Geographic Range of Bison in Southeastern U.S. by Wayne Van Horne
Previous researchers have extended the range of
the American bison (Bison bison) to include the s... more Previous researchers have extended the range of
the American bison (Bison bison) to include the state of
Georgia, yet there have not been any verifiable osteological
remains of bison found at archaeological sites in the state.
A critical examination of the data used to establish this
range demonstrates that much of it is based on unsubstantiated historical accounts, toponyms that were believed to be evidence of the historical occurrence of bison, and unverifiable nineteenth-century accounts of osteological evidence. Credible accounts indicate that the Spanish did not find any evidence of bison in Georgia in the sixteenth century,
but by the early eighteenth century bison had migrated into
an area of South Carolina adjacent to the upper Savannah
River and into the lower Chattahoochee River basin.
Eighteenth-century British settlers also reported buffalo in
the Coastal Plain, but evidence suggests they may have mistaken feral Spanish cattle for bison. This assessment of the
evidence indicates that bison did not range into Georgia
until the late seventeenth century, possibly due to reduced
predation by hunters after the demographic collapse of Mississippian societies. They were therefore only present in the
upper Savannah River and lower Chattahoochee River basins
for a brief period of time.
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Mississipian Period Warfare by Wayne Van Horne
Ethnohistorical and archeological data, including
historical descriptions of warclubs and warclub... more Ethnohistorical and archeological data, including
historical descriptions of warclubs and warclub use,
ethnographic reports, Southeastern myths, Mississippian
iconography, skeletal fractures of Mississippian burials,
and archaeological specimens of warclubs are analyzed in
order to determine the significance of warclubs in
Mississippian and early historic Southeastern Indian
societies. Warclub types and techniques of use are
examined, and evidence of their use as a symbol of the
status of Mississippian military elites and chiefs is
presented. The warclub is also analyzed as a symbol in
Southeastern cosmology, especially of the Thunder deity,
which was used to symbolize the status and cosmological
authority of warriors and chiefs. Persistence into the
historic period of the symbolic use of warclubs in the Green
Corn Ceremony, the ball game, and the Redstick uprising, as
well as their use in warfare, is examined. A synthesis of
this data supports the view that Mississippian warfare was
fueled by competition for status within societies, that
warclubs were the primary symbol of warfare and the
cosmologically sanctioned status of the warrior, and that
they symbolized the cosmologically charted role of the
warrior to compete for status and participate in warfare.
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This is a revision of my 1993 dissertation "The Warclub: Weapon and Symbol in Southeastern Indian... more This is a revision of my 1993 dissertation "The Warclub: Weapon and Symbol in Southeastern Indian Societies". It is an unpublished manuscript.
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Religious Military Orders by Wayne Van Horne
Comparative ethnohistorical research demonstrates that religious-military orders in feudal socie... more Comparative ethnohistorical research demonstrates that religious-military orders in feudal societies in diverse regions shared a common developmental and organizational pattern. The genesis of these orders occurred in feudal societies which lacked standing armies and were subjected to major external military threats impinging on territory of significance to a religious group. After forming, these orders were subsequently given support by political elites and developed administrative bureaucracies, standing armies, self-supporting economic bases, and regional financial systems which supported their activities. These financial systems ultimately facilitated regional economic exchange. The power and wealth of each of these orders eventually led to conflict with political elites and they were abolished. This pattern existed for orders in Japan, Europe, and Islamic North Africa and the Middle East. In the European case the regional economic and financial system created by the Templars can be viewed as a possible precursor to the development of financial institutions in the formation of the world economic system.
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Geographic Range of Bison in Southeastern U.S. by Wayne Van Horne
the American bison (Bison bison) to include the state of
Georgia, yet there have not been any verifiable osteological
remains of bison found at archaeological sites in the state.
