Festschrifts are positive, by nature, and this tribute to Gerald Schroedl has the added merit of excellent and empirically rich scholarship. The theme of cultural change gives coherence to the book's diverse contributions, which exemplify the best of contemporary archaeology in the Southeast and the Caribbean. Introductory and concluding chapters situate the book and its themes historically and theoretically. The preface—by Clifford Boyd, Schroedl, Jefferson Chapman, and Arthur Bogan—weaves biographical details and illustrative anecdotes into an interesting profile of a personality and a career, worthy of the recognition here of Schroedl's signature dedication to meticulous practice and openness to alternative perspectives. Chapter 1, by Boyd and Schroedl, reviews developments in theoretical approaches in archaeology to culture change and to issues of causality and interpretation in archaeology.
In Chapter 2, Larry Kimball considers complexities of finding meaning in artifact morphology, asking whether differences in attributes of small triangular projectile points are a product of time or function. Through analyses of use-wear patterns and quantitative data, he demonstrates that “war points” vary according to contextual and functional considerations.
In Chapter 3, Lynne Sullivan marshals new evidence to address questions about the occupational history of the Citico site—a Mississippian mound center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She demonstrates that Citico had a longer and more complex occupation than had been previously recognized, with important implications for understanding change within Mississippian society.
Tom Whyte and Boyd discuss the Plum Grove site in Tennessee in Chapter 4. OSL dating of ceramics and considerations of alternative theoretical approaches lead to new conclusions about the occupational history of the site, as well as the way local, indigenous groups developed largely in place, with changes in pottery reflecting developments in regional communities of practice. They also argue that European encounters were probably oriented to the English sphere of activity rather than that of the Spanish.
Chapter 5, by Christopher Rodning, contemplates Cherokee ethnogenesis and effects of multiple factors ranging from climate history to colonial policy. The result is the portrayal of a culture that has derived its essence from unusual continuity. The prevailing mode of community organization was less hierarchical and centralized than it was elsewhere in the wider Mississippian world, reflecting accommodations to unique environmental settings.
Chapter 6, by Brett Riggs, discusses Mississippian-era societies in Piedmont South Carolina. With thorough attribute analyses of pottery and a robust battery of radiocarbon dates, Riggs develops a new explanation for the multimodal nature of “Mississippianization” in this part of the Southeast. He charts a history of abrupt change driven partly by the operations of communities of practice. Rapid transitions are registered in shifts from undifferentiated to highly diversified ceramic production.
Steve Davis discusses the historic Catawba community in north-central South Carolina known as Ayers Town in Chapter 7. Five complexes of features and a large sample of European- and Native-made artifacts allow for comparison with earlier Catawba sites. Davis outlines a story of complexity and cultural conservatism, and perhaps most valuable are his findings for the contemporary Catawba community and efforts to reclaim its own history and identity.
Lance Greene reports in Chapter 8 on investigations of historic Cherokee farmsteads in southwestern North Carolina. The sparsity of surviving evidence is testament to the impoverishment of indigenous society in the nineteenth century. At the same time, findings at Welch Farm speak to processes of adaptation and resilience.
Barbara Heath, Eric Schweikart, and Daniel Brock apply the concept of persistent places in Chapter 9 to explain continuity and change in English colonial settlement at Coan Hall, Virginia, with reference to politics and economy as well as the local landscape setting. The evolving nature of commerce, and attendant assertions of control and power, account for much of the ebb and flow.
In Chapter 10, Donna Boyd, Clifford Boyd, and Cassaday Urista present bioanthropological findings from studying African American cemeteries in Virginia. Physical attributes, coupled with results of stable isotope analysis, reveal a history of enduring hardship. African Americans suffered disproportionately shortened lives, undernourishment, and the effects of strenuous labor.
Chapters 11 and 12 report on the findings of a project Schroedl has directed on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. In Chapter 11, Todd Ahlman chronicles the development from 1690 to 1854 of the section of the Brimstone Hill fortification known as the Orillon Bastion. The essence of these changes is transformation of a space first created for defensive purposes to one that served more pragmatic and domestic needs of a garrison in residence at the site. In Chapter 12, Ahlman and Schroedl then examine patterns in material culture across two prominent sites on St. Kitts—the Brimstone Hill fortification and the Lady Briscoe Plantation. Through analyses of ceramic and glass assemblages, the authors identify contrasting expressions of social identity linked with different kinds of consumer behavior. Everyone on the island participated in a consumer economy, but the means and manner of engagement were variable. The differing nature of artifacts at the two locations speaks to the diverse purposes and variable mechanisms that supplied them.
The volume concludes with an afterword by William Baden, who advocates the concept of emergence as an avenue for evaluating processes of change. He shares how he cleverly demonstrates fundamental issues of nonlinear complexity to students with reference to the game of Monopoly. By extension, he argues that similar factors capture the essence of Gerald Schroedl's life and career.
In summary, Archaeological Adaptation: Case Studies of Cultural Transformation from the Southeast and Caribbean is a model tribute for a deserving scholar, and younger generations of archaeologists will find Schroedl's story worthy of emulation.
