Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Cultural Ecology of Muskogee Mound Landscapes

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Around the globe, ancient monuments represent collective (local, ethnic, religious, and national) histories and identities. Under the best circumstances, international, national, and local efforts come together to preserve historical architecture, landscapes, and artifacts. However, recent events, ranging from the destruction of antiquities in the Middle East, to UNESCO's offer to moderate conflicts over the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles, to federal legislation regulating the treatment and repatriation of ancestral Native American human remains and artifacts, demonstrate that material heritage can also be the subject of conflict. Monuments and antiquities, the source and representation of memory and history, take many forms and convey different meanings to different audiences: they may analyzed by scientists, visited by tourists, or revered as sacred places by descendant communities. There are also many ways to write the history and significance of such monuments. However, Indigenous oral histories and cultural perspectives on constructions built by their ancestor have been given little priority or attention in either analysis or interpretation. The research supported by this award addresses the question of what might be gained when descendent communities are included in interpreting ancient places and their meanings. Would it enrich their value for researchers and for the public -- and if so, how does this come about?To address these questions, University of Virginia doctoral student, Lee Bloch, supervised by Dr. Jeffrey L. Hantman, will undertake field research in the eastern United States. The southern part of this region is notable for the continuing presence of very visible but also quite ancient earthen temple mounds, effigy mounds, and burial mounds constructed largely between c. 3500 BCE and 1600 CE by the ancestors of contemporary Native Americans. Although many mound sites were destroyed over the past few centuries, a large number are now protected by federal and state preservation law. The researcher will focus on the mounds in one Muskogee (Creek) tribal town in northern Florida. Using an ethnographic methodology, he will collect data on how community members maintain and interpret histories related to mound sites in five ongoing contexts: pilgrimages to mound sites, recitations of oral traditions, performances of ceremonial practices and dances, apprenticeships with ceremonial leaders and specialists, and community discussions about cosmological knowledge. The investigator hypothesizes that these expressive performances, which could be missed by outsider analysis, may in fact be key elements of what the mounds are and that paying attention to aesthetic principles of these performances may enhance understanding of mound landscapes and artifacts. Findings from this research may further scientific and cultural understanding of Native American history and cultures, as well as how all communities are both affected by and affect the materiality of their landscapes.