Archaeology of the Iroquois

Archaeology of the Iroquois
Author: Jordan E. Kerber
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 616
Release: 2007-07-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780815631392

This timely volume offers a compilation of twenty-four articles covering a wide spectrum of topics in Iroquoian archaeology. Culled from leading publications, the pieces collectively represent the current state of knowledge and research in the field. A comprehensive research bibliography with more than 500 entries will be a key resource for specialists and non-specialists alike. Both text and bibliography are structured in five sections: Origins; Precolumbian Dynamics; Postcolumbian Dynamics; Material Culture Studies; and Contemporary Iroquois Perspectives, Repatriation, and Collaborative Archaeology. Along with seminal essays by major figures in regional archaeology, the book includes responses by Haudenosaunee writers to the political context of contemporary archaeological work. This collection will prove indispensable to scholars in all areas of Iroquois studies, students and teachers of Iroquoian archaeology, and professional and avocational archaeologists in the United States and Canada.

Origins of the Iroquois League

Origins of the Iroquois League
Author: Anthony Wonderley
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2019-12-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0815654928

The League of the Iroquois, the most famous native government in North America, dominated intertribal diplomacy in the Northeast and influenced the course of American colonial history for nearly two centuries. The age and early development of the League, however, have long been in dispute. In this highly original book, two anthropological archaeologists with differing approaches and distinct regional interests synthesize their research to explore the underpinnings of the confederacy. Wonderley and Sempowski endeavor to address such issues as when tribes coalesced, when intertribal alliances presaging the League were forged, when the five-nation confederation came to fruition, and what light oral tradition may shine on these developments. This groundbreaking work develops a new conversation in the field of Indigenous studies, one that deepens our understanding of the Iroquois League’s origins.

Onondaga Iroquois Prehistory

Onondaga Iroquois Prehistory
Author: James A. Tuck
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1990-09-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780815625117

The book opens with a brief historical outline of Onondaga culture and a sketch of the major developments in Iroquois prehistory. Each site is described, with a short account of its discovery, location in relation to other sites and natural features, testing and excavations, and artifacts. The site descriptions are arranged in chronological “phases”— Castle Creek, Oak Hill, Chance, and Garoga—based upon William A. Ritchie’s classification. In the last chapter, Professor Tuck summaries his wealth of data and interprets the origin and development of Onondaga culture in view of his archaeological findings, which also make us of radiocarbon dating techniques. The illustrations are an essential part of the book. Forty-four plates show arrowpoints, ceramic sherds, post molds revealing outlines of longhouses, cooking pits, occasional human burials, smoking pipes, and much more. Eight figures provide maps of sites, specific details of excavations, and a chronological sequence of Onondaga villages. Twenty-one tales give the frequencies and percentages of smoking pipe varieties, faunal remains, ceramic types, and other items discovered in the field work. An appendix includes techniques of ceramic analysis and many line drawings of ceramic varieties.

Iroquoia

Iroquoia
Author: William Engelbrecht
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2005-09-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780815630609

In a book that spans the Iroquoian culture from its ancient roots to its survival in the modern world, William Engelbrecht maintains that two themes pervade this development: warfare and spirituality. An investigation of oral tradition, archaeology, and historical records provides new insight into this now largely vanished world known as Iroquoia. Engelbrecht covers a wide geographic range, exploring regional and temporal differences in material culture and subsistence patterns. He finds change over time in the distribution and size of communities and in response to environmental demographic, and social factors. In addition, he furthers the controversial debate that "arrow sacrifice" and other beliefs spread from Mesoamerica with the dispersal of maize and horticulture. Although scholars have suggested that palisaded hilltop Iroquoian villages were constructed with an eye for defense, this book is unique in showing that the longhouse—known mainly as a community forum and spiritual place—may also have served as a defense structure. Throughout this work, which will become the new standard text to which scholars will refer, Engelbrecht reminds us that the the study of the Iroquoian people continues to enrich and inform the modern world.

The Iroquois

The Iroquois
Author: Connie R. Miller
Publisher: Lake Street Pubs
Total Pages:
Release: 2003-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781584170457

Demonstrates how archaeological digs have contributed to knowledge of the Iroquois people and their culture.

