The Southern and Central Alabama Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore

334 Pages·2001·31.1 MB·English

by  Clarence Bloomfield Moore

THE
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA
EXPEDITIONS
of Clarence
Bloomfield Moore
Classics in Southeastern Archaeology
Stephen Williams, Series Editor
Publication of this work has been supported in part by grants
and donations from the following agencies and institutions.
Southeastern Archaeological Conference
The Alabama Association of Professional Archaeologists
Dan Josselyn Memorial Fund
Panamerican Consultants, Inc.
THE
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL
ALABAMA EXPEDITIONS
of Clarence
Bloomfield Moore
Edited and with an Introduction by
CRAIG T. SHELDON, JR.
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2000
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
00
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Science-Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moore, Clarence B. (Clarence Bloomfield), 1852-1936.
The Southern and Central Alabama expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield
Moore / edited and with an introduction by Craig T. Sheldon, Jr.
p. cm.
"The works by Clarence B. Moore reproduced in this volume were published
originally in 1899, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, and 1918."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8173-1019-3 (alk. paper)
1. Indians of North America-Alabama-Antiquities. 2. Alabama-Antiq
uities. I. Sheldon, Craig T. II. Title.
E78.A28 M68 2000
976.101--dc21 99-050751
ISBN 978-0-8173-1019-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8173-8499-9 (electronic)
Contents
List of Maps vii
Acknowledgments ix
INTRODUCTION by Craig T. Sheldon, Jr. 1
Clarence B. Moore in the Field 3
Clarence B. Moore in Alabama 11
The Alabama River 14
The Upper Tombigbee River 26
The Perdido Bay Sites 34
Hoe-Shaped Implements and Urn-Burials 37
Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound 38
The Lower Tombigbee River 47
The Lower Chattahoochee River 58
The Choctawhatchee River 64
The Legacy of Clarence B. Moore in Southern and Central Alabama 67
Appendix: Sites Visited by C. B. Moore 69
Notes 89
References Cited 95
CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE ALABAMA RIVER [1899] 115
CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE TOMBIGBEE RIVER [1901] 177
EXCERPT FROM CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE
NORTHWEST FLORIDA COAST. PART I [1901] 195
THE SO-CALLED "HOE-SHAPED IMPLEMENT" [1903] 213
ABORIGINAL URN-BURIAL IN THE UNITED STATES [1904] 219
A FORM OF URN-BURIAL ON MOBILE BAY [1905] 229
CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE LOWER TOMBIGBEE RIVER [1905] 233
CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS ON MOBILE BAY AND ON MISSISSIPPI
SOUND [1905] 269
EXCERPT FROM MOUNDS OF THE LOWER CHATTAHOOCHEE AND
LOWER FLINT RIVERS [1907] 291
EXCERPT FROM THE NORTHWESTERN FLORIDA COAST REVISITED [1918] 303
INDEXES
Introduction 311
Works by Moore 317
Maps
The Southern and Central Alabama Expeditions of
Clarence Bloomfield Moore xii
Map of the Mobile and Alabama Rivers 116
Map of the Tombigbee River from Columbus 178
Outline Map of Florida 197
Map of Part of Northwest Coast of Florida 198
Map of Tombigbee River to Rembert's Landing 235
Map of Tombigbee River from Columbus, Showing
Distinctive Areas 267
Map of Mobile Bay and Part of Mississippi Sound 271
Map of Parts of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers 293
Map of Part of Choctawhatchee River 308

Acknowledgments
It is an honor to be asked to write the introduction to this volume, which cel
ebrates the one hundredth anniversary of Clarence Bloomfield Moore's first archaeo
logical work in Alabama by reissuing his reports and articles as part of the Classics
in Southeastern Archaeology series by the University of Alabama Press. The vol
umes of the adventures and discoveries of Clarence B. Moore should be a part of the
library of anyone interested in the prehistory of the Southeast.
The assistance of a number of persons was critical to the preparation of the intro
duction. The archaeological community and I are especially grateful to Ms. Mary B.
Davis of the Huntington Free Library, Bronx, New York, for her careful curation of
the field notes of Clarence B. Moore. At the library of Auburn University at Mont
gomery, Mr. Rickey Best, Ms. Carolyn H. Johnson, and Ms. Debra J. West and Ms.
Betty J. Tims secured interlibrary loans of the microfilm of Moore's field notes and
a number of older references. Mr. Robert Muncaster, architect, drafted the maps on
pages xii and 116. Dr. James J. Miller, state archaeologist of Florida, graciously
permitted his collection of original Moore volumes to be used for the facsimile repro
ductions.
In attempting to relate the work of Moore and other researchers during the past
century and along many miles of Alabama's rivers and coastline, I have accumu
lated a large intellectual debt with colleagues who selflessly spent long hours dis
cussing sites, chronologies, artifacts, and the myriad other details that go into de
termining the significance of discoveries made one hundred years ago. I am grateful
to Keith Baca, John H. Blitz, MacDonald Brooms, David W. Chase, John W. Cottier,
Caleb B. Curren, Jr., Richard S. Fuller, Eugene M. Futato, Thomas O. Maher, Carey
B. Oakley, George Shorter, and Noel R. Stowe.
First drafts of the introduction were reviewed by Vernon J. Knight, Jr., Frank T.
Schnell, Gregory A. Waselkov, Nancy Marie White, and Stephen Williams. I want to
thank them for their insightful criticisms, corrections, and suggestions about addi
tional information; any literary merit in the introduction is due almost entirely to
their wise advice.
Finally, I am particularly grateful to Ned J. Jenkins, my colleague of over twenty
years, whose wide knowledge of Alabama archaeology and prehistory was indis
pensable, and to Judith Knight of the University ofA labama Press for her firm but
caring support and for her dedication to the Classics in Southeastern Archaeology
series.