AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 144:30–40 (2011)
Bioarchaeological Analysis of Diet During the Coles
Creek Period in the Southern Lower Mississippi Valley
Ginesse A. Listi*
Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
KEY WORDS dental pathologies; Coles Creek diet; dietary transition
ABSTRACT The timing of the dietary shift from for-
aging to maize agriculture, and the speed at which such
practices were adopted, are important considerations in
the cultural evolution of the New World. In the southern
Lower Mississippi Valley, maize agriculture traditionally
was believed to have been practiced during the Coles
Creek period (A.D. 700–1200); however, direct evidence
for maize is lacking in the archaeological record prior to
A.D. 1000. The present study examines Coles Creek diet
from a bioarchaeological perspective. Oral-health indica-
tors, including abscesses, antemortem tooth loss, calcu-
lus, carious lesions, periodontal disease, and tooth wear,
were evaluated in a regional, temporal context. Data
were collected from 288 dentitions from eight sites in the
southern Lower Mississippi Valley that range in date
from 800 B.C. to A.D. 1200. The sample then was sepa-
Archaeologists have long recognized the relationship
between diet, population size, and social complexity (e.g.,
Schoeninger and Shurr, 1994). In the Lower Mississippi
Valley, complex societies, as indicated by increasing
population density, regional mound centers, and the
emergence of hierarchically ranked societies are first
recognized during the Late Woodland Coles Creek period
(A.D. 700–1200; Kidder, 1992a, 2002). Based on the
number and widespread distribution of sites and the
assumed correlation between social complexity and agri-
culture, archaeologists originally believed that Coles
Creek diet was based on maize agriculture (Byrd and
Neuman, 1978; Haag, 1978; Williams and Brain, 1983).
However, little direct evidence for maize has been found
in the Lower Mississippi Valley prior to A.D. 1000 (Fritz
and Kidder, 1993; Fritz, 1995; Kidder, 2002).
The present study investigates Coles Creek diet from
a bioarchaeological perspective within the context of the
dietary transition in the southern Lower Mississippi
Valley by examining the frequency and interaction of
multiple oral health indicators (including dental caries,
calculus, periodontal disease, antemortem tooth loss,
abscesses, and tooth wear). Two hundred eighty-eight
adult dentitions were examined from eight sites that
range in date from 800 B.C. to A.D. 1200. The sample
then was divided into Pre-Coles Creek and Coles Creek
categories and statistical analyses were used to assess
variation in pathology load between the two groups. As
numerous bioarchaeological studies have demonstrated a
relationship between high carbohydrate diets and a
decline in oral health (Turner, 1979; Larsen, 1984, 1995,
1997; Norr, 1984; Perzigian et al., 1984; Smith, 1984;
Berry, 1985; Powell, 1985; Schmucker, 1985; Lukacs,
1989; Larsen et al., 1991), the hypothesis underlying
this research is that a change in diet during the Coles
C 2010
V WILEY-LISS, INC.
rated into Pre-Coles Creek and Coles Creek categories
and statistical analyses were used to assess temporal
variation in pathology load. Results indicate that pathol-
ogy load in the Coles Creek sample is slightly heavier
than the Pre-Coles Creek sample; however, the differen-
ces are not substantial. Furthermore, data suggest that
regional differences in resource exploitation existed
between the Lower Mississippi Valley and populations
elsewhere in the eastern United States. Specifically, the
presence of starchy native plants other than maize in
the diet likely contributed to a high pathology load for
early hunter-gatherers. Ultimately, data from this study
complement the archaeological, botanical, and zooarch-
aeological records and indicate that Coles Creek subsist-
ence was not based on maize agriculture. Am J Phys
Anthropol 144:30–40, 2011. V 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
C
Creek period from hunting-gathering to maize agricul-
ture would be evident in the pathology load. Specifically,
when compared to the Pre-Coles Creek sample, the
frequency of all pathological conditions would be higher
in the Coles Creek sample, with the exception of tooth
wear, which would be lower.
COLES CREEK CULTURE AND DIET
The Coles Creek period in the Lower Mississippi River
alluvial valley is delineated by radiocarbon dates from
approximately A.D. 700 to 1200; thus, it straddles the
divide between the Late Woodland and Early Mississip-
pian periods as defined for the southeastern United
States as a whole (Jeter and Williams, 1989; Kidder,
1992a). The Coles Creek period often is described as a
dynamic time during which significant changes occurred
throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley. These changes
included variation in ceramic styles as well as increases
in population size and site size and complexity (Kidder,
1992b, 2002). Along with these changes, archaeologists
originally supposed that subsistence practices changed
as well, namely, the dietary transition from hunting-
gathering to maize agriculture (Byrd and Neuman, 1978;
*Correspondence to: Ginesse Listi, LSU Geography and Anthro-
pology, 227 Howe-Russell Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
E-mail: glisti1@lsu.edu
Received 13 January 2010; accepted 26 May 2010
DOI 10.1002/ajpa.21364
Published online 18 August 2010 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com).
 BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLES CREEK DIET
Haag, 1978; Williams and Brain, 1983; Neuman, 1984).
The evidence for this supposition was indirect: the
locations of Coles Creek sites along the fertile alluvial
bottomlands beside streams and rivers would have been
ideal for plant cultivation; the relative predictability and
high product yield of an agricultural subsistence base
not only would have supported the increase in popula-
tion size that occurred during this time, but also would
have been necessary to provide sustenance for the large
labor force required to build the extensive earthworks
that are characteristic of Coles Creek sites. While such
indirect evidence is no longer accepted as a basis for
inferring subsistence, this logic was used as recently as
