaeological resources. An archaeological approach to climate change sheds light on themes of resilience, natural and cultural relationships, public outreach, social inequalities, and interdisciplinary perspectives (Hudson et al. 2012). In this paper, we organize fifteen archaeological and historical sites within the southeastern United States in a way that highlights their status regarding current climate change effects and their preservation needs. Tying these sites to these five themes, we show how consideration of southeastern archaeology can contribute to the global narrative on climate change.

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Mound Construction and Site Selection in the Lafourche Subdelta of the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana, USA

Cited by 7 publications

References 49 publications

The Integration of Lidar and Legacy Datasets Provides Improved Explanations for the Spatial Patterning of Shell Rings in the American Southeast

The Integration of Lidar and Legacy Datasets Provides Improved Explanations for the Spatial Patterning of Shell Rings in the American Southeast

Fluvial sediment pathways enlightened by OSL bleaching of river sediments and deltaic deposits

An Unthinkable Loss

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