Table 2 - uploaded by Andrew Gillreath-Brown
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Please see my newer papers: "An Experimental Study of Turtle Shell Rattle Production and the Implications for Archaeofaunal Assemblages" published by PLOS ONE (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201472) and "Identifying Turtle Shell Rattles in the Archaeological Record of the Southeastern United States" published by Ethnobiology Letters (https:/...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... (Rodning and Moore 2010; University of Michigan 1970), hard seeds (Capron 1953), and drum teeth ( Lewis and Kneberg 1970;Lewis and Lewis 1995) are employed in order to create the rattle effect. Pebbles are the most recorded in the archaeological recorded ( Figure 3; Table 2), though they are often discarded as fill or backdirt. The hard seeds (such as Canna sp., wild canna, for the Seminoles), possibly, do not survive in the archaeological record because the environment is not conducive to the preservation of these materials. ...
Context 2
... the archaeological record in the Southeastern United States (see Table 2) and the ethnographical/ethnohistorical data, discussed below. Typically, this type consists of a few (approximately two) drilled holes in the carapace, as seen at Hiwassee Island ( Lewis and Kneberg 1970), to up to twenty holes, as evidenced in a 1920s example at the Oklahoma History ...
Context 3
... rattle characteristics. Many of the sites exhibit several of the proposed characteristics for turtle shell rattles (see Table 2). There are several biases of the literature that should be discussed. ...
Context 4
... (Rodning and Moore 2010; University of Michigan 1970), hard seeds (Capron 1953), and drum teeth ( Lewis and Kneberg 1970;Lewis and Lewis 1995) are employed in order to create the rattle effect. Pebbles are the most recorded in the archaeological recorded ( Figure 3; Table 2), though they are often discarded as fill or backdirt. The hard seeds (such as Canna sp., wild canna, for the Seminoles), possibly, do not survive in the archaeological record because the environment is not conducive to the preservation of these materials. ...
Context 5
... rattle. The first construction type is the body rattle, which is the most common rattle type from the archaeological record in the Southeastern United States (see Table 2) and the ethnographical/ethnohistorical data, discussed below. Typically, this type consists of a few (approximately two) drilled holes in the carapace, as seen at Hiwassee Island ( Lewis and Kneberg 1970), to up to twenty holes, as evidenced in a 1920s example at the Oklahoma History ...
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Citations
... The archaeological record indicates that, across eastern North America, turtle shell rattles were associated with ancient rituals and ceremonies, as evidenced by the archaeological contexts of rattles (Pearce 2005; see also Brown 2011;Peres 2017, 2018; Supplementary Table 1). Additionally, turtle shell rattles recovered from burial contexts were presumably buried with the person that had used the rattles (e.g., Swanton 1928a:396). ...
... Turtle shell rattles were used throughout the Woodland period (ca. 1000 BC -AD 1000) (Brown 2011). For southeastern Mississippian period turtle shell rattles, about 90% of the turtle shell rattles were recovered from burial contexts (Brown 2011). ...
... 1000 BC -AD 1000) (Brown 2011). For southeastern Mississippian period turtle shell rattles, about 90% of the turtle shell rattles were recovered from burial contexts (Brown 2011). ...
Throughout North America, from the Archaic period (ca. 8000–1000 BC) to the present, Indigenous Peoples used turtle shell rattles in a variety of cultural contexts, including in ceremonies. As a material, turtle shells can be an abundant, accessible, and easily processed raw material, whose shape and size lends itself to be a musical instrument. Many Indigenous Peoples in North America have cosmological, foundational beliefs about turtles. These beliefs provide a greater understanding of why turtle shell rattles are incorporated into ceremonies and dances. Furthermore, they help explain why they are used to keep rhythm, which in turn provides a basis for spiritual energy and experience. This paper reviews the ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological records of turtle shell rattle music in the contiguous United States. Turtle shell rattles are related to spiritual concepts of sound and are culturally defined and contextualized. A comprehensive review of their use reveals insights into the musical knowledge of several ancient and historic communities.
... While periodic human burials appear at different types of Archaic sites within the Central Basin, major Archaic mortuary activity seems to be limited to large seasonal base camps. 1 These locations may represent areas where groups congregated periodically to bury their dead and exchange goods, given the presence of craft items such as modified turtle shell and caches of nonlocal stone tools (Brown 2011;Cridlebaugh 2017Cridlebaugh [1986; DeterWolf 2004;Gillreath-Brown and Peres 2017). Dense mortuary components at these sites may have acted as ancestral monuments or territorial markers, associating the sites and their surrounding territory with specific groups or lineages (Claassen 1996(Claassen , 2010Deter-Wolf and Peres 2014). ...