the 1980s (Williams and Brain, 1983). Meanwhile,
archaeological and botanical data began to accumulate
which suggested that a dietary transition had not
occurred.
Botanical evidence from the interior Lower Valley indi-
cates that maize was present as early as the eighth or
ninth centuries A.D. (Scarry, 1993); however, its inci-
dence in the archaeological record is rare. For example,
at one Coles Creek site in which maize has been found,
the overall low frequencies recovered and the contexts in
which it was found (e.g., middens, specialized features
with tobacco) led researchers to conclude that maize was
a relatively minor food source and may have been tied to
ritual behavior rather than subsistence (Fritz and
Kidder, 1993; Kidder and Fritz, 1993). Conversely, sub-
stantial data exist which demonstrate that Coles Creek
populations exploited a variety of other botanical resour-
ces, including nuts, fruits, and wild, or possibly,
cultivated plants (Kidder and Fritz, 1993; Fritz, 1995;
Roberts, 2000; Kidder, 2002).
With regard to material culture, not only are Coles
Creek pottery assemblages indistinct from other Late
Woodland cultures, but also artifacts suggestive of plant
cultivation (e.g., hoes) are not abundant at Coles Creek
sites (Kidder, 1992a). On the other hand, artifacts
related to the procurement (including the bow and
arrow) or processing of food are ubiquitous throughout
the Lower Mississippi Valley and provide ample support
that Coles Creek populations exploited natural resources
through hunting, gathering, and fishing (Williams and
Brain, 1983; Neuman, 1984; Kidder, 1992b; Fritz, 1995;
Jackson and Scott, 2002). Correspondingly, zooarchaeo-
logical evidence from Coles Creek sites consistently
attests to the importance of wild game and/or aquatic
resources in the diet (Springer, 1980; Mariaca, 1988;
Jeter and Williams, 1989; Colburn and Styles, 1990;
Kelley, 1992; Smith, 1996; Jackson and Scott, 2002;
Kidder, 2002).
Bioarchaeologically, data from the Lower Mississippi
Valley, including the Coles Creek period, generally are
sparse: human remains typically are fragmented and
poorly preserved, thus, sample sizes are small, individu-
als are often incomplete and commingled, and few patho-
logical conditions have been assessed (Jeter et al., 1989;
Rose and Harmon, 1999). Most of the previously avail-
able bioarchaeological data relating to the Coles Creek
period, compiled and presented in two noteworthy publi-
cations (Jeter et al., 1989; Rose and Harmon, 1999),
consisted of demographic profiles or the analysis of one
or two pathological conditions appended to site reports,
monographs, or unpublished manuscripts. The few osteo-
logical studies that have been undertaken report that
Coles Creek skeletons exhibit a pathology load that is
different from earlier groups, particularly for tooth wear
31
and carious lesions (Rose et al., 1984, 1991). These
researchers conclude that the change in pathology load
was due to an increase in carbohydrates and grit in the
diet. However, since direct evidence of maize is virtually
absent in the archaeological record, they suggest the
high carbohydrate content came instead from native
starchy plants or seeds (Rose et al., 1984, 1991). Lastly,
unpublished stable isotope data, though rare, are avail-
able for several sites in the southern Lower Mississippi
Valley and indicate that maize consumption was
minimal or absent at these sites (Bruce Smith, personal
communication to author, 2003).
Prehistoric diet is best understood using a multi-
disciplinary approach that combines botanical, zooarch-
aeological, and bioarchaeological evidence (Sobolik,
1994). While archaeological and botanical research in
the southern Lower Mississippi Valley challenges the
traditional view of Coles Creek subsistence as maize
agriculture, bioarchaeological research that incorporates
a wide range of osteological data has not been under-
taken. The current study addresses this deficiency by
using multiple oral health indicators to assess Coles
Creek diet in a comprehensive, systematic way. The
distinct pathology profiles exhibited in hunter-gatherers
and agriculturalists provide contrasting expectations by
which data can be interpreted (Lukacs, 1989). The broad
temporal span, yet relatively narrow geographic focus, of
the skeletal populations included in this study allow
pathology load to be analyzed through a regional di-
achronic framework.
MATERIALS
A total of 288 adult dentitions were examined from
eight sites in the southern Lower Mississippi Valley.
Skeletal remains from the individual sites were exca-
vated at different times by different people over a span
of nearly 40 years (from the mid 1930s to the early
1970s). Currently, remains from individual sites are
catalogued and curated in museum collections in compli-
ance with NAGPRA. The temporal span for the sites
extends from 800 B.C. to A.D. 1200. Based on these
dates, all remains were classified into two broadly-
defined temporal categories that separated the Coles
Creek sample from the Pre-Coles Creek sample. Figure 1
depicts the location of each site in the Lower Mississippi
Valley. Table 1 provides a summary of the skeletal sam-
ples and MNI used in this study.
The Pre-Coles Creek sample is comprised of 144 indi-
viduals from five sites. These mound and/or midden sites
include Little Woods (16OR1-16OR5) and Tchefuncte
(16ST1), located in coastal regions of Louisiana, and
Lafayette Mounds (16SM17), Greenhouse (16AV22), and
Mount Nebo (16MA18), which are located in interior
regions (see Fig. 1). The majority of the Pre-Coles Creek
sample dates to the Tchula period, Tchefuncte culture
(800 B.C. to 100 B.C.); however, the burials from
Greenhouse and Mount Nebo date later to the Baytown
period, Troyville culture (approximately A.D. 400 to
700), (Ford and Quimby, 1945; Ford, 1951; Giardino,
1977, 1982; Lewis, 1991; Kidder, 2002).
Pre-Coles Creek burial patterns include both primary
and secondary, single and multiple interments. Many of
the remains were flexed and/or bundled, but some indi-
viduals were extended. Grave goods generally were not
found; therefore, burials were dated based on site
stratigraphy (Ford and Quimby, 1945; Neuman, 1984).
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
32 G.A. LISTI

