Megan C Kassabaum
Biographic Data
| ID | 268849 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Megan C Kassabaum |
| GIVEN NAMES | Megan C |
| FAMILY NAME | Kassabaum |
| SIGNATURE | KASSABAUM M C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pennsylvania |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8231-4032 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 62 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Odd deposits
The archaeological record of the Lower Mississippi Valley represents a long history of Indigenous people making wide and variable use of the region's exceptionally rich ecosystems. Often, archaeological interpretations of these interactions focus on subsistence and do not take into consideration non-food uses of plants and animals. Our excavations at two Coles Creek (AD 750–1000) mound centers, Feltus and Smith Creek, yielded curious concentratio…
The Nature of Feasting at Feltus (and Beyond)
My recent article offered a model by which to better classify feasts by distinguishing between archaeological correlates of group size and sociopolitical competition. Applying this model to remains from a precontact mound site, I highlighted feasting's role in promoting group solidarity in the American South. Hayden's comment argues that my scheme does not accommodate certain types of events, and it questions my noncompetitive interpretation. I a…
A Method for Conceptualizing and Classifying Feasting
This article contributes to an ongoing critical examination of feasting by developing a classification scheme that emphasizes the variable contexts in which feasts have occurred. Many recent archaeological and ethnographic accounts have focused on the political and economic roles feasts play in creating power and status differences among participants, while others have highlighted how they build community and increase solidarity within a group. M…
Social Subsistence
Early Platforms, Early Plazas
Residue analysis of smoking pipe fragments from the Feltus archaeological site, Southeastern North America
Standing Posts and Special Substances
Because it immediately precedes the Mississippi period, Coles Creek (A.D. 700–1200) culture is often viewed through the lens of Mississippian social organization. In particular, early platform mound-and-plaza complexes have long been understood as elite compounds due to their physical similarities with later sites. However, evidence regarding the construction and use of the monumental landscape at the Feltus site (22JE500) in Jefferson County, MS…
Between Surface and Summit
Geophysical methods that explore depths more than 1 m below the surface were employed at Feltus (22Je500), a Coles Creek period ( ad 700–1200) mound‐and‐plaza group in southwestern Mississippi, USA. It is difficult to assess the internal structure of large platform mounds such as those at Feltus using excavation and traditional geophysical techniques alone. As a result, such investigations often focus only on activities that took place during and…
What I Believe About What You Believe
Taken together, the papers published in this volume demonstrate that Southeastern archaeologists are theoretically eclectic, are borrowers and users of theory, are reflexive and collaborative, and are modest and unaggressive when discussing their theoretical inclinations. This paper clarifies the positive and negative outcomes of these characteristics and suggests ways to encourage the benefits while discouraging the drawbacks. I advocate being c…
Looking Beyond the Obvious
While the lack of grave goods has been the focus of most scholarly discussion of Coles Creek burial practices, the mortuary analyses presented here focus on recognizing correspondences among sex, age, and burial position. Using assemblages from three Coles Creek sites (Greenhouse, Lake George, and Mount Nebo), I find that while there is significant intersite variability among Coles Creek mortuary programs, certain age groups are consistently trea…
Early Platforms, Early Plazas
Standing Posts and Special Substances
Because it immediately precedes the Mississippi period, Coles Creek (A.D. 700–1200) culture is often viewed through the lens of Mississippian social organization. In particular, early platform mound-and-plaza complexes have long been understood as elite compounds due to their physical similarities with later sites. However, evidence regarding the construction and use of the monumental landscape at the Feltus site (22JE500) in Jefferson County, MS…
A Method for Conceptualizing and Classifying Feasting
This article contributes to an ongoing critical examination of feasting by developing a classification scheme that emphasizes the variable contexts in which feasts have occurred. Many recent archaeological and ethnographic accounts have focused on the political and economic roles feasts play in creating power and status differences among participants, while others have highlighted how they build community and increase solidarity within a group. M…
Between Surface and Summit
