The McInnis SiteOrange Beach, Alabama

The McInnis SiteOrange Beach, Alabama

Compiled by

Sarah E. Price&

Justin Stickler

Artifact photographs by

Lyle Ratliff

In Memory of

Harvey T. Nack, Jr.

2015

INTRODUCTIONIn 2013, John McInnis, III contacted archaeologistJustin Stickler regarding some remarkable artifacts herecovered from his property on the Orange Beachpeninsula. Those artifacts – which turned out to beMississippian-age effigies – combined with the McInnisfamily’s curiosity about them, led to a two-yearundertaking by Wiregrass Archaeological Consulting tostudy the archaeological site 1BA664. Additional workand excavations were performed by the Center forArchaeological Studies (University of South Alabama),numerous local volunteers and volunteer organizations,including the Boy Scouts of America troop members,Teresa Paglione (Alabama office of the Natural ResourceConservation Service, who coordinated Boy Scouts andGround Penetrating Radar services), and Amanda Hill(Alabama Historical Commission).

Between 2013 and 2015, shovel tests, test units, blockexcavations, and mechanical stripping took place on theeight acre McInnis property. These investigationsunearthed a wealth of information about bothprehistoric and historical occupations on this parcel. Inthe end, both the archaeological community and localresidents benefitted from this work. Another piece ofthe archaeological record was able to be studied, and thesite served as a touchstone for educating localcommunity members about archaeology, and the deephistory of Orange Beach.

*Please note the artifacts are not shown to scale.

HISTORICAL LANDSCAPEHistorical maps assist archaeologists in many ways. They oftenindicate who was at a place at a particular time and reveallandscape changes or alterations. We know from many historicalmaps that access to the Gulf from Perdido Bay has changedsignificantly over the years. Perdido actually means "lost" inSpanish, and sailors considered Perdido Bay to be a safe haven forships as it was difficult to find and navigate the entrance from theGulf of Mexico. Ono Island was originally connected to themainland prior to 1867, and the Perdido River flowed around itseastern end (above left). Between 1867 and 1892, local residentsexcavated a pass at the current Alabama Point location to improvenavigation into the river channel from the Gulf. This pass isolatedwhat would become Ono Island and resulted in the abandonmentof the old river channel.

The Orange Beach peninsula is surrounded by a variety of marineenvironments that developed after the last ice age, and becamehome to a diverse array of shellfish and fish species that wereheavily exploited by prehistoric peoples. The elevated ridge thatruns east/west along the shoreline provided safe and dry land forhabitation. The soils support a mesic hardwood forest that wouldhave provided foodstuffs for people, as well as a variety of animalsexploited by people. In short, the local environment of OrangeBeach provided the means by which people in the past needed tolive.

SAMUEL SUAREZ

We know from the 1830 land survey records that themajority of the Orange Beach peninsula was owned bya man named Samuel Suarez who was granted 468acres during the Second Spanish period. Spain beganoffering land grants in 1790, and Samuel claimedpossession by at least 1813, and his ownership wasformally recognized by the American government in1820. Some historical documents indicate that Samuelcame to the area with his brothers, Jose and Francisco.Other accounts indicate Samuel was an anglicizedversion of Anselmo, and one of Francisco’s sons. At thispoint, it is unclear how Samuel fits into the Suarezfamily tree.

There are no additional accounts for Samuel Suarez. Ifhe was indeed Anselmo, there are a few additionalrecords. Anselmo served in the Second Seminole Warunder Lieutenant Gonzalez in 1837. He was one of 254people who signed an 1840 petition to annex EscambiaCounty (FL) to the state of Alabama. The last availablerecord is the administration of his estate in Novemberof 1848 by a Jose Suarez, who could have been hisbrother, or his nephew.

There are many accounts of the Suarez family in localhistories. In 1815, a Joseph Carson was stationed atPerdido. Carson’s commanding officer informed himthat he had destroyed a boat carrying the belongings ofFrancisco Suarez. Several days later, Carson destroyeda canoe belonging to Francisco, and several horsesbelonging to him were lost to a band of Choctawfighting with the British. Francisco, who professed tobe supportive of the American government, and"cheerfully submitted to his losses but expressed hopethat he would be remunerated for his losses at somepoint."

