Talk:Protohistory of West Virginia

Cleanup

I estimate that 25% of this article actually concerns West Virginia history of any kind, let alone the primary topic of the protohistoric period. One could probably cut 75,000 bytes of unrelated material from the current article of 101,455 bytes before one got it down to the actual subject of the article. The majority of the extraneous subjects actually have articles of their own, bluelinks to Mississippian culture, Caddoan Mississippian culture, Fort Ancient and plenty of others would suffice, rather than laying out enormous explanations for said other subjects, some of which have no connection to WVA protohistory at all. Is anyone interested in helping to copyedit it? Heiro 03:19, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Your writing only concentrates on Western Fort Ancient stressing only certain phases, ignoring so many other scientest's work and the other variants of Eastern Fort Ancient. The qustion as to where did certain late neighboring attributes of arrivals or where and who arrived in West Virginia is part of the Archaeological Societies considerations of the citations within the article. Some wiki articles is so narrow in scope and stressing a particular location. Example is to quote, " Drooker reexplores a century of excavation to explain how Contact Period events affected Madisonville inhabitants and their links to eastern Ft. Ancient, northern Ohio, Iroquoian, Oneota, and Mississipian groups. 1997. 390 pp, 71 tables, 224 figs, $28. ISBN 978-0-915703-42-5. [2]. This is an article concerning a history and those who effected it with citations and format of the scholastics with a major in history and/or archaeology similar to their books and papers. These professionals write of neighbors effecting the state's history in certain terms that is ignored in other wiki articles. This article reflects the method of these professional teachers and speakers at our regional Society Public Lectures which includes Ohio and other state's scientists who mention these and are included in these studies from the perspective of or area. BTW, diagnostic Fort Ancient pottery is the method of tempering not the so many various kinds of decorations. Do what you, illustrating artistm, but what you think. Macht nichts. Your writings sayz a lot about you. And me? A partial descendant of those Scioto Shawnee (Grandma Silvia) and local partial Iroquois who married into the early colonial arrivals here. And, a member of the West Virginia Archaelogical Society, past military/civil instructor (Late Nam era TRADOC, Conaughy (talk) 22:48, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

The content should fit the article's title. Of course surrounding cultures would be mentioned in passing but the bulk of non-West Virginia material should be left to other articles. Please read through Wikipedia:Manual of Style. -Uyvsdi (talk) 00:19, 26 February 2011 (UTC)Uyvsdi

Yes, of coarse Uyvsdi. Some of the articles are so narrow in scope though, not providing context to link to. But, yes, some of the extraneous of the distant people could and should be removed or edited down for sake of size of article and better wiki-linking. Otherwise, the local kids would have to go to the libaray, like our generational kids did, for a book for the rest of the story, maybe. Some attend local lectures that some article here have confused the local younger folk questioning. The article does need edited by a broader minded wiki editor, like you, maybe? There is to be found many fine wiki-articles, thus why I bothered myself in creating this article, by request. Conaughy (talk) 00:41, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

I do realize my editing in the Fort Ancient subject so far has concentrated more on the western Fort Ancient, but in my defense, the Fort Ancient culture was so sparingly represented before that what I have added has greatly expanded it. I do have plans to add more for the eastern variety. But, that has nothing to do with my concerns for this article. My concerns for this article revolve around your editing lately. Don't take this the wrong way, but your recent edits have become hard to understand. You have started adding snippets of information almost devoid of context. Your footnotes are sometimes only names with dates or page numbers (and I know many of these are artifacts from copy and paste from the original, which brings up a second issue of copyvios), and very little pointers to the actual work where the information came from, making them almost useless as citations. I appreciate all the work you've done with this and other articles, but it comes to naught if it is unreadable or unverifiable. I too wish to provide a great source of information about these subjects to younger viewers, an easier way of finding, accessing, and learning this information than I had, but it does no good if it can not be understood by the readers. This is why I asked for neutral parties to examine the articles/situation and see what their opinions were on the situation. With a little bit of collaboration and team work, this can be a great article and a great source of information. And just to let you know, I'm also of partial Shawnee ancestry. Although why that would matter in writing this article is still out of my ken. Heiro

Content moved over from Prehistory of West Virginia article

This is material from Prehistory of West Virginia dealing with 1550 CE and later, which would belong in the protohistory article. If you need to find the context for the following text, look here.

