Archaeological Research at The Great Salt Spring

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Building on past seasons of archaeological fieldwork, Dr. Jon Muller and his colleagues will continue excavation at the site of Great Salt Spring located on the Saline River in Southern Illinois. Occupied during the Mississippian period (ca. 900 - 1500 A.D.), this large complex site served as a focus for salt production. Consisting of a bluff area overlying a salt spring, excavation in the spring area has revealed large amounts of utilitarian pottery which was used to extract salt from the saline water. Salt was much valued as a trade item. Much less is known about the habitation area situated on the overlying bluff, and Dr. Muller will conduct both survey and excavation in this area. This will consist of mapping followed by auger, soil probe, and small-scale shovel testing. Based on the results, a sampling strategy will be formulated and followed by small scale excavation. Promising areas will then be excavated at a larger scale. The goal of this research is to set salt production into a broader social context. Mississippian society reached a chieftain scale of organization, where an egalitarian society had developed into a more hierarchical form of organization. Archaeologists disagree, however, on whether at this scale of centralization specialization of labor takes place or whether specific tasks, such as salt production, are carried out by "ordinary" group members on a part time basis. Excavation in habitation areas at Great Salt Spring should help to answer this question. This research is important because it increases our understanding of how complex societies such as our own develop. Anthropologists know that as population increases and societal organization becomes more hierarchical, at some point craft specialization emerges. Just when this occurs, however, is unclear. It has been postulated that Mississippian salt making stands as an early example. This contention, however, has been disputed and Dr. Muller's work should provide an answer. It will also increase our understanding of an important but poorly understood chapter of Native American prehistory.