essay
Of time and the river: perspectives on health during the Moundville chiefdom
archaeology of the moundville chiefdom • Washington, Dc • Published In 1998 • Pages: 102-119
By: Powell, Mary Lucas.
Abstract
A previous synchronic study of elite and nonelite burials from Moundville indicated that minor variations in adult stature, childhood stress, dental health, trauma, and infectious disease owed more to age and sex than to difference in ranked status. A diachronic reevaluation of these dimensions of health suggests several trends from Moundville I through Moundville III: small increases in stature and diet-related dental disease for adults of both sexes, a decline in severe chronic iron-deficiency anemia among children, and the first clear appearance of endemic treponematosis and tuberculosis in Moundville II. The overall picture conforms logically to the site's changing role from a major population center to the paramount regional mortuary site, as the growing population gradually spread throughout the Black Warrior Valley in secondary - and tertiary - level communities rather than remaining concentrated at Moundville itself (p. 102).
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Eastern Woodlands
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle ; 2005
- Field Date
- no date
- Coverage Date
- 1100 BP - 350 BP (900 A.D. - 1650 A.D.)
- Coverage Place
- Moundville, Black Warrior Valley, Alabama, United States
- Notes
- Mary Lucas Powell
- For bibliographical references see document 21: [Knight and Steponaitis]
- LCCN
- 98006875
- LCSH
- Mississippian culture