These images span a two-page spread in the published version

CULTURAL CONTEXT

Originally called the "Temple Mound" culture, theMississippian period of prehistory in the Southeast ismuch more than temple mounds. Archaeologistsbelieve that the origin of Mississippian culture was inan area that spanned Florida's Gulf coast inland to theChattahoochee River valley of Alabama and Georgia.

The beginnings of Mississippian culture in southwestAlabama may predate the AD 1250 date most oftenused based on the Bottle Creek site, but it is terminatedat AD 1550, around the time of the earliest Spanishentradas.

Mississippian people visited the coast during thesummer and fall, leaving behind extensive shellmiddens of oyster and marsh clams; these sites arethought of as fishing encampments. Meaning thesewere not year-round occupations by any one group ofpeople. It has yet to be determined if there were everyear-round occupations, but it is believed that sites likeBottle Creek served as centers of congregation for civicand ceremonial purposes.

Shell tempered pottery is an archaeological hallmark ofMississippian occupations. This was a majortechnological advancement, allowing for finer, thinnerwalled vessels to be made. Vessel forms and decorativemotifs show continuity with Late Woodland traditions,but there are a wider variety of vessel forms and a lackof check stamping.

The Protohistoric period (Bear Point phase) along Alabama’s coast dates between AD 1550 to AD 1700, but the ramifications of contact are poorly understood as not all groups were effected equally by European contact.

The distribution of Bear Point phase sites differs from the preceding period, but known sites are still clustered around the Bear Point mound site, and to a lesser degree the Bottle Creek site. In fact, the majority of known sites are found near Perdido Bay and in the Mobile Delta.

Ceramics diagnostic to the Protohistoric period are still mainly shell tempered, but the designs are typically more abstract than those of the Mississippian period. Due to European contact, there are often proportionally small amounts of European trade goods (e.g., metal arrowheads, glass beads, and some ceramics) mixed in with traditional assemblages.

Overall, the Protohistoric period is not well understood due to a lack of intensive investigations at sites with identified Protohistoric components. The coast and delta are two of the most developed regions in southern Alabama, and it is likely that many of the sites have been destroyed. It is for this reason that the McInnis site may have much to contribute to our understanding of this period of Native American life in Alabama, and indeed the Gulf coast.

TIMELINE

Specific prehistoric occupations are difficult to pin down. Archaeologists use diagnostic artifacts to indicate a span of time in which a site was used, andradiocarbon dates can refine broad date ranges. The McInnis site was occupied multiple times, as indicated by the variety of pottery types recovered from theexcavations. The earliest occupation dates to Bottle Creek I (AD 1200-1400), with subsequent Bottle Creek II and Bear Point occupations. Whether the site wasoccupied three times or a hundred times, between AD 1200 and AD 1700, is unknown.

VERTEBRATE FAUNAL REMAINS

Spiny fishes dominate the vertebrate faunal remains from McInnis, as they do in most coastal shell middens. Arelatively significant amount of turtle was also recovered, along with alligator scutes, deer long bones, and somebird and mammal remains. Surprisingly, no worked bone has been recovered from the McInnis site thus far. Thephoto above shows a sample of the range of fish bones recovered, including skull and facial bones, tooth plates,vertebrae, and spines.

Odooileus virginianus, white tail deer leg bones

Testudines sp., turtle long bones and carapaceAlligator mississippiensis, alligator scute

Osteichthyes sp., fish jaw and teeth

INVERTEBRATE FAUNAL REMAINS

The majority of invertebrate faunal remains from 1BA664 is oyster shell. Clams, whelks, conch, snails, and other minor species may have been incidental to oysterharvesting, or they may have been targeted for specific uses. Lightening whelks were sometimes modified and used as digging implements, and Mercenaria clamsmay have been used for digging or as cups due to their size and sturdiness. Only one piece of modified shell, a whelk columella, has been identified in the McInnisassemblage to date (above left). The presence of scallops in the 1BA664 midden is interesting as they are not found in Perdido or Mobile bays in the present day.