Spatial analysis provides a greater understanding of relationships between people and environment. This chapter discusses settlement patterns and ecology of the Middle Cumberland River Valley (MCRV) of Tennessee through spatial analysis and a settlement ecological approach. Multiple lines of evidence are necessary to distinguish between survey bias and archaeological patterns. This chapter examines Archaic settlements at local and regional scales using GIS-based analyses. This chapter explores the environments that people chose to settle and the relationship to horticulture and gathering. The lower number of sites during the Middle Archaic could suggest a return to a residential mobility strategy, while the Late Archaic yielded more logistical mobility. The decrease in site numbers and elevation from the Early to Middle Archaic could be tied to temperature fluctuations during the Altithermal. Some Late Archaic sites occur at slightly higher elevations, indicating perhaps more varied resources. This chapter highlights Archaic patterns in MCRV with consideration of data limitations.
... Tortugas marinas y seres humanos han establecido relaciones estrechas en la cohabitación de espacios litorales a lo largo de la historia y en diferentes partes del mundo (Ayres 1979, Allen 2007, Frazier et al. 2007, Woodrom 2010. Por lo general, las relaciones no se limitan a compartir un medio de vida, sino que es habitual que los seres humanos capturen tortugas para su alimentación (Gourou 1964, Frazier 1980, Woodrom 2003) y el aprovechamiento de huesos y caparazones como insumos en la manufactura de artefactos de diversa índole, tanto para fines prácticos, cotidianos y mundanos como para rituales simbólicos y ornamentales , Brown 2011, Frazier & Ishihara-Brito 2012, Gillreath-Brown & Peres 2017, 2018. Estos usos han sido documentados en sitios arqueológicos de distinta antigüedad en la península arábiga, en torno al océano Índico, en el Caribe centroamericano, el Yucatán, Norteamérica, la Polinesia y Sudamérica, demostrando su amplitud geográfica y profundidad histórica (Frazier 2005). ...
La arqueología del litoral del desierto de Atacama ha con-centrado sus estudios en un espectro reducido de animales, sobre representando los más tradicionales, conocidos y populares, como peces, camélidos y otáridos, en desmedro de otros con un registro más acotado pero igualmente significativo. Presentamos una reflexión acerca de las relaciones entre seres humanos y tortugas marinas, destacando la diversidad de estrategias, instancias y mecanismos a través de los cuales estas relaciones se construían y actuaban.
... Drums and rattles fall into this category of instruments, and the latter are the focus of this paper. Across North America, rattles fashioned from turtle shells are a shared cultural object among many different Indigenous groups and are known from the archaeological and ethnohistoric records [e.g., [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. More recently, turtle shells have sometimes been replaced with modern materials such as tin cans, wood, or copper, though the function is the same [14][15][16][17]. ...
... The second type, single shell design, is crafted similarly to the turtle shell leggings, except the turtle shells are not attached to hide. Instead, individual shells are tied to the arms or legs [8,26]. Native Americans may have preferentially selected box turtles due to the structure of their shells. ...
... Cooking or processing would cause the shell to be in at least three pieces (one carapace and two plastron pieces). The consumption of box turtles could lead to sickness, given that box turtles consume mushrooms that are poisonous to humans [8,[28][29]. The boiling process could also damage or weaken the shell, particularly along the sutures. ...
Turtle shell rattles are percussion instruments used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas in ceremonial contexts to keep rhythm. Archaeological investigations in the southeastern United States produced several complete and partial Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) shell rattles from mortuary contexts dating from the Archaic (ca. 8000–1000 BC) through Mississippian periods (ca. AD 800–1500). Fragmentary turtle remains, some identified as Eastern box turtle, are frequently recovered from non-mortuary contexts. Traditionally, these fragmentary remains are attributed to food waste. Given the archaeological and ethnographic evidence for turtle shell rattles, we need to consider how fragmentary remains might fit into the chaîne opératoire of rattle production. This paper presents the results of an experimental study designed to identify one such chaîne opératoire of rattle production. During this experiment, the data on taphonomic processes such as manufacturing marks, use-wear, and breakage patterns, were recorded. We then tested the taphonomic findings from the experimental study and an object trait list we compiled from known rattle specimens and documentary sources with archaeological turtle remains recovered from non-mortuary contexts at two Mississippian period (ca. AD 1000–1450) sites in Middle Tennessee. Historic indigenous groups are known to have, and still do into the present-day, make and use turtle shell rattles in the region. Ultimately, we determined that “food refuse” should not be the default interpretation of fragmentary box turtle remains, and instead the taphonomic history and contextual associations must be considered in full. The experimental process of crafting turtle shell rattles enhances our understanding of an ancient musical instrument and the success rate of identifying musical artifacts and distinguishing between other modified turtle remains in the archaeological record. This study expands our knowledge of ancient music in North America and prompts re-analysis of curated turtle remains in museums for rattle-related modifications.