• The 17th century saw both extended drought and colder seasons contributing towards an infux that pushed the Monongahela people from the broad bottom lands. The grown number of villagers may have been battling over food of another village up to the culture's end date of 1635, according to some scholars. There is evidence they were failing to poor health conditions along the Pennsylvania border area. In the E area of West Virginia, there is further evidence of Susquehannock movement into and habitation such as the Mouth of the Seneca (46Pd1) and Pancake Island (46Hm73). Into most of the 16th century, the western river bottom archaeological sites in the state show no evidence of European trade. The Monongahela culture extends a little later in West Virginia than traditional spanning dates (CRAI: 46MG75A, Belldina Bottom, Monongahela, cal. 1657 CE, Maslowski 1988).

• The Snidow Site (46MC1), multi-component site (strata), Mercer County, quoting the Council for West Virginia Archaeology summary, "The rimsherds were recovered through waterscreening from lower floodplain features, many of which produced protohistoric glass beads and copper and brass artifacts dating to 1600-1650 CE." It is thought examples of these among other of the Mountain State's sites are evidence of "inter-tribal" trade during the later of the phase, Bluestone, and this continued "trans-Native American" trade to the European contact areas.

• The 1699 "Shattera" was reported on the Big Sandy (O'Callaghan 1856), Swanton's Toteras element of Tutelo.

• The neighboring Fort Ancient Montour Phase (1550—1750 CE) of northeast Kentucky to the Big Sandy Valley area has been compared to late southwest Protohistoric sites in the state. The rise of a "Miami-Potawatomi" pattern (1550—1750 CE) may have brought dispersed winter hunters during the protohistoric and earliest historic in the state and perhaps corresponds to the Montour phase in north-east Kentucky (Carmean 2009). The Hardin Village site had clustered houses similar with, but, smaller than Iroquoian-type "longhouses" (Huron type, Fenton[1978:303]) and a little larger than a "Mohawk" structure. The houses had no mud-daubed sides, suggesting bark, thatched or skin sided rectangular houses. They were similar to the Kanawha Valley "Buffalo" Village (46CB40) site in structure (Hanson 1975 and Holmes 1994:56). However, Buffalo Village (46CB40) houses for each occupational period clearly surrounded a centralized plaza within the stockaded village rather than in clusters within the stockaded village. It was suggested that the earlier portion of Hardin Village houses were rebuilt causing the appearance of clusters rather than circular orientation within the walled village strata (portion) of the site. This location, overall, was occupied for a much longer continuous duration by a variation of people. Hardin Village site was abandoned by 1625 according to Drooker and Cowen 2001:101; Graybill 1981; Pollack and Henderson 1983. Death by warfare increased after 1650 through the Traditional Fort Ancient region (Drooker and Cowan 2001:83-106). Village population increased late in the period for two probable reasons according Dr McMichael. One suspected reason was increased maize production by companion crop method or smaller villages joined others for warfare defense. A few late villages show two palisaded walls and two rows of houses. The rectanguloid of about 18x30 feet increases in size to the about 25x50 feet rectangular house structure. Late village population ranged 1000~1500 (McMichael 1968:37).

• Orchard (CE 1550~1650) town was not palisaded. These towns are rather open with a lineal orientation of the houses more often above the flood bottoms on broad rolling hill flats. Here, there was little wetland with mud bottoms and mosquitoe pools. Offset and just below the Fort Ancient level, a strata of Woodland Indian was found at the Orchard site on the second terrace above the flood bottom. Orchard people appear in the protohistoric period. Their shell tempered pottery varies and some at the type site are similar to two Ohio sites. This period in the greater region is of acculturation of tribes. Remaining of remanent indigenous people is anthropologically unknown, although their tribal villages did not survive for this represents a culture changing. The latter of the Orchard Phase is during the "Refugee Culture" as sometimes called in W Pennsylvania. Traditional history has the state's Fort Ancient attacked and destroyed. However, the Orchard site appears to be a 'trade village'. It is known a Southeastern Ceremonial Complex people arrives at Orchard (46Ms61), a Lizard Cult. Curiously from the Sandusky culture (1200—1650 CE), a sand stone pipe has what the Ohio Historical Society describes as an alligator engraved on it (OHS, 8.2 - Sandusky Pipe video [3]). It has been related to the "Water Panther" (OHS). Not like Buffalo (46PU31), Orchard (46Ms61) has not been characterized as attacked nor destroyed. Future lab studies may find clarity. The type site Orchard (46Ms61) had no formal excavations conducted at the site, although avocational archaeologists dug there from 1941 until the 1960s. These avocationals and regional academicians formed the West Virginia Archaeological Society in 1948.

