Changes in Interpretation in the Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley since 1983

Abstract

The status of archaeological research is summarized since the publication of Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley in 1983. Extensive research dealing with the Paleoindian period and the Pleistocene-Holocene transition has been completed. Fluted points have been found in association with the remains of megafauna, remains of a Paleolama date the extinction of megafauna in the region, and human bone has been identified from the Dalton cemetery at the Sloan site. Plant domestication is believed to have been initiated between 3000–2000 B.C., although corn agriculture is not seen until the Mississippian developments of the ninth century A.D. The route of the 1541–42 DeSoto expedition through the area and associated archaeology has been refined. Extensive work has also been done with Colonial Period sites, especially those of the seventeenth century. New GIS mapping techniques and microwear analyses are enhancing current interpretations of regional archaeology.