| dc.description.abstract | The Brackett site (34CK43) is a Harlan Phase (A.D. 1050-1250) single mound site located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Baron Fork Creek in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. The site also had seven house-like structures and a burial area. For this project, a geophysical survey was conducted at Brackett over three weeks during Summer 2019 and one day in February 2020. A total of 115 gradiometry, 10 electrical resistance, and four ground-penetrating radar grids were collected, covering 4.48 hectares of the site. This survey resulted in the recording of anomalies consistent with WPA excavation remnants, historic debris, and possible Spiroan features. The results of this survey do not show any anomalies consistent with features associated with large groups of people occupying the site for a long period of time. In order to gain a better understanding of what these results mean in a larger context, I applied theoretical approaches influenced by landscape archaeology, an archaeology of community, and ritual symbolism to analyze Brackett’s role in the Spiro region. I used the data collected for this project along with new information about Spiro-related mound sites in eastern Oklahoma provided by Regnier et al. (2019) to compare Brackett to other mound sites in the region. After its excavation, the site was initially interpreted as a permanently occupied village center. However, the results of this survey do not support this interpretation. The results confirm Kusnierz’s (2016) interpretation that the site was occupied by ritual specialists. This thesis concludes that the site’s usage was restricted to ritual activities and any activities that brought people within the community to the site did either did not frequently occur or the visiting groups did not stay for long periods of time. | en_US |