Busycon contrarium, lightning whelk

Possible utilized Busycon sp.

Polinices duplicatus, moon snail

Argopectic iradians, bay scallop

Mercenaria mercenaria, hard clam

Melongena corona, crown conch

Rangia cuneata, rangia clam

Busycon spiratum, pear whelk

NATIVE AMERICAN POTTERY

The use of shell temper is a marker of the Mississippian tradition across the Southeast. Research has shown that the clays used to manufacture Mississippianpottery in Alabama originated in Alabama. There are large deposits of ceramic-quality clays in Baldwin County, some not too distant from Orange Beach.

A description of making pottery derived from accounts by Butel-Dumont (1753) and Du Pratz (1758) provides some insight into the process. Women seek out"greasy clay," dry it to a powder, they then remove gravels and other impurities, reconstitute it to a paste and add the tempering agent, and knead into rolls.Formed vessels are dried, and then baked in the coals of a large fire. Butel-Dumont specifies, "Their [vessel] strength can only be attributed to the mixture whichthe women make of the powdered shells with the clay." Du Pratz specified that pottery making is one of the first tasks to be completed after settling a new site.

Above: Owens Punctate jarOpposite Page: D’Olive Incised shallow bowl/plate

Above: Mound Place Incised bowl. Below: UID Incised ladle or cup

MOUNDVILLE INCISED

The Moundville Incised ceramic series is decoratedusing combinations of incisions and punctations oncoarse shell tempered Mississippi Plain ware.Punctations are generally thought to be early whengash or wedge-shaped, and the dot punctations arebelieved to be later. There are five defined varieties allof which were recovered from the McInnis site. Thispage: (top) var. Bottle Creek, (bottom) var. SnowsBend with earlier-type gash punctations.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): var.Moundville (Early to Middle Mississippian), var.Bottle Creek (Middle to Late Mississippian) with laterdot punctations, var. Carrollton (Early to MiddleMississippian), and var. Snows Bend (Middle to LateMississippian) with later-style dot punctations.

D'OLIVE INCISEDD'Olive Incised is another series thatencompasses a variety of decorative motifs andspans the Mississippian and Protohistoricperiods in southern Alabama, and at theMcInnis site. The most distinguishingcharacteristic of D'Olive Incised is thedecoration is found on the interior, rather thanexterior, surface of shallow bowls and plates.There are five defined varieties, and the rims areoften ticked, known as the D'Olive rimtreatment (shown at right). The varietiesrecovered from the McInnis site are specificallyassociated with Middle to Late Mississippianoccupations of the Bottle Creek Phase.

This page: D'Olive Incised with D'Olive rimtreatments.

var. Shell Banks var. Dominic

var. D’Olivevar. Indeterminate

MOUND PLACE INCISED

Moundplace Incised decorative motifs occuron Bell Plain wares. The designs consist ofcombinations of parallel incised lines, withsome variations that incorporate hatching.Generally, this series is associated withMiddle to Late Mississippian occupations.All four defined varieties of are present inthe McInnis assemblage: Akron, BonSecour, McMillan, and Waltons Camp. TheBon Secour and Akron varieties are typicallymarkers of the Late Mississippian BottleCreek II phase.

(This page, clockwise from top): var. Akron,var. Bon Secour, var. McMillan.

The Mound Place Incised sherds shown onthe opposite page are all of the varietyWaltons Camp, which is most commonlyassociated with effigy rim additions.

PENSACOLA INCISED

This pottery series is associated with the laterBottle Creek and Bear Point phases. There areeight defined varieties, most of which areassociated with Middle to Late Mississippianphase occupations. The Bear Point, Pensacola,and Rutherford varieties are indicative ofProtohistoric occupations. Pensacola Incisedpottery is probably the most complex andabstract style of all Mississippian ceramic types.Design motifs include a variety of human andanimalistic designs, some are very abstract whileothers are more realistic.