... Since turtle shell rattles are generally associated with ritual, ceremonial, and mortuary activity, proper identification is important for indigenous groups, who may be able to claim cultural items under the Native Ameri-Turtle or tortoise (Testudines) shell rattles are percussion instruments used by indigenous peoples in ceremonial contexts to keep rhythm and are symbols of group beliefs (Jackson and Levine 2002; Figure 1). Turtle or tortoise shell rattles occur throughout the United States, ranging from California to New York to Florida (Brown 2011). However, in this article, we concentrate on turtle shell rattles in the southeastern United States, and particularly on the difficulty of identifying turtle shell rattles in the archaeological record. ...
... Through a review of several ethnographic and archaeological cases, we developed an object trait list of five common characteristics of rattle manufacturing that can be used to distinguish turtle shell rattles from subsistence remains, including: ceremonial, ritual, or burial association; turtle species preference; carapace and plastron representation; modifications; and rattle implements (Brown 2011). Rattle forms in the southeastern United States include parallel handheld and body (or shackle) types ( Figure 1). ...
... Shawnee, Cherokee, and Absentee of Oklahoma used Terrapene spp. to create body rattles or shackles, which are used by younger women, as opposed to the handheld rattles that are used by mostly men (Brown 2011;Jackson and Levine 2002;Voegelin 1942; Figure 1B-1C). The body rattle has been associated with various ceremonies and dances, such as the Garfish Dance, Green Corn Ceremony, Ribbon Dance, and the Stomp Dance (Dodd 2002:14;Howard 1968:90;Jackson and Levine 2002). ...
The construction of rattles from turtle (Testudines) shells is an important consideration when distinguishing between food and non-food uses of archaeological turtle remains. However, the identification of turtle shell rattles in prehistoric contexts can be quite challenging. Equifinality is a major problem for being able to distinguish rattles from food refuse, particularly when a carapace is not burnt or modified. In addition, diversity, abundance, and distribution of Chelonian taxa varies throughout the southeastern United States, creating differential access for indigenous groups. Thus, multiple lines of evidence are needed from archaeological, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric records to successfully argue for the production and use of turtle shell rattles in the prehistoric southeastern United States. In this article, we present examples of turtle shell rattles in the southeastern United States to highlight their function and use by indigenous groups, the construction process, and several common characteristics, or an object trait list, that can aid in the identification of fragmentary turtle shell rattle remains. Proper identification of turtle remains is important for interpreting faunal remains and may be of interest to indigenous groups claiming cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
... The garfish is represented by a single scale. Both taxa are known to have strong ritual associations from other sites during the Archaic and/or Mississippian periods in Tennessee (Brown, 2011;Peres and Deter-Wolf, 2016a). ...
Ancient Native American use of caves in the Eastern Woodlands occurred throughout the entire span of regional prehistory; however, the ways that these natural features were used varied considerably over time. To date only 25 cave sites containing deposits dated to the Archaic period (ca. 10,000-3000 B.P.) are recorded in the state of Tennessee, representing just 0.4% of the total known Archaic sites. In 2014 the authors conducted a salvage operation, bucket auger survey, and limited testing at the site of Black Cat Cave (40RD299) in Rutherford County, Tennessee to assess looting damage and assist in the installation of a security gate across the cave entrance. These investigations identified Black Cat Cave as the site of significant mortuary activity during the Middle Archaic (ca. 6460-6360 B.P.), and resulted in the recovery of rare Archaic faunal data from a cave setting. Analysis of faunal materials from the site allows us to add important new information to our understanding of ancient Native American landscape use in the Eastern Woodlands during the mid-Holocene.
... Moreover, most zooarchaeological work on tortoises conducted in different regions of the world (mainly from Spain, Italy, South Africa, Israel, Colombia, Caribbean islands, North America, etc.) are part of studies on diet amplitude, paleodemography, taphonomy, environmental changes, taxonomy and other non-food uses (e.g. Sampson, 1998Sampson, , 2000Klein and Cruz Uribe, 2000;Stiner et al., 2000;Speth and Tchernov, 2002;Frazier, 2005;Stahl and Oyuela-Caycedo, 2007;Blasco, 2008;Morales P erez and Sanchis Serra, 2009;Blasco et al., 2011;Brown, 2011;Salazar Garcia et al., 2013;Thompson and Henshilwood, 2014, among others). The researches analyzed not only different regions, but also various cultural contexts and timelines (from the Early Pleistocene to historical moments and ethnographic studies). ...
Zooarchaeological analysis about role of turtles as resource of ancient inhabitants have been approach in different regions of the world, aboard the Broad-Spectrum Revolution and paleodemography frameworks and covering extensive periods of time. In the present work the role of tortoises (Chelonoidis chilensis) is discussed for the Beltrán Onofre Banegas-Lami Hernández site from Chaco-Santiagueña archaeological region (Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina). This site corresponds to the late agro-pottery stage, of short occupation timeline compared to works that treat this subject in the world. The proportion of used resources at the site was estimated and the ethnographic work of the study region and surrounding areas were analyzed to discuss importance of turtles in the diet of ancient inhabitants. In accord with the results C. chilensis was used opportunistically or circumstantially, and it could be more relevant during summer as additional resource next to lizards Tupinambis sp.
