Animism and Green River persistent places: A dwelling perspective of the Shell Mound Archaic

Abstract

A nuanced understanding of the western Kentucky Green River Archaic requires reconciling the region’s rich archaeological record with the growing literature pertaining to how hunter-gatherers perceive their worlds. A dwelling perspective of the Green River Archaic involves interpreting the region’s large middens as components of animated lifeworlds saturated with meaning and composed of numerous constantly maintained relationships among people and between people and various other beings. This article explores how Green River Archaic hunter-gatherers constructed the middens through daily practices and periodic emotionally charged mortuary rites, thereby giving them meaning as persistent places and contributing to an ever-evolving, historically constituted landscape.