Armstrong culture
Encyclopedia
The Armstrong culture were a Hopewell group in the Big Sandy River Valley
of Northeastern Kentucky
and Western West Virginia
from 1 to 500 CE.
peoples. Archaeologist Dr. Edward McMichael characterized them as an intrusive Hopewell-like trade culture or a vanguard of Hopewellian tradition that had probably peacefully absorbed the local Adena in the Kanawha River
Valley. It is currently thought that their culture slowly evolved into the later Buck Garden people.
finish was similar in color to the Peters Cordmarked and Peters Plain ceramics of late western Ohio Hopewell, an oxidized color. Peters Cordmarked is related to McGraw Cordmarked of that phase of classic Ohio Hopewell (c. 50 CE) and is considered to be a lineal descendant from that type.
from the greater Muskingum River
valley area. This period does see the enlarging of the large conical mounds by accretion cremating their dead, depositng their remains in the mounds and then adding new players of earth over them.
were comparable to the previous Adena peoples, with most of its emphasis on vining crops like the climbing string bean, pumpkins (a winter squash) along with some of the earlier summer squashes. They also grew native cereal grasses
, tuber
s, bulb
s and gourd
s. Maize
, although a staple to many later groups of Native Americans in the area, would not reach this area for many centuries after the Armstrong peoples.
Big Sandy River (Ohio River)
The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course...
of Northeastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Western West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
from 1 to 500 CE.
Origins
The Armstrong people are thought to have been a regional variant of the Hopewell tradition or a Hopewell influenced Middle Woodland group who had peacefully mingled with the local AdenaAdena culture
The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 1000 to 200 BC, in a time known as the early Woodland Period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system...
peoples. Archaeologist Dr. Edward McMichael characterized them as an intrusive Hopewell-like trade culture or a vanguard of Hopewellian tradition that had probably peacefully absorbed the local Adena in the Kanawha River
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
Valley. It is currently thought that their culture slowly evolved into the later Buck Garden people.
Ceramics
The Armstrong people made clay pottery with a glazed yellow-orange color. Armstrong potteryHopewell pottery
Hopewell pottery is the ceramic tradition of the various local cultures involved in the Hopewell tradition and are found as artifacts in archeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast...
finish was similar in color to the Peters Cordmarked and Peters Plain ceramics of late western Ohio Hopewell, an oxidized color. Peters Cordmarked is related to McGraw Cordmarked of that phase of classic Ohio Hopewell (c. 50 CE) and is considered to be a lineal descendant from that type.
Architecture
Armstrong peoples primarily focused their human resources was on long distance trade rather than mass building. Their villages were scattered over a large area and consisted of small round houses. Another feature of their culture was the practice of cremation and the building of small burial mounds in the Big Sandy Valley. They made small flaked knives and corner notched points from Vanport chertChert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
from the greater Muskingum River
Muskingum River
The Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio...
valley area. This period does see the enlarging of the large conical mounds by accretion cremating their dead, depositng their remains in the mounds and then adding new players of earth over them.
Agriculture
Their limited agricultural staplesEastern Agricultural Complex
The Eastern Agricultural Complex describes the agricultural practices of the pre-historic Eastern Woodland Native Americans in the eastern United States and Canada. Native Americans domesticated and cultivated many indigenous crops as far west as the Great Plains.-Term:The term Eastern Agricultural...
were comparable to the previous Adena peoples, with most of its emphasis on vining crops like the climbing string bean, pumpkins (a winter squash) along with some of the earlier summer squashes. They also grew native cereal grasses
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
, tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
s, bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s and gourd
Gourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
s. Maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, although a staple to many later groups of Native Americans in the area, would not reach this area for many centuries after the Armstrong peoples.