The Archaic Culture in the Middle South

Abstract

Data from 22 Archaic sites in four ecologically similar regions in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia are compared to provide a synthesis of Archaic materials dating from the Anathermal to the first centuries of the Christian era in the Middle South. Stratigraphic evidence and radiocarbon dates make possible the establishment of two local sequences in western Tennessee where 15 components from ten sites can be assigned to six phases. These components are compared in terms of 83 traits through the use of the Z-coefficient described by Kroeber. Both the archaeological and the statistical analyses suggest the presence of two contemporaneous Archaic traditions in the area. The validity of this interpretation is tested by comparing the Tennessee materials with those from the Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia regions, again with the aid of the Z-coefficient. The Archaic phases of all four regions are assigned to the two traditions: Midcontinent tradition—Eva, Three Mile, Big Sandy (Tenn.), Indian Knoll, unnamed phase which includes the Parish, Ward, and Chiggerville sites (Ky.); Eastern tradition—Stallings Island (Ga.), Lauderdale (Ala.), Kays, Weldon, Ledbetter (Tenn.). The contacts between the Archaic and Woodland traditions and the lack of contact with Early Lithic cultures are discussed.