Book Notes: The Archaeology of Southeastern Native American Landscapes of the Colonial Era
One of the great things about planning months is that we get time to slow down and soak in some knowledge! I try to read a couple of books during these months to keep up on current research and learn about new topics, all of which I fold into programming. This month, I thought I'd share some notes from the book I've been reading, The Archaeology of Southeastern Native American Landscapes of the Colonial Era by Charles R. Cobb.
Main focus of book: Cobb explores the landscapes of Native Americans in the Southeastern United States and how they were affected by the colonization of the American Southeast by Europeans and later, Euro-Americans. Cobb spends the first few chapters exploring what landscapes are and how to think about landscapes of some of the Southeastern Native Americans including the Cussita, Catawba, Chikasaws and a few earlier Mississippian-period groups. A "landscape" includes both the human-built environment and the surrounding natural environment, as well as the cultural perspectives on all of it. He looks back to the Mississippian Period, just before the arrival of the Europeans, to track the landscapes through the colonial and federal periods, ending around the time of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
3 Supporting ideas:
1) Cobb tackles the displacement and migration of people, but also draw attention to the emplacement of people in their new location. People were moved, had to move or decided to move, yet this is just the beginning of something. What happened when people got to where they were going? People brought cultural traditions, created new ones or adopted those of their new neighbors. Sometimes two (or more) groups of people became a whole new cultural group.
2) A lot of factors are involved when thinking about the changes that occurred. It's not just a matter of simple demographics, colonial powers or disease.
3) We can't just think in terms of before and after, pre- and post-contact. The arrival of the Europeans wasn't an even that set everything in motion and resulted in drastic changes for native peoples. Rather it was just one more thing the shaped and impacted their lives, be it in pretty drastic ways. Native cultures weren't static before, and certainly did not become static after.
5 take aways
1) I found a lot of the conversation on landscapes very intriguing. How we define landscapes - what is part of one and what is not. How culture creates them and affects how we move through them (and not just literally by building). How we depict them visually.
2) One of the most interesting tidbit was on maps. Europeans tend to draw maps of indigenous knowledge using event transcriptions - literally transcribing geographical or social referents onto European-style maps. However, indigenous created maps show the Southeast as sociograms - physical and social proximity are illustrated using lines and circles of different sizes. Ie, the most important places to the Catawba cartographer below are shown as the biggest circles and closer together than they may be by absolute measurements.
3) Climate change! Cobb discusses how climate fluctuations between about AD 1200 - 1700 affecting native cultures - well, really cultures globally. Environmental changes as a result of these fluctuations put cultural changes and movement into play that continued as the Europeans arrived. There's a lot to be learned from indigenous knowledge on adapting to climate change.
4) The deerskin trade was a major economic force for many years, though it could be an unstable industry based on demands back in Europe as well as every-changing colonial trade rules. I'm amazed we still have large deer populations after reading about the thousands of hides that were shipped out of major settlements throughout the colonial world.
5) Capitalism was a huge force that changed and shaped the entire southeastern landscape. The privatization of land, the influx of commercial goods and new trade partners, and changing ideas about debt were all integral parts of this new system. The shift in the economic landscape of the Southeast caused Native groups to change, adapt and shift their customs as much as any other factor.
The final message: Archaeologists have a lot more work to do in order to tell these deeply complex stories of Native Peoples and changing landscapes in the Southeast. We can draw from new ideas in landscape theory, employ more thoughtful ways of doing archaeology, and draw on native histories and experiences to help unravel some of these complex stories. Through all of the work, we must remember that native people are just that - people! These groups were not static players being impacted and acted on by colonizing forces, but made lots of active decisions and played roles in shaping their own landscapes and identities when faced with the forces.
What will I bring from the books to programming: Some of the big picture ideas on change and continuity in native cultures will definitely influence how I talk about native cultures in some of the standard programs and talks I give. I've also been thinking about creating a talk on Spanish Missions - and feel inspired by some of the commentary on that system found in the book.
Words by Emily Jane Murray, Images from the the book.
Main focus of book: Cobb explores the landscapes of Native Americans in the Southeastern United States and how they were affected by the colonization of the American Southeast by Europeans and later, Euro-Americans. Cobb spends the first few chapters exploring what landscapes are and how to think about landscapes of some of the Southeastern Native Americans including the Cussita, Catawba, Chikasaws and a few earlier Mississippian-period groups. A "landscape" includes both the human-built environment and the surrounding natural environment, as well as the cultural perspectives on all of it. He looks back to the Mississippian Period, just before the arrival of the Europeans, to track the landscapes through the colonial and federal periods, ending around the time of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
3 Supporting ideas:
1) Cobb tackles the displacement and migration of people, but also draw attention to the emplacement of people in their new location. People were moved, had to move or decided to move, yet this is just the beginning of something. What happened when people got to where they were going? People brought cultural traditions, created new ones or adopted those of their new neighbors. Sometimes two (or more) groups of people became a whole new cultural group.
2) A lot of factors are involved when thinking about the changes that occurred. It's not just a matter of simple demographics, colonial powers or disease.
3) We can't just think in terms of before and after, pre- and post-contact. The arrival of the Europeans wasn't an even that set everything in motion and resulted in drastic changes for native peoples. Rather it was just one more thing the shaped and impacted their lives, be it in pretty drastic ways. Native cultures weren't static before, and certainly did not become static after.
5 take aways
1) I found a lot of the conversation on landscapes very intriguing. How we define landscapes - what is part of one and what is not. How culture creates them and affects how we move through them (and not just literally by building). How we depict them visually.
2) One of the most interesting tidbit was on maps. Europeans tend to draw maps of indigenous knowledge using event transcriptions - literally transcribing geographical or social referents onto European-style maps. However, indigenous created maps show the Southeast as sociograms - physical and social proximity are illustrated using lines and circles of different sizes. Ie, the most important places to the Catawba cartographer below are shown as the biggest circles and closer together than they may be by absolute measurements.
3) Climate change! Cobb discusses how climate fluctuations between about AD 1200 - 1700 affecting native cultures - well, really cultures globally. Environmental changes as a result of these fluctuations put cultural changes and movement into play that continued as the Europeans arrived. There's a lot to be learned from indigenous knowledge on adapting to climate change.
4) The deerskin trade was a major economic force for many years, though it could be an unstable industry based on demands back in Europe as well as every-changing colonial trade rules. I'm amazed we still have large deer populations after reading about the thousands of hides that were shipped out of major settlements throughout the colonial world.
5) Capitalism was a huge force that changed and shaped the entire southeastern landscape. The privatization of land, the influx of commercial goods and new trade partners, and changing ideas about debt were all integral parts of this new system. The shift in the economic landscape of the Southeast caused Native groups to change, adapt and shift their customs as much as any other factor.
The final message: Archaeologists have a lot more work to do in order to tell these deeply complex stories of Native Peoples and changing landscapes in the Southeast. We can draw from new ideas in landscape theory, employ more thoughtful ways of doing archaeology, and draw on native histories and experiences to help unravel some of these complex stories. Through all of the work, we must remember that native people are just that - people! These groups were not static players being impacted and acted on by colonizing forces, but made lots of active decisions and played roles in shaping their own landscapes and identities when faced with the forces.
What will I bring from the books to programming: Some of the big picture ideas on change and continuity in native cultures will definitely influence how I talk about native cultures in some of the standard programs and talks I give. I've also been thinking about creating a talk on Spanish Missions - and feel inspired by some of the commentary on that system found in the book.
Words by Emily Jane Murray, Images from the the book.