Fig. 1. Approximate locations of sites used in current study.

TABLE 1. Sites and minimum number of individuals (MNI) for (Neuman, 1984; p 118). Thus, subsistence for the Pre-
Pre-Coles Creek and Coles Creek samples Coles Creek populations is believed to have been a mix
Pre-Coles Creek Coles Creek of hunting, gathering, and fishing (Ford and Quimby,
(800 B.C. to A.D. 700) (A.D. 700 to 1200) 1945; Neuman, 1984; Jeter and Williams, 1989).
Site N Site N
The Coles Creek sample is comprised of 144 individu-
als from five sites, four of which are located in interior
Greenhouse 16 Greenhouse 30 regions (Greenhouse (16AV22), Lake George (22YZ557),
Lafayette 31 Lake George 25 Lake St. Agnes (16AV26), and Mount Nebo (16MA18)),
Little Woods 45 Lake St. Agnes 3 one of which is coastal [Morton Shell Mound (16IB3); see
Mount Nebo 11 Morton Shell Mound 75
Fig. 1]. All sites are multicomponent, but the burials
Tchefuncte 41 Mount Nebo 11
Total 144 144 included in this sample date to the Coles Creek period
(A.D. 700–1200). All are mound sites and may have
served ceremonial or ritual purposes; none is strictly
habitational or residential. Therefore, individuals buried
The exception is Mount Nebo: artifacts, which might at these sites could represent ‘‘elite’’ or ‘‘special’’ mem-
have been grave offerings, were found with several of bers of the population and may not be representative of
the individuals and were used to obtain a relative date the entire population that inhabited the area or utilized
for the burials at that site (Giardino, 1982). the sites (Ford, 1951; Belmont, 1967; Robbins, 1976;
Detailed subsistence data are not available for any of Giardino, 1977, 1982; Toth, 1979; Williams and Brain,
the Pre-Coles Creek populations used in this study. 1983; Neuman, 1984; McGimsey, 2003); (Saunders and
However, during this period in the Lower Mississippi Byers, unpublished).
Valley, deer generally is the most common mammal A common characteristic of Coles Creek burials is the
species present in site middens (Neuman, 1984). Various apparent lack of order in which human remains were
smaller mammals, reptiles, fish, and birds are present as deposited (Ford, 1951; Williams and Brain, 1983). Buri-
well, and Rangia remains are prevalent at coastal sites als include single and multiple interments, bundled,

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

 BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLES CREEK DIET
flexed, or extended individuals, and isolated elements.
Grave goods generally were not present; therefore, either
stratigraphy or radiocarbon dates obtained from samples
taken from the same stratigraphic layers were used to
date the burials (Ford, 1951; Belmont, 1967; Giardino,
1977, 1982; Toth, 1979; Williams and Brain, 1983;
Neuman, 1984; McGimsey, 2003).
METHODS
Skeletal remains from all sites were in various states
of preservation and fragmentation, ranging from friable
fragments held together by dirt matrix and preservative
to well-preserved specimens. Some elements were heav-
ily fragmented, while others were whole. Some individu-
als were only partially represented; others were nearly
complete. MNIs reported in Table 1 were determined by
the number of dentitions present. For single interments,
a whole or partial dentition represented one individual.
In the case of multiple interments, if a maxilla and man-
dible could be reliably associated together based on simi-
lar size and tooth morphology, they were counted as a
single individual; otherwise, each element was consid-
ered separately.
All individuals were ‘‘Adults’’ (greater than 18 years
of age), based on eruption of the third molars. However,
specific age ranges and sex were not able to be assigned
for the majority of the individuals due to fragmentation
and commingling. In single burials, while some individu-
als had an os coxae complete enough to suggest an age
range or sex, the ossa coxarum of others were too frag-
mented to assess, or were not present at all. Age ranges
and sex were not assessed in commingled remains due to
the impossibility of reconciling postcranial elements with
dentitions.
Fig. 2. Dentitions showing different levels of calculus: none (A), slight (B), moderate (C), and heavy (D).
33
Data collection procedures
Every tooth or tooth position was assessed as either
present, lost antemortem, lost postmortem, or not able to
be analyzed. Each tooth or alveoli subsequently was
examined macroscopically for pathological conditions. A
low magnification binocular microscope was used if
the determination of the pathological condition was
questionable.
For the assessment of carious lesions, the presence
and location of each carious lesion were recorded follow-
ing guidelines in Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994). To dif-
ferentiate between true carious lesions and natural non-
carious pits and fissures (i.e., buccal pits), an attempt
was made to determine whether or not and the extent to
which the dentin underlying the enamel was affected
(Aufderheide and Rodriguez-Martin, 1998; Ortner, 2003).
If a buccal pit was present but the extent of dentin dam-
age could not be discerned, the lesion was noted, but not
included in the analyses of carious lesions prevalence.
Tooth wear was evaluated for the first molars only.
This tooth was selected because it was preserved more
often per individual than second or third molars and,
therefore, was the most numerous. Wear was analyzed
based on Scott’s methodology (1979; see also Buikstra
and Ubelaker, 1994): the occlusal surface was divided
into quadrants, a score of 1–10 was assigned to each
based on the amount of enamel present, and the quad-
rant scores were then totaled. If the crown was broken
or portions were missing, the tooth was not scored.
For recording dental calculus, a score was assigned to
each tooth based on the amount of calculus present
(based on Brothwell, 1981; see also Buikstra and Ube-
laker, 1994). The ordinal categories (examples of which
are pictured in Fig. 2) ranged from no calculus present,
through small, moderate, and heavy amounts present.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
34
Fig. 3. Dentitions showing different levels of periodontal disease: none (A), less than one-half root absorption (B), greater than
one-half root absorption (C), alveolar remnants (D, arrow), and complete alveolar resorption (D, posterior corpus).
The assessment of periodontal disease was based on a
scale that standardizes the progressive deterioration of
the alveolar region for each tooth (Lukacs, 1989). The
ordinal categories (examples of which are pictured in
Fig. 3) ranged from no resorption, through minimal (in
which less than one-half the tooth root is exposed),
moderate (in which more than one-half the tooth root is
exposed), heavy (where only remnants of the alveolus
remain), and complete resorption of the alveolus.
Antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), which also corre-
sponds to the most advanced stage of periodontal
disease, was assessed using the initial recording of the
presence or absence of each tooth. Teeth lost prior to
death were indicated by the complete resorption of the
alveolus (depicted in Fig. 3D).
For abscesses, Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994) recom-
mend recording the presence or absence of periapical
abscesses and their location (buccal or lingual). In this
study, the same information was recorded for periodontal
abscesses as well. Data on both types of abscesses were
combined for analyses of temporal variation.
Data analysis
Several methods were used to analyze the pathology
load in the two samples. Population frequencies were
calculated using the tooth count and individual count
methods for all pathological conditions except tooth wear
(for which only the average per molar was calculated).
With the tooth count method, the number of teeth
affected with pathology is counted relative to the total
number of teeth available for study (Lukacs, 1989).
These frequencies are reported for each individual site
as well as for the collective Coles Creek and Pre-Coles
Creek samples.
In the individual count method, the number of individ-
uals with the particular pathology is counted and di-
vided by the total number of individuals present in the
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
G.A. LISTI
sample (Lukacs, 1989). This method is used to report
summary statistics and the average number of carious
lesions per individual for each individual site as well as
for the collective Coles Creek and Pre-Coles Creek
samples. However, for samples in which individual pres-
ervation is varied and many specimens are incomplete,
the individual count method can result in skewed data.
Thus, an alternative technique called the mean number
of pathologies per specimen (MNPS) also was used to
calculate pathology load (Moore and Corbett, 1971;
Lukacs, 1989). In this method, the number of teeth or
alveoli affected with the pathological condition is divided
by the number of teeth or alveoli available for assess-
ment per individual (Moore and Corbett, 1971). The
MNPS values are reported for each individual site as
well as for the collective Coles Creek and Pre-Coles
Creek samples.
Temporal variation in pathology load was tested statis-
tically using an independent samples t test for the aver-
age tooth wear and MNPS for each pathological condi-
tion. A chi-square was used to assess variation in the se-
verity of calculus and periodontal disease between Coles
Creek and Pre-Coles Creek samples. For all analyses,
the null hypothesis was that subsistence was the same
for both Pre-Coles Creek and Coles Creek populations.
That is, no significant differences would exist between
the two samples in the MNPS or average tooth wear.
Significant differences (if P \ 0.05), therefore, would be
indicative of a change in diet.
RESULTS
Tables 2–5 list the individual and tooth counts for
each site and for the collective Coles Creek and Pre-
Coles Creek samples. Based on individual counts, the
frequency increased through time for carious lesions,
abscesses, AMTL, and calculus, but decreased through
time for periodontal disease. Based on tooth counts, the
 BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLES CREEK DIET 35
TABLE 2. Frequencies of dental caries based on individual and tooth counts
Individual count Tooth count
Naff/Ntota % Avg. Naff/Ntota %
Pre-Coles Creek sites
Greenhouse 2/15 13.3 0.13 2/143 1.4
Lafayette 3/15 20.0 0.33 5/87 5.7
Little Woods 0/7 0 0 0/17 0
Mount Nebo 3/11 27.3 0.72 8/111 7.2
Tchefuncte 6/30 20.0 0.33 10/240 4.2
Total 14/78 17.9 0.32 25/598 4.2
Coles Creek sites
Greenhouse 3/29 10.3 0.17 5/234 2.1
Lake George 15/25 60.0 1.60 40/477 8.4
Lake St. Agnes 1/3 33.3 0.33 1/14 7.1
Morton Shell Mound 17/68 25.0 0.29 20/247 8.1
Mount Nebo 3/9 33.3 0.44 4/68 5.9
Total 39/134 29.1 0.52 70/1,040 6.7
a
Naff 5 number of teeth or individuals affected with pathology; Ntot 5 total number of teeth or individuals available for
assessment.

