When we honored Sarah O’Donnell for finishing her thesis, we asked her to tell us more about the project. Here is a summary of her work along with some pictures from her project.
Sarah’s thoughts about her thesis
It is with great excitement, pride, and relief that my Master’s thesis, Investigating Ozarks Marginality, has been completed. This thesis represents two years of research, consultation with tribal and federal agencies, data collection, analysis, writing, editing, more editing, and finally formatting for publication.
What began as a simple question (What was happening during the late prehistoric Missouri Ozarks?) grew into a geochemical sourcing project that sought to understand late prehistoric Ozark inhabitants and their relationships with the nearby complex chiefdoms. This research question stemmed from my undergraduate work at Cahokia, the sprawling prehistoric Mississippian urban center, and realization that I knew very little about the prehistory of the Ozarks.
Ceramics, society and analysis
Drawing on my skills with ceramics, I explored links between complex core societies and the Ozarks margin. After choosing ceramic samples from selected late prehistoric sites in the Northern Ozark Highland, I conducted geochemical analyses. Using the resources of the Archaeometry Lab at the Nuclear Research Reactor at the University of Missouri, I was able to ascertain the geochemical signature of the ceramic samples and compare them to known source groups from the complex core areas outside the Ozarks.
Research outcomes
My results suggest that Northern Ozark Highland communities were isolated from the complex core societies to the east and southwest. These results may bolster other existing research that suggests the inhabitants of the Northern Ozark Highland purposefully kept themselves isolated from the urbanites of Cahokia and other large mound centers.
I am incredibly grateful to have to support and guidance of my advisor Dr. Liz Sobel and the department, which encouraged and facilitated the presentation of my research at the Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Austin, Texas.
Sarah O’Donnell with lighting equipment for taking ceramic sample photographs, June 2013