This page: (top) line drawing of bird motif fromsherd at bottom, var. Holmes.

Opposite page (clockwise from top): var.Holmes,, with hand and snake motifs, var.Jessamine, var. Gasque (Gasque rim mode) withvulture motif.

Clockwise from top: Pensacola Incised, var. Louis Lake; var. Pensacola; var. Bear Point.

OTHER TYPES

The majority of pottery recovered from the McInnis siteis plain and shell tempered. The image at top left showsthe variation in the size of the shell temper.

A number of pottery types were recovered from 1BA664in significantly smaller amounts than the previouslydiscussed series. Owens and Parkin Punctated, BartonIncised, and L'eau Noire Incised are all present in theMcInnis assemblage, and represent possible LowerMississippi Valley influences. Likewise, sand temperedsherds of the Ft. Walton series represent Floridainfluences.

The Mississippian-age Ft. Walton culture is moreclosely associated with Florida, although it is notuncommon to recover Ft Walton ceramics in Alabama.The main distinction between the two cultures is Ft.Walton ceramics are sand, not shell, tempered. Thesherds pictured at left (bottom) are Ft. Walton Incised.It is not surprising that Ft. Walton sherds are present atthe McInnis site, as there are several large sites in thetransitional zone between Alabama and Florida. .

HISTORIC NATIVE AMERICAN POTTERY

The presence of a historical Native American occupation at the site was realized during shovel testing, and there are a number ofhistorical Native American pottery types in the assemblage. Waselkov (2014) presented a paper interpreting the presence of historicalartifacts (e.g., gun flints, European glass and ceramics, and trade goods) and pottery types as an indicator of a Towasa occupation at thesite. Above are examples of historic Native American ceramics. Clockwise from top: cob roughened, Chattahoochee Brushed, Leon-Jefferson rims, and a shallow colonoware bowl fragment (Native American-produced ceramics in European vessel forms).

LITHIC ARTIFACTS

Pitted anvil stone (sandstone)

Hammerstone (quartz)

Debitage (Coastal Plain chert)

Knappable lithic materials are rare along Alabama's coast. Presumably, prehistoric people used alternative materials (e.g., wood, bone, shell) to replenish brokenor used up tools while on the coast. The McInnis lithic assemblage is in line with this, as only a single piece of Coastal Plain chert has been recovered from aprehistoric context. (The historical gunflints recovered from the site are made of imported European cherts.) Groundstone tools, such as the hammerstones (usedfor making stone tools or processing nuts) and pitted anvil stones (used for crushing nuts) may have been acquired locally. The hammerstones are large quartzcobbles, which are usually found in riverbeds. Sandstones slabs, like the pitted anvil stone , outcrop in Baldwin County but it could have been sourced from justabout anywhere, including in the vicinity of the McInnis site.

CELTS & OCHREThe greenstone celts (right) were transported thefurthest distance from their origin in the HillabeeFormation in northern Alabama. It has beensuggested that Moundville controlled theextraction and distribution of greenstone duringthe Mississippian period. A flake from anotherground tool, likely another celt, was also recoveredfrom the site. Flakes occur due to an impact, andthis one could have come off during use of a celt. Itseems unlikely that a flake was intentionallyremoved from what appears to have been afinished celt.

The presence of modified ochre (opposite page) atthis site is not surprising, and may outcrop locally.Ochre is a soft, pigmented (usually yellow or red)material that was ground up and mixed with wateror fat, and used for a variety of purposes. Body orhair paint, tool and ceramic decoration, andmedicine, are just a few of the documented uses.Cabeza de Vaca's journal includes a discussion ofthe Charucco tribe trading marine shell for ochrefrom the interior in Texas. He states the Charuccoused it on their faces, and to color "deer hairtassels." C. B. Moore recovered similar ochreartifacts from the Bear Point mound burials, andochre was also recovered from excavations at theBottle Creek site.