Geophysical methods that explore depths more than 1 m below the surface were employed at Feltus (22Je500), a Coles Creek period ( ad 700–1200) mound‐and‐plaza group in southwestern Mississippi, USA. It is difficult to assess the internal structure of large platform mounds such as those at Feltus using excavation and traditional geophysical techniques alone. As a result, such investigations often focus only on activities that took place during and…
Looking Beyond the Obvious
While the lack of grave goods has been the focus of most scholarly discussion of Coles Creek burial practices, the mortuary analyses presented here focus on recognizing correspondences among sex, age, and burial position. Using assemblages from three Coles Creek sites (Greenhouse, Lake George, and Mount Nebo), I find that while there is significant intersite variability among Coles Creek mortuary programs, certain age groups are consistently trea…
Residue analysis of smoking pipe fragments from the Feltus archaeological site, Southeastern North America
What I Believe About What You Believe
Taken together, the papers published in this volume demonstrate that Southeastern archaeologists are theoretically eclectic, are borrowers and users of theory, are reflexive and collaborative, and are modest and unaggressive when discussing their theoretical inclinations. This paper clarifies the positive and negative outcomes of these characteristics and suggests ways to encourage the benefits while discouraging the drawbacks. I advocate being c…
Looking Beyond the Obvious
While the lack of grave goods has been the focus of most scholarly discussion of Coles Creek burial practices, the mortuary analyses presented here focus on recognizing correspondences among sex, age, and burial position. Using assemblages from three Coles Creek sites (Greenhouse, Lake George, and Mount Nebo), I find that while there is significant intersite variability among Coles Creek mortuary programs, certain age groups are consistently trea…
Between Surface and Summit
Geophysical methods that explore depths more than 1 m below the surface were employed at Feltus (22Je500), a Coles Creek period ( ad 700–1200) mound‐and‐plaza group in southwestern Mississippi, USA. It is difficult to assess the internal structure of large platform mounds such as those at Feltus using excavation and traditional geophysical techniques alone. As a result, such investigations often focus only on activities that took place during and…
What I Believe About What You Believe
Taken together, the papers published in this volume demonstrate that Southeastern archaeologists are theoretically eclectic, are borrowers and users of theory, are reflexive and collaborative, and are modest and unaggressive when discussing their theoretical inclinations. This paper clarifies the positive and negative outcomes of these characteristics and suggests ways to encourage the benefits while discouraging the drawbacks. I advocate being c…
Standing Posts and Special Substances
Because it immediately precedes the Mississippi period, Coles Creek (A.D. 700–1200) culture is often viewed through the lens of Mississippian social organization. In particular, early platform mound-and-plaza complexes have long been understood as elite compounds due to their physical similarities with later sites. However, evidence regarding the construction and use of the monumental landscape at the Feltus site (22JE500) in Jefferson County, MS…
Residue analysis of smoking pipe fragments from the Feltus archaeological site, Southeastern North America
Social Subsistence
Early Platforms, Early Plazas
A Method for Conceptualizing and Classifying Feasting
This article contributes to an ongoing critical examination of feasting by developing a classification scheme that emphasizes the variable contexts in which feasts have occurred. Many recent archaeological and ethnographic accounts have focused on the political and economic roles feasts play in creating power and status differences among participants, while others have highlighted how they build community and increase solidarity within a group. M…
The Nature of Feasting at Feltus (and Beyond)
My recent article offered a model by which to better classify feasts by distinguishing between archaeological correlates of group size and sociopolitical competition. Applying this model to remains from a precontact mound site, I highlighted feasting's role in promoting group solidarity in the American South. Hayden's comment argues that my scheme does not accommodate certain types of events, and it questions my noncompetitive interpretation. I a…
Odd deposits
The archaeological record of the Lower Mississippi Valley represents a long history of Indigenous people making wide and variable use of the region's exceptionally rich ecosystems. Often, archaeological interpretations of these interactions focus on subsistence and do not take into consideration non-food uses of plants and animals. Our excavations at two Coles Creek (AD 750–1000) mound centers, Feltus and Smith Creek, yielded curious concentratio…
Archaeology (10 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · History (6 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (5 works) · History (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Anthropology (3 works) · Ecology (3 works) · Engineering (3 works)