Mississippian craft production in the Yazoo Basin: Thin-section analysis of a Mississippian structure floor on the summit of Mound D at the Carson site

Mound building and summit architecture at the Carson site, a Mississippian mound center in the southeastern United States

“…This argument is based on the following evidence: (a) the recovery of numerous Burlington chert drills and Citronelle gravel chisels from Structure 1, (b) the identification of polish and rounding on the distal bit ends of drills, and (c) the recovery of microflakes of Burlington chert in samples of thin sections taken from the floor of Structure 1. This evidence, in addition to comparative structure size data which indicate that Structure 1 is one of the largest structures at the Carson site (Mehta et al., 2016: 482), and larger than 77.5% of structures across the Mississippian world (see White and Steere, 2014), supports statements that Structure 1 could have been used for craft production (Mehta, 2015; Mehta et al., 2016, 2017a, 2017b). Since these arguments and presentation of data have been made elsewhere, this section is a synthesis meant to set the stage for a discussion on the implications of this structure on the Mound D summit.…”

“…Stratigraphic, sedimentary, and radiometric data from Mound D suggest it was built rapidly. Later, several mound summit structures were built on Mound D, potentially for the purposes of craft production (Mehta et al., 2016). In this article, I investigate how Mound D was built, what activities took place on the mound summit, and whether my findings conform to broader expectations for Mississippian societies in the Yazoo Basin, and more broadly, across the Midwest and Southeast?…”

“…The Carson Mounds Archaeological Project (CMAP) conducted excavations at Carson from 2012 to 2015 (Mehta et al., 2012, 2016, 2017a, 2017b). Over 80 sediment cores were taken across the Carson landscape, three trenches were excavated in Mound D, 12 horizontal excavation blocks were opened on the Mound D summit, several excavation blocks opened in the village, and numerous radiocarbon dates and one OSL date were processed.…”

“…Based on material culture, microwear studies, and thin-section analysis, it has been demonstrated that Structure 1 on the Mound D summit was used for the production of wooden and shell objects and that these objects were most likely temple statuary, shell beads, and shell gorgets (Mehta et al., 2016), although it is possible a much broader array of items were made. This argument is based on the following evidence: (a) the recovery of numerous Burlington chert drills and Citronelle gravel chisels from Structure 1, (b) the identification of polish and rounding on the distal bit ends of drills, and (c) the recovery of microflakes of Burlington chert in samples of thin sections taken from the floor of Structure 1.…”

“…Microlithic tools were made on an imported lithic material, Burlington chert, and Mississippian chisel forms were made on local, Citronelle gravels (Figure 10). Finally, microartifacts identified in thin sections of samples taken from the Structure 1 floor suggest that Burlington chert and Citronelle gravel tools were used to make craft objects that required drilling, incising, and chiseling, all of which resulted in microartifacts of Burlington chert and shell becoming embedded within the structure floor (Mehta et al., 2016). Given the rounding and polish identified on the tips of Burlington chert drills, it is likely softer materials like wood and leather were perforated and drilled, not harder materials like shell (see Yerkes, 1983; see Mehta et al., 2016 for the published analysis).…”