The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord

The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord
Author: Ronald F. Williamson
Publisher: University of Ottawa Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2023-03-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 077663982X

In the mid-to late 1660s and early 1670s, the Haudenosaunee established a series of settlements at strategic locations along the trade routes inland at short distances from the north shore of Lake Ontario. From east to west, these communities consisted of Ganneious, on Napanee or Hay Bay, on the Bay of Quinte; Kenté, near the isthmus of the Quinte Peninsula; Ganaraské, at the mouth of the Ganaraska River; Quintio, on Rice Lake; Ganatsekwyagon, near the mouth of the Rouge River; Teiaiagon, near the mouth of the Humber River; and Qutinaouatoua, inland from the western end of Lake Ontario. All of these settlements likely contained people from several Haudenosaunee nations as well as former Ontario Iroquoians who had been adopted by the Haudenosaunee. These self-sufficient places acted as bases for their own inhabitants but also served as stopovers for south shore Haudenosaunee on their way to and from the beaver hunt beyond the lower Great Lakes. The Cayuga village of Kenté was where, in 1668, the Sulpicians established a mission by the same name, which became the basis for the region’s later name of Quinte. In 1676, a short-lived subsidiary mission was established at Teiaiagon. It appears that most of the north shore villages were abandoned by 1688. This volume brings together traditional Indigenous knowledge as well as documentary and recent archaeological evidence of this period and focuses on describing the historical context and efforts to find the settlements and presents examinations of the unique material culture found at them and at similar communities in the Haudenosaunee homeland. Available formats: trade paperback and accessible PDF

Iroquoian Archaeology and Analytic Scale

Iroquoian Archaeology and Analytic Scale
Author: Laurie E. Miroff
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 1572335734

A more robust archaeological interpretation can be produced if a multiscalar approach is brought to bear on the study of the past. In Iroquoian Archaeology and Analytic Scale, ten contributors conducting studies of groups centered around New York State and southern Ontario present contemporary research focused not only on examining the role of scale and how it impacts the field of Iroquoian studies, but also how archaeologists studying other Native Americans can expand their own research. Specifically, the contributors employ a variety of spatial, temporal, and methodological scales to reveal patterns and insights into the cultural interactions that might otherwise be missed by a less multiscalar approach. Furthermore, the diversity of research spans nearly a millennium, from A.D. 900 to 1800, and encompasses several different topographical settings, including major river floodplains, upland headwater areas, and terraces along smaller tributaries, yielding a plethora of current findings from the largest of villages to the smallest of seasonal campsites. Laurie E. Miroff and Timothy D. Knapp have organized these essays in roughly chronological fashion and provide an introduction that addresses the importance of a multiscalar analysis. This volume of Iroquoian-specific yet wide-ranging essays will be of interest to anyone specializing in Native American studies in the Northeast. It will also benefit archaeologists who wish to gain a better understanding of how using a multiscalar approach in their own research can be an integral step toward a more dynamic view of the Native American lived experience. Laurie E. Miroff is an adjunct professor of anthropology at Binghamton University and a project director at the Public Archaeology Facility, Binghamton University. She is associate editor of Northeast Anthropology, and her articles have appeared in Northeast Historical Archaeology and other journals. Timothy D. Knapp is Assistant to the Director for Prehistoric Research at the Public Archaeology Facility at Binghamton University.

The Influence of the Iroquois

The Influence of the Iroquois
Author: Arthur Caswell Parker
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-07-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9781019425589

In this groundbreaking study, Parker argues that the ancient Iroquoian civilization had a profound influence on the history and archaeology of the Wyoming Valley and other regions of Pennsylvania. Parker draws on archaeological evidence, as well as historical and linguistic analysis, to make his case. This book is an important contribution to our understanding of Native American history and culture. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

At the Font of the Marvelous

At the Font of the Marvelous
Author: Anthony Wonderley
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2009-06-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780815632078

The folktales and myths of the Iroquois and their Algonquian neighbors rank among the most imaginatively rich and narratively co-herent traditions in North America. Inspired by these wondrous tales, Anthony Wonderley explores their significance to Iroquois and Algonquian religions and worldviews. Mostly recorded around 1900, these oral narratives preserve the voice and something of the outlook of autochthonous Americans from a bygone age, when storytelling was an important facet of daily life. Grouping the stories around shared themes and motifs, Wonderley analyzes topics ranging from cannibal giants to cultural heroes, and from legends of local places to myths of human origin. Approached comparatively and historically, these stories can enrich our understanding of archaeological remains, ethnic boundaries, and past cultural interchanges among Iroquois and Algonquian peoples.