EFFIGIES

"Can you or any of your readers furnish me with a reference or references as tolarge numbers of small animal effigies of pottery found together in any moundof the United States?"

C.B.M

The above is an advertisement placed in the June 2, 1893 issue of Science by Clarence B. Moore, who excavated atthe Bear Point mound in 1901. Unfortunately, we do not know what, if any, response there was to Moore's plea.Although effigies are not unusual in Mississippian assemblages, the number of effigies recovered from the McInnissite is unusual. In total, so far, 42 effigies and effigy fragments have been identified. In comparison, only five wereidentified in the contemporary Plash Island site assemblage, and six or seven are reported from Moore'sexcavations in the Bear Point mound.

Symbols are objects that represent an idea, image, belief, action, or entity. Motifs are repeated elements that havea symbolic significance, particularly in a story, and in art they are an element of a pattern. In combination symbolsand motifs can be used to convey a story, and this is the case across the Southeast during the Mississippian.Mississippian symbols include: hand, eye, bone, skull, equal-arm cross, sun, star, triskel (tripart interlockedspirals), step, arrow, human, spider, bird, and snake. Mississippian motifs include: cross, sun circle (rayed circlesor arches), bi-lobed arrow, forked and open eyes, barred oval, hand and eye, death motifs. Archaeologists want tobe able to "read" the story that the combinations of symbols and motifs write, but so far we have not completelydecoded the mythology. We believe that these stories tied spatially separate groups of people together under theauspices of warfare, cosmology, and nobility.

Opposite page: (left) Hollow human head effigy containing fragments of shell that served to make a rattling noise.This is most likely a top-bun human effigy type, dating to the Late Bottle Creek phase, but it could be a turban-type, which is a Bear Point phase type. At right is a smaller, solid, top-bun human effigy, dating to the Late BottleCreek phase.

EARED BIRDSThis group of four effigies appear to most closelyresemble owls. All four are solid, not hollow, andrelatively large. Even though they are birds, owlswere historically viewed differently than otherspecies. Many cultures see them as foreshadowingdeath, although not necessarily a physical death, butrather a symbolic death or a life transition. Owls arealso believed to be able to see things that otherscannot, like the future, truth, or upcoming changes)because of their ability to see in the dark.

The specimen at right may have mammal elementsincorporated, but the eyes and ears (partiallybroken) match well with the eared category. Earedbird effigies are most closely associated with BottleCreek occupations.

CRESTED BIRDS This effigy figure (right and opposite page) is a crestedbird; and may be a woodpecker or a wood duck. Crestedbirds are closely associated with Bottle Creekoccupations.

There is an Alabama tribal myth involving woodpeckersand a man who gambled and lost all the water:

"A woodpecker was searching for food and landed on acane that was as large as a tree. When he startedpecking, he heard a strange sound so he went andfound someone and told him about the cane tree andthe strange sound. The person replied that the soundwas water, so the woodpecker returned and pecked ahole all the way through and water was returned to theearth."

DUCKSDucks have a special meaning in the iconographic world.Most Native American mythologies describe threerealms: upper (air), middle (earth), and lower (water),and since ducks are able to fly, walk on land, and diveunder water they were viewed as mediators between thethree realms. Several origin stories tell of ducks bringingmud up from the bottom of a lake to create the earth.

The effigy above is a crested bird. It has a small, circular incision demarcating an eye, and barely discernable is the red paint in a diamond shape around the eyearea; this effigy is most likely a species of waterfowl, possibly a loon which has a red eye and a slight ridge on the top of the head.

There are a number of bird effigies fragments that, so far, have not been matched with other effigy pieces. Above are three bird bills that do not refit with any of the heads that are missing bills. The bird at top left, is most likely a duck, but no additional fragments were recovered to make an identification possible.