TABLE 3. Frequencies of abscesses and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) based on individual and tooth counts
Abscesses AMTL
Individual count Tooth count Individual count Tooth count
Naff/Ntota % Naff/Ntota % Naff/Ntota % Naff/Ntota %
Pre-Coles Creek sites
Greenhouse 5/14 35.7 7/164 4.3 4/16 25.0 7/225 3.1
Lafayette 4/24 16.7 7/178 3.9 9/31 29.0 33/343 9.6
Little Woods 0/18 0 0/71 0 11/45 24.4 44/287 15.3
Mount Nebo 4/11 36.4 12/95 12.6 3/11 27.3 4/133 3.0
Tchefuncte 12/29 41.4 25/193 13.0 9/41 22.0 30/611 4.9
Total 25/96 26.0 51/701 7.3 36/144 25.0 118/1,599 7.4
Coles Creek sites
Greenhouse 11/29 37.9 31/374 8.3 15/30 50.0 55/553 9.9
Lake George 11/25 44.0 19/422 4.5 11/25 44.0 49/608 8.1
Lake St. Agnes 0/3 0 0/20 0 0/3 0 0/51 0
Morton Shell Mound 14/65 21.5 29/382 7.6 13/75 17.3 40/566 7.1
Mount Nebo 2/10 20.0 4/67 6.0 4/11 36.4 6/110 5.5
Total 38/132 28.8 83/1,265 6.6 43/144 29.9 150/1,888 7.9
a
Naff 5 number of teeth or individuals affected with pathology; Ntot 5 total number of teeth or individuals available for
assessment.

TABLE 4. Frequencies of dental calculus and periodontal disease based on individual and tooth counts
Calculus Periodontal disease
Individual count Tooth count Individual count Tooth count
Naff/Ntota % Naff/Ntota % Naff/Ntota % Naff/Ntota %
Pre-Coles Creek sites
Greenhouse 9/15 60.0 49/125 39.2 14/14 100.0 106/130 81.5
Lafayette 12/13 92.3 53/84 63.1 17/24 70.8 56/132 42.4
Little Woods 4/7 57.1 12/17 70.6 19/21 90.5 65/75 86.7
Mount Nebo 7/11 63.6 31/110 28.2 7/11 63.6 63/90 70.0
Tchefuncte 28/31 90.3 190/240 79.2 28/34 82.4 148/218 67.9
Total 60/77 77.9 335/576 58.2 85/104 81.7 438/645 67.9
Coles Creek sites
Greenhouse 21/27 77.8 89/223 39.9 25/28 89.3 277/308 89.9
Lake George 21/25 84.0 294/465 63.2 24/25 96.0 306/420 72.9
Lake St. Agnes 3/3 100.0 11/12 91.7 3/3 100.0 10/16 62.5
Morton Shell Mound 53/68 77.9 178/244 73.0 34/69 49.3 125/263 47.5
Mount Nebo 6/8 75.0 37/61 60.7 6/10 60.0 31/50 62.0
Total 104/131 79.4 609/1,005 60.6 92/135 68.1 749/1,057 70.9
a
Naff 5 number of teeth or individuals affected with pathology; Ntot 5 total number of teeth or individuals available for
assessment.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