• A metal triangular point resembling a Levanna was introduced by the French as trade ware more than three centuries later. As seen on Page 39 of the Jamestown site 1999 Interim Report (Mallios and Strube, 2000), several variation of very nice small elongated trangle points and the smaller equal distant concave base Levanna are found after 1600 CE. This may too represent a change, migration or relocating of tribal villages as Colonial trade develops and the following Colonial settling onto prime farming lands during the Tobacco in the American Colonies expansion. Similar to both styles of these points are found at varying Fort Ancient sites.

• and upstream on the ebbing water at Marmet village (46Ka9 CE 1600 Clover, shell)

• Orchard Pottery appears after 1550-1600 CE. It is shell tempered having emboss figures before firing. These are more often lizards placed between the rope lugs around the rim. There was no painting. They are sophisticated and considered funeral ware often found intact. This pottery is considered to be a late manifestation from a religious cult of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (McMichael). Coming from contemporary Europe contact region(s), these arriving people or this style development of acculturation is not considered in situ.

• Washington Boro pottery (1615–1630 CE) has stylized face effigies on the castellations. These are found in western Maryland, south western Pennsylvania, Potomac Highlands of West Virginia and north western Virginia. This ceramic type is of the late Susquehannock sequence on the upper Potomac Valley (Kent 2001).).

• During the following protohistoric period, CE 1550~1650, the rectanguloid house increases in size now having squared corners (McMichael 1968). On the central Ohio Valley, villages of late Fort Ancient of Ohio, Kentucky and southwest West Virginia became large and multi-ethnic (Henderson 1988). Routine distancing or broad ranging trade developes. Through the colder seasons large family groups of the Clover Complex and Madisonville Horizon broke off from the village at the end of harvest season. These villages of several indivdual clans moved up different tributary streams to camp for the family's seasonal hunt, seed stock in hand or not, returning in the spring to their tribe's crop growing season village (Peregrine & Ember 2002:184). At the end of the Madisonville type site village, after 1525, it is suspected house size become smaller and fewer as perhaps coupled with "a less horticulture-centered, sedentary way of life (Drooker 1997a:203)." Also found late in the culture at the Logan and Marmet villages, shell gorgets are found styled similar to Holston Valley watershed of northeast Tennessee and W Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains. This period at the dawn of history in the south western of the state can be characterized as of trade and/or influx with all of the surrounding states leaving some tribes or phratry villages pushed east or west from the Acansea Flu as seen on the Franquelin 1684 map (Jes. Rel. 1647-48, xxxiii, 63, 1898; Mooney 1894:28; E.B. O'Callaghan; Short title, "The Wilderness Trail", Charles Hanna Pp. 119).

• The Blennerhassett Village site (46WD38), an island in the Ohio River near Parkersburg, West Virginia in Wood County, is another Feurt people location (1663–1720 CE) (Graybill n.d.) perhaps some thirty miles upstream from the Hobson site.

• Early historic weather by a number of historian writings was colder with extended spells of drouth. Beaver dams were not drained before the Fur Trade influx era of the 18th century.

• The Z-twist percentage amount increases from late Protohistoric to CE 1700 found in the Dan River Phase in upper North Carolina.

