Abstract

The Natchez provide archaeologists with a cultural comparison when they study groups from the Mississippian culture, and other tribes that had a complex social organization. La Page Du Pratz has supplied archaeologists with the ethnographic data on the Natchez. While this work is used for a comparison for archaeological data it is interesting to see if the accuracy of Du Prazt’s cultural data has ever been tested with archaeological remains. This paper attempts to draw conclusions about the information on the Natchez by looking at osteological remains using the middle range theory, and the interpreting the archaeological funerary remains with information by Brown and Binford from the Fatherland site as well as, neighboring and culturally similar tribes like those found at Cahokia, Etowah and, Bynum. By looking at the skeletal and funerary remains found at these four sites, I have drawn conclusions about these cultures, such as if they had a social organization that was divided into ranks, and how this would have affected their burials and funerary practices. Some common things that are found among these burials are evidence of the use of mass burials, and the construction of burial mounds. This information is then used to draw conclusions about the cultural evidence that is provided by Du Pratz.

Advisor

Navarro-Farr, Olivia

Department

Archaeology; Sociology and Anthropology

Disciplines

Archaeological Anthropology | Other Anthropology

Keywords

Ethnohistory, Natchez, Du Pratz

Publication Date

2014

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2014 Jensen L. Buchanan