36 G.A. LISTI

frequency increased for carious lesions, AMTL, calculus,
and periodontal disease, but decreased for abscesses and
tooth wear. The decrease in tooth wear through time is
significant (Table 5).
Table 6 displays the MNPS scores and the results of
the independent samples t tests. Only periodontal dis-
ease (which decreases) shows significant variation
through time.
Table 7 depicts the frequencies for each category of
calculus and periodontal based on tooth and/or alveolar
counts. For calculus, the distribution of data is similar for
each sample. Also, though 58–61% of each sample has
calculus, the majority of teeth have a ‘‘small’’ amount as
opposed to ‘‘moderate’’ or ‘‘heavy’’ amounts. While the
frequency of calculus increases slightly through time, the
severity decreases. This temporal change is not signifi-
cant. For periodontal disease, as with calculus, the
frequency increases through time; however, the severity
decreases. This variation is significant (P \ 0.01).
DISCUSSION
The present study explores Coles Creek subsistence
from a bioarchaeological perspective within the context
of the dietary transition in the southern Lower Missis-
sippi Valley. As the transition occurred (and with it, an
increase in the consumption of carbohydrates), the ex-
pectation was that all pathological conditions except
tooth wear would increase from the Pre-Coles Creek to
the Coles Creek period. Table 8 summarizes the tempo-
ral trends in data compared to expectations. Though
results vary somewhat depending on methodology, data
initially appear to support expectations. That is, 12 of 18
categories of data are consistent with expectations for an
increase in carbohydrate consumption during the Coles
Creek period. However, a straightforward interpretation
TABLE 5. Mean wear scores for first molars
Pre-Coles Creek Sites (N 5 89, n 5 99)
Greenhouse
Lafayette
Little Woods
Mount Nebo
Tchefuncte
Average
Coles Creek sites (N 5 132, n 5 156)
Greenhouse
Lake George
Lake St. Agnes
Morton Shell Mound
Mount Nebo
Average
T-test: t 5 3.993 Sig. 5 0.000*
‘‘*’’ indicates that relationship is statistically significant.
of these data as indicative of dietary change is con-
founded by several factors which include sample biases
and potential intersite and interregional differences in
resource exploitation.
The condition of the skeletal remains examined in this
study is less-than-ideal; therefore, sample biases associ-
ated with preservation and demography (or lack thereof)
could be impacting the results. The former biases are
alleviated somewhat by using multiple methods to calcu-
late population frequencies. Of the three methods used
in this study, the individual and tooth counts, which are
commonly reported in the literature, assume dentitions
are complete. Only the MNPS statistic takes into
account individual preservation. Nevertheless, obtaining
consistent results from these different methodologies
might indicate that the impact of differential preserva-
tion is minimal. As demonstrated in Table 8, temporal
patterns are consistent only for two of the five pathologi-
cal conditions assessed with multiple methodologies (e.g.,
carious lesions and calculus). Therefore, differential
preservation likely is affecting the results for abscesses,
AMTL, and periodontal disease.
The lack of demographic data also is inhibiting data
interpretation. Ideally, skeletal samples should be repre-
sentative of the entire population, as opposed to a small,
specialized subset (e.g., only adults, children, or elite
members) though Wood et al. (1992, p 344) argue that
no skeletal sample can completely represent the original
living population, ‘‘even (one) that is a perfect random
sample of all those who died.’’ Additionally, comparabil-
ity in age and sex distribution among samples is impor-
tant because of the influence of biological parameters
(particularly age) on pathology load. Most pathological
conditions are progressive; therefore, a population con-
sisting primarily of older adults could exhibit higher fre-
quencies of pathology than a population composed of
younger adults, simply because they are older. In this
study, because specific adult age categories could not be
assigned for the majority of the individuals, the extent
M1
to which age may be affecting the results cannot be
28.4 determined. Thus, the possibility that the temporal vari-
26.4 ation in pathology load seen in this study is related to
20.6 differences in age rather than diet cannot be excluded.
33.3 Despite the difficulties presented above, the collections
30.0 included in this study, while not ideal, represent the
29.1 larger and more well-preserved skeletal samples avail-
M1 able for analysis from the Lower Mississippi Valley. As
28.4 such, they currently are the best (and only) alternative
25.5
20.0
for researching prehistoric diet in this region from a bio-
23.4 archaeological perspective. However, in recognition of
21.9 the potential biases affecting the samples, results pre-
25.0 sented here are conditional with the provision that,
should additional materials become available in the
future, hypotheses for temporal variation in diet can be
reconsidered.

TABLE 6. Results of the independent samples t test of the MNPS statistic for all dental pathologies
Abscesses AMTLa Calculus Caries PODa
N Mean N Mean N Mean N Mean N Mean
Pre-Coles Creek 96 0.08 144 0.08 77 0.58 78 0.05 104 0.70
Coles Creek 132 0.06 144 0.07 131 0.60 134 0.09 135 0.55
t-value 1.232 0.636 20.410 21.596 2.722
Significance 0.219 0.525 0.682 0.112 0.007*
a
AMTL 5 antemortem tooth loss; POD 5 periodontal disease.
‘‘*’’ indicates that relationship is statistically significant.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

 BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLES CREEK DIET 37
TABLE 7. Summary statistics and results of chi-square for severity of calculus and periodontal disease
Severity of calculus
None Small Moderate Heavy Total
N % N % N % N % Naffa Ntota %
Pre-Coles Creek 241 41.8 270 46.9 61 10.6 4 0.7 335 576 58.2
Coles Creek 396 39.4 520 51.7 84 8.4 5 0.5 609 1005 60.6
Chi-square X2 5 4.514; df 5 3; Sig. 5 0.211

Severity of periodontal disease

None \½ Root [½ Root Remnants Resorbed Total
N % N % N % N % N % Naffa Ntota %
Pre-Coles Creek 207 32.1 220 34.1 39 6.0 78 12.1 101 15.7 438 645 67.9
Coles Creek 308 29.1 535 50.6 75 7.1 39 3.7 100 9.5 749 1057 70.9
Chi-square X 5 80.596; df 5 4; Sig. 5 0.000*
2

a
Naff 5 number of teeth or individuals affected with pathology; Ntot 5 total number of teeth or individuals available for
assessment.
‘‘*’’ indicates that relationship is statistically significant.

