Thursday, September 02, 2004
Prehistoric violence
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Prehistoric violence will be the focus of this year’s Indiana Archaeology Month public lecture September 19 on the University of Southern Indiana campus. Dr. Michael Strezewski, visiting assistant professor of anthropology at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, will present “Native American Warfare in the Late Prehistoric Midwest” at 2 p.m. in Kleymeyer Hall in the Liberal Arts Center. “We know extraordinary amounts of violence occurred during the Historic period, following the arrival of Europeans on the North American continent. However, there has been little research into the nature and frequency of violent behavior in prehistory,” Strezewski said. “My research suggests war and raiding were relatively common among native peoples of the Midwest, and that conflict could sometimes have significant effects on the community. Though warfare was mostly restricted to small-scale raiding, violence could occasionally erupt into larger-scale conflicts that resulted in a significant number of deaths.” In addition to studying warfare, his research also centers on using archaeological data to infer aspects of Native American religion and worldview. Strezewski holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University Bloomington and an M.A. from Southern Illinois University. For the past eight years he has worked in Indiana, focusing on the Late Prehistoric farming peoples of central Indiana. The celebration of Archaeology Month also will include an Excavation Open House September 25-26 at the Hovey Lake archaeological site in Posey County. The open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, rain or shine. Marjorie Jones, USI instructor in anthropology, and her students will be working in a field laboratory during the event and will demonstrate the work archaeologists do with excavated artifacts. The Hovey Lake site is a large village of the late Mississippian Caborn-Welborn culture and dates to about A.D. 1400-1700. The Caborn-Welborn culture represents the last Native American occupation of southern Indiana prior to population disruptions caused by Euro-American contact. Archaeologist Cheryl Ann Munson, research scientist in Indiana University’s Department of Anthropology, has received a grant for continued research and public education programs at the site. The project involves geophysical surveys and test excavations to identify houses, storage pits, and other village features. An added focus this year is determining the function of a deep wall trench discovered in 2003. Students and faculty from IU, USI, and University of Evansville are assisting with the research. Those attending the open house should park at the Hovey Lake Visitors' Center, State Highway 69, and ride the shuttle van to the site. These Archaeology Month events also are a part of USI’s THREADS Diversity Celebration Month. |
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