COOKIE-CUTTER BIRDS

This type of effigy may have been massproduced, or done in such a way that theforms are very standardized. A flattenedpiece of clay was formed into a twodimensional simplified bird head, and theyhave minimal decoration. The heads aretypically composed of an eye area and a billor beak, but most lack an extended neck.Cookie-cutter effigy birds likely represent avariety of bird species: wood duck, quail,vulture, among others. This type of effigy isaffiliated with Bottle Creek occupations.

The example at right is somewhat of atransitional piece between a noded bird anda cookie cutter. It is not completely flat, butlacks a stylized bill or other decoration.None of the previously known examples ofcookie cutter birds have a head projection,which is what defines the noded birdcategory.

ABSTRACT EFFIGIES

Veristic effigies are somewhat realistic, butnot necessarily identifiable to a particularclass of animals. The four examples shown atright look somewhat like: an indeterminateeared animal (top left), a bear (top right),possible bird (bottom right), and a possibledeer (bottom left).

TAB TAILSMuch like a lug handle, tab tail appendagesare a common part of effigy vessels,appearing on the opposite side of the vesselfrom a head. Two varieties are present in theMcInnis assemblage (opposite page): incised(left) and geometric (right). Some believethat the geometric forms are associated withthe cookie-cutter type effigy heads and theincised with the gracile birds. Fourteen tabtails were recovered from the McInnis site,seven each of the incised and geometrictypes.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE McINNIS SITE

Archaeological investigation of the McInnis site was unusual, which is perhaps fitting considering the uncommonpresence of so many effigy vessels. Archaeological investigations are normally part of a federal or state mandatedcompliance process. The McInnis family was intrigued enough by the artifacts to delve deeper. This book is in noway meant to convey a complete picture of the prehistoric and historical occupations of the site. Merely, anoverview of what was recovered, and the potential of these artifacts for future research.

Compared with other contemporaneous sites, the McInnis site is not spatially the largest, or the densest deposit.It lacks structural features, such as post molds, semi-subterranean pit houses, and mounds, found at other sites.The midden is relatively shallow and the site has few refuse and pit features. But what this site lacks in size ordensity, it more than makes up for in other ways.

The McInnis assemblage has vast potential for exploring and explaining past human behavior. What were peopledoing that left behind a shallow, mostly oyster, shell midden and significant amounts of pottery, including a largenumber of effigies? Were people doing the same thing at this location during subsequent occupations?

One possible explanation of how this archaeological deposit formed is feasting. Prehistoric feasting took place forvarious reasons: provisioning of elites, support and motivation of labor efforts, and as ritual. The two mostabundant artifact classes, ceramics and faunal remains, could be used to examine this question. Feasting would,presumably, require large vessels for cooking and serving as well as vessels that are suited for access, rather thancontainment or storage. The faunal assemblage may reflect feasting in the depositional nature of the assemblage,meaning large quantities of shell and bone that were deposited quickly, resulting in clean shell deposits with littlesoil formation. Large shells, and low species diversity, typically indicates feasting activities rather than everydayconsumption. Instead of a resource being depleting over time by constant harvesting, targeting specific species(oyster in this case) for isolated episodes of eating would result in large-size, mature shell remains. It is yetunknown if the vertebrate faunal assemblage represents preferential hunting or collecting, which could also beindicative of specialized activities such as feasting. The presence of prestige or ceremonial items, including thewhelk columella, ochre, greenstone celts, and the effigy vessels, does indicate that there was a social structure ineffect, governing or regulating the behavior and actions of the people who utilized this site.

Whatever the nature of the prehistoric use of the McInnis site, there is continuity with how people exploited theOrange Beach area in the past with the present. No matter how strange these artifacts may seem to us today, wecan still appreciate and understand the behavior and actions that resulted in them.

William de Bry engraving of John White plate 44, 1590. The brovvyllinge of their fishe ouer the flame.

John White watercolor (Plate 42), 1585. The Manner of their Fishing.

“Boy holding up a fish he has caught at Gulf State Park in Baldwin County, Alabama” ca. 1930-19490

“Sailing, Orange Beach, Ala” ca. 1910-1939. (Back: “This is the place where we go to get our fresh oysters, and believe me they are good.”