With regard to intersite variation in pathology load, TABLE 8. Expectations and data trends between Pre-Coles
summary data are presented for individual sites. How- Creek and Coles Creek samples
ever, data were not assessed statistically not only Trend
because the focus of the research is regional in scope Expectationa in data
(rather than local), but also because the resulting sam-
Dental pathologies (individual count)
ples sizes would have been too small to yield meaningful
Abscess frequency 1 1
results. Nevertheless, some general observations can be AMTL frequency 1 1
made. For the Pre-Coles Creek populations, while none Calculus frequency 1 1
of the populations has a consistently light or heavy pa- Caries frequency 1 1
thology load, Little Woods has no observed caries or Caries average/individual 1 1
abscesses and is in the lower range of data for AMTL Periodontal disease frequency 1 2
and calculus (based on individual counts). Generally, Dental pathologies (tooth count)
intersite data for the Pre-Coles Creek sample are compa- Abscess frequency 1 2
rable, though the range of variation exhibited in the fre- AMTL frequency 1 1
Calculus frequency 1 1
quencies of some pathological conditions is greater than
Calculus severity 1 2
in others (i.e., calculus and periodontal disease are more Caries frequency 1 1
variable than caries, AMTL, and tooth wear). Periodontal disease frequency 1 1
For the Coles Creek sample, Lake George is conspicu- Periodontal disease severity 1 2
ously different from the other populations in its caries Wear (M1) 2 2
data: the individual count is considerably higher than Dental pathologies (MNPS)
the others and it is the only population that averages Abscess average 1 2
more than one carious lesion per individual (Table 2). AMTL average 1 2
For all other pathological conditions (as well as for caries Calculus average 1 1
Caries average 1 1
tooth counts), none of the Coles Creek populations
Periodontal disease average 1 2
stands out as having a consistently light or heavy pa-
thology load (including Lake George). On the other a
A ‘‘1’’ indicates an increase through time; a ‘‘2’’ indicates a
hand, the range of variation among Coles Creek popula- decrease through time.
tions exhibited in the frequencies of some pathological
conditions is greater than that found in the Pre-Coles
Creek sample. This latter fact, together with the caries periodontal disease (the frequencies of these two patho-
data for Lake George, may suggest that intraregional logical conditions are 58 and 68% (based on tooth counts)
variation in diet existed during the Coles Creek period and 78 and 82% (based on individual counts, respec-
with some populations consuming greater quantities of tively). These results suggest that resource exploitation
carbohydrates than others. for hunter-gatherers in the Lower Mississippi Valley dif-
In addition to the potential intraregional variation in fered from that of other regions in eastern North Amer-
diet during the Coles Creek period, apparent interre- ica. Archaeologists have long reported that populations
gional variation in resource exploitation is hindering the in the Lower Mississippi Valley relied on locally-avail-
assessment of temporal trends in pathology load based able resources that, in addition to the abundant animal
on ‘‘normal’’ expectations. All of the Pre-Coles Creek pop- and aquatic species, included a host of starchy plants
ulations are believed to have been hunter-fisher-gather- other than maize (such as amaranths, chenopods, goose-
ers (Ford and Quimby, 1945; Kidder, 2002). Elsewhere in foot, little barley, maygrass, and knotweed), (Smith,
North America, such populations typically exhibit low 1986; Fritz and Kidder, 1993; Kidder and Fritz, 1993;
rates of dental pathological conditions (with the excep- Fritz, 1995; Roberts, 2000; Gremillion, 2002; Kidder,
tion of tooth wear; Cohen and Armelagos, 1984). The pa- 2002). The presence of these plants in the diet must be
thology load in the Pre-Coles Creek sample, therefore, is contributing to the higher-than-expected pathology load
higher than anticipated, particularly for calculus and for the Pre-Coles Creek populations.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