A critical examination of the data used to establish this
range demonstrates that much of it is based on unsubstantiated historical accounts, toponyms that were believed to be evidence of the historical occurrence of bison, and unverifiable nineteenth-century accounts of osteological evidence. Credible accounts indicate that the Spanish did not find any evidence of bison in Georgia in the sixteenth century,
but by the early eighteenth century bison had migrated into
an area of South Carolina adjacent to the upper Savannah
River and into the lower Chattahoochee River basin.
Eighteenth-century British settlers also reported buffalo in
the Coastal Plain, but evidence suggests they may have mistaken feral Spanish cattle for bison. This assessment of the
evidence indicates that bison did not range into Georgia
until the late seventeenth century, possibly due to reduced
predation by hunters after the demographic collapse of Mississippian societies. They were therefore only present in the
upper Savannah River and lower Chattahoochee River basins
for a brief period of time.
Mississipian Period Warfare by Wayne Van Horne
historical descriptions of warclubs and warclub use,
ethnographic reports, Southeastern myths, Mississippian
iconography, skeletal fractures of Mississippian burials,
and archaeological specimens of warclubs are analyzed in
order to determine the significance of warclubs in
Mississippian and early historic Southeastern Indian
societies. Warclub types and techniques of use are
examined, and evidence of their use as a symbol of the
status of Mississippian military elites and chiefs is
presented. The warclub is also analyzed as a symbol in
Southeastern cosmology, especially of the Thunder deity,
which was used to symbolize the status and cosmological
authority of warriors and chiefs. Persistence into the
historic period of the symbolic use of warclubs in the Green
Corn Ceremony, the ball game, and the Redstick uprising, as
well as their use in warfare, is examined. A synthesis of
this data supports the view that Mississippian warfare was
fueled by competition for status within societies, that
warclubs were the primary symbol of warfare and the
cosmologically sanctioned status of the warrior, and that
they symbolized the cosmologically charted role of the
warrior to compete for status and participate in warfare.
Religious Military Orders by Wayne Van Horne
the American bison (Bison bison) to include the state of
Georgia, yet there have not been any verifiable osteological
remains of bison found at archaeological sites in the state.
A critical examination of the data used to establish this
range demonstrates that much of it is based on unsubstantiated historical accounts, toponyms that were believed to be evidence of the historical occurrence of bison, and unverifiable nineteenth-century accounts of osteological evidence. Credible accounts indicate that the Spanish did not find any evidence of bison in Georgia in the sixteenth century,
but by the early eighteenth century bison had migrated into
an area of South Carolina adjacent to the upper Savannah
River and into the lower Chattahoochee River basin.
Eighteenth-century British settlers also reported buffalo in
the Coastal Plain, but evidence suggests they may have mistaken feral Spanish cattle for bison. This assessment of the
evidence indicates that bison did not range into Georgia
until the late seventeenth century, possibly due to reduced
predation by hunters after the demographic collapse of Mississippian societies. They were therefore only present in the
upper Savannah River and lower Chattahoochee River basins
for a brief period of time.
historical descriptions of warclubs and warclub use,
ethnographic reports, Southeastern myths, Mississippian
iconography, skeletal fractures of Mississippian burials,
and archaeological specimens of warclubs are analyzed in
order to determine the significance of warclubs in
Mississippian and early historic Southeastern Indian
societies. Warclub types and techniques of use are
examined, and evidence of their use as a symbol of the
status of Mississippian military elites and chiefs is
presented. The warclub is also analyzed as a symbol in
Southeastern cosmology, especially of the Thunder deity,
which was used to symbolize the status and cosmological
authority of warriors and chiefs. Persistence into the
historic period of the symbolic use of warclubs in the Green
Corn Ceremony, the ball game, and the Redstick uprising, as
well as their use in warfare, is examined. A synthesis of
this data supports the view that Mississippian warfare was
fueled by competition for status within societies, that
warclubs were the primary symbol of warfare and the
cosmologically sanctioned status of the warrior, and that
they symbolized the cosmologically charted role of the
warrior to compete for status and participate in warfare.