Risky Landscapes: Koshkonong Oneota Subsistence, Settlement, and Politics
Dr. Richard W. Edwards, Ph.D., RPA
February 19, 2018, 7:00 pm
Sabin Hall G90
Abstract
Late Prehistoric of the Great Lakes region was a time of significant cultural and environmental shifts. The relatively sudden arrival of Middle and Upper Mississippian material culture in the archaeological record is associated with cooling temperatures, fluctuating rainfall, aggregated populations, and a significant reliance on agricultural foods.These changes brought new challenges, particularly associated with food security. The research presented here explores the ways that these risks were mitigated in the Koshkonong Locality of southeastern Wisconsin, and how these strategies affected daily life and both inter and intragroup politics. A combination of paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeological isotopes (canine surrogacy approach), and landscape analyses were used to interpret Koshkonong risk management systems.