38 G.A. LISTI
Despite the unusually high Pre-Coles Creek pathology
load, the Coles Creek sample nevertheless has higher
frequencies of most pathological conditions. However,
with the exception of periodontal disease and tooth wear,
the differences are neither significant (when tested stat-
istically), nor substantial (when noted through general
observation), regardless of which method is used to ana-
lyze data. For example, based on tooth counts, increases
in pathology load between samples vary only by 0.5 to
3%. Increases in pathology load based on individual
counts are slightly higher, ranging from 1.5 to 11.2%.
These slight increases in pathology load could signify a
minor increase in carbohydrate consumption during the
Coles Creek period, but they would not indicate a com-
plete change in diet. Thus, at a time when populations
elsewhere in eastern North America were increasing
their reliance on domesticated plants, those in the Lower
Mississippi Valley continued to rely on abundant natural
resources, some of which included starchy plants.
The supposition that Coles Creek populations were not
maize agriculturalists is further supported when com-
paring carious lesions data between the Coles Creek
sample and agricultural populations from the southeast-
ern United States. Larsen et al. (1991) report carious
lesion frequencies of 58.9% (based on individual counts)
and 19.4% (based on tooth counts) for Precontact Agri-
cultural populations from the Atlantic Coast of Georgia
and Florida (dating to approximately A.D. 1150–1550).
Similarly, Powell (1991) reports carious lesions frequen-
cies of 54% (based on individual counts) and 18.7%
(based on tooth counts) for the agricultural population at
Moundville, located in western, central Alabama (dating
to approximately A.D. 1000–1450). Conversely, the fre-
quencies of carious lesions for the Coles Creek sample
are well below those values: 29% (based on individual
counts) and 6.7% (based on the tooth counts). Though
such comparisons to the literature can be problematic
due to methodological differences among researchers, the
similarity between the agricultural populations and dis-
similarity between the agricultural and Coles Creek data
are notable.
CONCLUSION
Coles Creek diet traditionally was believed to have
been based on maize agriculture due to the number, size,
and complexity of Coles Creek sites. However, direct evi-
dence in the form of maize kernels and pollen generally
has been lacking. Instead, zooarchaeological and botani-
cal evidence suggests that Coles Creek populations were
supported by native plant, animal, and aquatic natural
resources rather than agriculture, though some culti-
vated plants may have supplemented the diet. The pres-
ent study considered Coles Creek subsistence from a bio-
archaeological perspective: the dentitions of 288 adults
from eight sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley ranging
in date from 800 B.C. to A.D. 1200 were examined for
multiple oral health indicators and statistical analyses
were used to assess temporal changes in pathology load.
Results from this study, though provisional because of
sample biases, demonstrate that hunter-gatherers in the
southern Lower Mississippi Valley have a higher pathol-
ogy load than typically found in other areas of Eastern
North America due to the presence in the diet of starchy
plants other than maize. Additionally, the pathology load
during the Coles Creek period is slightly heavier than
that of the Pre-Coles Creek period; however, the differ-
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
ences are neither significant, nor substantial. Thus, an
increase in carbohydrate consumption, whether from
starchy plants already present in the diet or, possibly,
the introduction of maize in some areas (i.e., Lake
George), was minimal and occurred on a local level, if at
all. Ultimately, this study complements the botanical,
zooarchaeological, and artifactual records and provides
bioarchaeological support that Coles Creek diet was not
based on maize agriculture.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author thanks the following individuals for their
assistance with various aspects of this research: Dr.
Rebecca Saunders and Mr. Steve Fullen, Louisiana State
University Museum of Natural Science; Dr. Michele Mor-
gan, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology,
Harvard University; Dr. John Verano, Tulane University;
Ms. Mary Lee Eggart, Cartographer, Louisiana State
University Department of Geography and Anthropology;
Ms. Mary Manhein, Louisiana State University Forensic
Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services Lab-
oratory; and the Editor, Associate Editor, and two anony-
mous reviewers for their constructive comments and sug-
gestions.
LITERATURE CITED
Aufderheide AC, Rodriguez-Martin C. 1998. The Cambridge
encyclopedia of paleopathology. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.
Belmont JS. 1967. The culture sequence at the Greenhouse
Site, Louisiana. Proceedings of the Southeastern Archaeologi-
cal Conference. p 27–35.
Berry DR. 1985. Dental paleopathology of Grasshopper Pueblo,
Arizona. In: Merbs CF, Miller RJ, editors. Health and disease
in the prehistoric southwest. Tempe: Arizona State University.
p 253–273.
Brothwell DR. 1981. Digging up bones, 3rd ed. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press.
Buikstra JE, Ubelaker DH. 1994. Standards for data collection
from human skeletal remains. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeo-
logical Survey.
Byrd KM, Neuman RW. 1978. Archaeological data relative to
the prehistoric subsistence in the Lower Mississippi River
alluvial valley. Geosci Man 9:9–21.
Cohen MN, Armelagos GJ. 1984. Paleopathology at the origins
of agriculture. Orlando: Academic Press.
Colburn ML, Styles BW. 1990. Faunal remains from the Bangs
Slough Site. In: Schambach FF, editor. Coles Creek and
Mississippi period foragers in the Felsenthal region of the
Lower Mississippi Valley. Arkansas Archaeological Research
Series No. 39. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.
p 95–108.
Ford JA. 1951. Greenhouse. A Troyville-Coles Creek period site
in Avoyelles Parish, Louisisana. Anthropological papers of
the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 44. Part I.
New York.
Ford JA, Quimby GI Jr. 1945. The Tchefuncte culture. An early
occupation of the Lower Mississippi Valley. Memoirs of the so-
ciety for American archaeology. Number 2. Menasha: Society
for American Archaeology.
Fritz GJ. 1995. New dates and data on early agriculture. The
legacy of complex hunter-gatherers. Ann Miss Botan Gar
82:2–15.
Fritz GJ, Kidder TR. 1993. Recent investigations into prehis-
toric agriculture in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Southeast-
ern Arch 12:1–14.
Giardino MJ. 1977. An osteological analysis of the human popu-
lation from the Mount Nebo Site, Madison Parish, Louisiana.
 BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLES CREEK DIET
Unpublished MA thesis. Department of Anthropology. New
Orleans: Tulane University.
Giardino MJ. 1982. Temporal frameworks. Archaeological com-
ponents and burial styles. The human osteology of the Mount
Nebo site in north Louisiana. Louisiana Arch 9:99–126.
Gremillion KJ. 2002. The development and dispersal of agricul-
tural systems in the Woodland Period southeast. In: Anderson
DG, Mainfort RC Jr, editors. The Woodland southeast. Tusca-
loosa: University of Alabama Press. p 483–501.
Haag WG. 1978. A prehistory of the Lower Mississippi River
Valley. Geosci Man 9:1–8.
Jackson HE, Scott SL. 2002. Woodland faunal exploitation in
the midsouth. In: Anderson DG, Mainfort RC Jr, editors. The
Woodland southeast. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama
Press. p 461–482.
Jeter MD, Rose JC, Williams GI Jr, Harmon AM. 1989. Adapta-
tion types. In: Jeter MD, Rose JC, Williams GI Jr, Harmon AM,
editors. Archaeology and bioarchaeology of the Lower Missis-
sippi Valley and trans-Mississippi south in Arkansas and Loui-
