Archaeological Research at The Great Salt Spring

在过去几个季度考古田野工作的基础上，乔恩·穆勒博士和他的同事们将继续在位于伊利诺伊州南部盐河上的大盐泉遗址进行挖掘。在密西西比时期(约公元900-1500年)被占领，这一大型复杂的遗址曾是盐生产的中心。在盐泉地区的挖掘中发现了大量的实用陶器，这些陶器被用来从咸水中提取盐。食盐被视为一种贸易商品而备受重视。人们对位于悬崖上方的居住区知之甚少，穆勒博士将在这一地区进行调查和挖掘。这将包括测绘，然后是螺旋钻，土壤探测器，和小规模的铲子测试。根据调查结果，将制定抽样策略，并随后进行小规模挖掘。然后，将更大规模地挖掘有前景的地区。这项研究的目标是将食盐生产置于更广泛的社会背景中。密西西比州的社会达到了酋长级别的组织规模，在那里，平等主义社会已经发展成为一种更有等级的组织形式。然而，考古学家们不同意，在这种集中化的规模下，是否发生了劳动专业化，或者特定的任务，如盐的生产，是否由“普通”小组成员兼职执行。在大盐泉居民区的挖掘应该有助于回答这个问题。这项研究很重要，因为它增加了我们对像我们自己这样的复杂社会是如何发展的理解。人类学家知道，随着人口的增加和社会组织变得更加等级化，手工艺专业化在某种程度上会出现。然而，这种情况何时发生还不清楚。据推测，密西西比州的制盐是一个早期的例子。然而，这一论点一直存在争议，穆勒博士的工作应该会提供一个答案。它还将增加我们对美洲原住民史前一个重要但鲜为人知的章节的理解。

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.