• In 1750-51, Christopher Gist writes as he records the Allegheny Plateau, "All the Way from Licking Creek to this Place is fine rich level Land, with large Meadows, fine Clover Bottoms & spacious Plains covered with wild Rye: the Wood chiefly large Walnuts and Hickories, here and there mixed with Poplars Cherry Trees and Sugar Trees...this Night it snowed, and in the Morning tho the Snow was six or seven Inches deep; the wild Rye appeared very green and flourishing thro it, and our Horses had fine Feeding." The area also has small wild onions, small finger sized carrots, a wild sweet potato and small strawberry, among wild spices, all still here to be seen as documented in the forgotten from hundreds of years ago. The local Indians were not only making "corn bread", but, also "flat rye bread" called "bannock" coming out of the protohistoric. Archaeologists (WVAS 1949, Apr), within the region, related earlier observation in the state, "also observed by the pioneers, the so called 'forts' composed of raised embankments arranged in crude circular, rectangles, and octagons, often connected by passageways; evidence of long-abandoned village sites were also noted and were frequently mentioned and shown on early maps as "Indian old fields."

-Uyvsdi (talk) 23:52, 25 February 2011 (UTC)Uyvsdi

Content moved from External Links section

Hi, I'm trimming down the external links section and especially removing entries that aren't actually links, so below is material that I've moved from the front page:

• Introduction to West Virginia Archeology, by Edward V. McMichael, 2nd Edition Revised, Educational Series West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, by Paul H. Price Director and State Geologist Morgantown 1968, published by West Virginia Archeological Society, P.O. Box 300, Huricane WV 25526, attn. C. Michael Anslinger, Pres.
• "Mounds for the Dead", Prof Dragoo, Carnegy Vol #37 (1963)
• West Virginia Historic Preservation Officer, Department of Culture and History, Cultural Center, Charleston, West Virginia, 25305.
• Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc. (CRAI) of Kentucky, West Virginia, Illinois, Rocky Mountain West (Longmont, Colorado), and Ohio
• West Virginia Archeological Society Annual Meeting 2008 - dead link
• Archaeology Videos by region, The Archaeology Channel (the three WV videos here are post-protohistoric time periods and are focused on European-Americans)
• Shawnee Indian Tribe History (doesn't mention WV at all)

Some more might be removed later because they are used as references as well. Cheers, -Uyvsdi (talk) 23:47, 20 April 2011 (UTC)Uyvsdi

Map

I removed the map supposedly showing the Ohio as the "Appelent Allegheny", because as a native French-speaker I can say with certainty the map does not refer to a portion of the Ohio as the Appelent Allegheny, it refers to the entire length of the river as the Ohio and note that the English calls the river Allegheny. ("Appelent Allegheny" meaning "Call Allegheny" as in "Ohio River, which the English call Allegheny"). --Guillaume Hébert-Jodoin (talk) 20:17, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

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May 2012 Copyedit

Hopefully I caught everything, but this article was pretty mangled when I got to it. I took the copy edit tag off because I fixed everything I saw, but I'm sure I missed something given the size of the article and its previous condition. I also want to thank User:Heironymous Rowe for the template that I used to fix up the first half of the article. It definitely made this job easier! Lexah06 (talk) 06:06, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

You did great! One thing I noticed tho, the section "Other historic groups", the reason it wasn't in my sandbox version is I had incorporated the useful stuff into the other sections, removed everything needing citations or cited to unreliable sources , and removed overly prehistoric era and historic era stuff, which shouldn't really be dealt with in anything other than a cursory way in a protohistoric article. I'm not sure how much you left in that section, but one thing stuck out, the "Chaouanons" section should be merged with the "Shawnees", it is an alternate name, check the first line of the Shawnees section. Other than that one nit picky thing, looks awesome! Heiro 06:20, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! I'll go back and try to work that in. I made the "Other historic groups" section because I didn't want to just cut the stuff out, but I didn't know where else it should go.

Lexah06 (talk) 07:04, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

LOL, right on. If you are still interested in Native American stuff (and haven't been driven away by THIS article yet), here is what I've been working on the last few weeks and couldn't make myself stop and help you, haha, my artists compulsive nature/OCD wouldn't let me. Mississippian copper plates, Wulfing cache, Etowah plates and a Mississippian shell artwork(still in sandbox version, not ready to go live yet). Anyway, thanks for tackling this one! Heiro 07:16, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

External links modified

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