siana. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey. p 355–378.
Jeter MD, Williams GI Jr. 1989. Ceramic-using cultures, 600 B.C. to
A.D. 700. In: Jeter MD, Rose JC, Williams, GI Jr, Harmon AM,
editors. Archaeology and bioarchaeology of the lower Mississippi
Valley and trans-Mississippi south in Arkansas and Louisiana.
Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey. p 111–170.
Kelley DB. 1992. Coles Creek period faunal exploitation in the
Ouachita River Valley of southern Arkansas. Midcontinental
J Arch 17:227–264.
Kidder TR. 1992a. Timing and consequence of the introduction
of maize agriculture in the Lower Mississippi Valley. North
Am Arch 13:15–41.
Kidder TR. 1992b. Coles Creek period social organization and
evolution in northeast Louisiana. In: Barker AW, Pauketat
TR, editors. Lords of the southeast. Social inequality and the
native elites of southeastern North America. Archaeological
Papers of the American Anthropological Association. Number
3. Washington, DC. p 145–162.
Kidder TR. 2002. Woodland period archaeology of the Lower
Mississippi Valley. In: Anderson DG, Mainfort RC Jr, editors.
The Woodland southeast. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama
Press. p 66–90.
Kidder TR, Fritz GJ. 1993. Subsistence and social change in the
Lower Mississippi Valley. The Reno Brake and Osceola Sites,
Louisiana. J Field Arch 20:281–297.
Larsen CS. 1984. Health and disease in prehistoric Georgia.
The transition to agriculture. In: Cohen MN, Armelagos GJ,
editors. Paleopathology at the origins of agriculture. Orlando:
Academic Press. p 367–393.
Larsen CS. 1995. Biological changes in human populations with
agriculture. Ann Rev Anthropol 24:185–213.
Larsen CS. 1997. Bioarchaeology. Interpreting behavior from
the human skeleton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Larsen CS, Shavit R, Griffin MC. 1991. Dental caries evidence
for dietary change. An archaeological context. In: Kelley MA,
Larsen CS, editors. Advances in dental anthropology. New
York: Wiley-Liss. p 179–202.
Lewis BA. 1991. Analysis of pathologies present in the 16ST1
Tchefuncte Indian skeletal collection. Unpublished MA thesis,
Department of Geography and Anthropology. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State University.
Lukacs JR. 1989. Dental paleopathology. Methods for recon-
_can MY, Kennedy KAR, edi-
structing dietary patterns. In: Is
tors. Reconstruction of life from the skeleton. New York:
Wiley-Liss. p 261–286.
Mariaca MT. 1988. Late Marksville/ Early Baytown period sub-
sistence economy. Analysis of three faunal assemblages from
northeastern Louisiana. Unpublished MA thesis, Department
of Anthropology. Boston: Boston University.
McGimsey C. 2003. The Morton Shell Mound project and other
stories of southwest Louisiana history. Regional Archaeology
Program. Management Unit III. 2002/2003 Annual Report.
Moore WJ, Corbett ME. 1971. The distribution of dental caries
in ancient British populations. I. Anglo-Saxon period. Caries
Res 5:151–168.
39
Neuman RW. 1984. An introduction to Louisiana archaeology.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Norr L. 1984. Prehistoric subsistence and health status of
coastal peoples from the Panamanian isthmus of lower
Central America. In: Cohen MN, Armelagos GH, editors.
Paleopathology at the origins of agriculture. Orlando: Aca-
demic Press. p 463–490.
Ortner D. 2003. Identification of pathological conditions in
human skeletal remains, 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press.
Perzigian AJ, Tench PA, Braun DJ. 1984. Prehistoric health in
the Ohio River Valley. In: Cohen MN, Armelagos GH, editors.
Paleopathology at the origins of agriculture. Orlando: Aca-
demic Press. p 347–366.
Powell ML. 1985. The analysis of dental wear and caries for
dietary reconstruction. In: Gilbert RI Jr, Mielke JH, editors.
The analysis of prehistoric diets. Orlando: Academic Press.
p 307–338.
Powell ML. 1991. Ranked status and health in the Mississip-
pian chiefdom at Moundville. In: Powell ML, Bridges PS,
Wagner-Mires AM, editors. What mean these bones? Studies
in southeastern bioarchaeology. Tuscaloosa: University of Ala-
bama Press. p 22–51.
Robbins LM. 1976. Analysis of human skeletal material from
Morton Shell Mound (16IB3), Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
Unpublished manuscript on file, Department of Geography
and Anthropology. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University.
Roberts KM. 2000. Plant remains. In: Ryan J, editor. Data re-
covery excavations at the Hedgeland Site (16CT19), Cata-
houla Parish, Louisiana. Report submitted to the US Army
Corps of Engineers. Vicksburg District. Baton Rouge: Coastal
Environments. p 10.1–10.33.
Rose JC, Burnett BA, Nassaney MS, Blaeuer MW. 1984. Paleo-
pathology and the origins of maize agriculture in the Lower
Mississippi Valley and Caddoan culture area. In: Cohen MN,
Armelagos GH, editors. Paleopathology at the origins of agri-
culture. Orlando: Academic Press. p 393–424.
Rose JC, Harmon AM. 1999. Louisiana and south and eastern
Arkansas. In: Rose JC, editor. Bioarchaeology of the south
central United States. Arkansas Archaeological Survey
Research Series No. 55. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological
Survey. p 35–82.
Rose JC, Marks MK, Tieszen LL. 1991. Bioarchaeology and sub-
sistence in the central and lower portions of the Mississippi
Valley. In: Powell ML, Bridges PS, Wagner-Mires AM, editors.
What mean these bones? Studies in southeastern bioarchaeo-
logy. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. p 7–21.
Scarry CM. 1993. Variability in Mississippian crop production
strategies. In: Scarry CM, editor. Foraging and farming in
the eastern Woodlands. Gainesville: University Press of
Florida. p 78–90.
Schmucker BJ. 1985. Dental attrition. A correlative study of
dietary and subsistence patterns in California and New
Mexico Indians. In: Merbs CF, Miller RJ, editors. Health and
disease in the prehistoric southwest. Tempe: Arizona State
University. p 253–273.
Schoeninger MJ, Schurr MR. 1994. Interpreting carbon stable
isotope ratios. In: Sobolik K, editor. Paleonutrition. The diet
and health of prehistoric Americans. Center for Archaeologi-
cal Investigations. Occasional paper No. 22. Carbondale:
Southern Illinois University. p 55–66.
Scott EC. 1979. Dental wear scoring technique. Am J Phys
Anthropol 51:213–217.
Smith BD. 1986. The archaeology of the southeastern United
States: From Dalton to de Soto, 10,500-500 B.P. In: Wendorf
F, Close A, editors. Advances in world prehistory, Vol.5.
Orlando: Academic Press. p 1–92.
Smith BH. 1984. Patterns of molar wear in hunter-gatherers
and agriculturalists. Am J Phys Anthropol 63:39–56.
Smith RL. 1996.Vertebrate subsistence in southeastern Louisi-
ana between A.D. 700 and 1500. Unpublished MA thesis,
Department of Anthropology. Athens: University of Georgia.
Sobolik KD. 1994. Introduction. In: Sobolik KD, editor. Paleonu-
trition. The diet and health of prehistoric Americans.
Carbondale: Southern Illinois University. p 1–20.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
40 G.A. LISTI
Springer JW. 1980. An analysis of prehistoric food remains from Turner CG. 1979. Dental anthropological indications of agricul-
the Bruly St. Martin Site, Louisiana, with a comparative dis- ture among the Jomon people of central Japan. Am J Phys
cussion of Mississippi Valley faunal studies. Mid-Continental Anthropol 51:619–636.
J Arch 5:193–223. Williams S, Brain JP. 1983. Excavations at the Lake George
Toth EA. 1979. The Lake St. Agnes site. A multi-component Site Yazoo County, Mississippi, 1958–1960. Papers of the Pea-
occupation of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. Louisiana State body Museum, No. 74. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
University Museum of Geoscience. Mèlanges No. 13. Baton Wood JW, Milner GR, Harpending HC, Weiss KM. 1992. The
Rouge. osteological paradox. Cur Anthropol 33:343–370.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology