Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

Table 11.4. List of Wild and Domesticated Plants Identified at Late Middle and Early Late Woodland Sites.
Taxonomic Name Common Name Late Middle Early Late Sites
Woodland
Woodland
Wild Plants and Nuts
Carya sp. Hickory x --- 2,7
Corylus sp. Hazelnut x --- 1,2,7,9
Cyperus sp. Sedge x --- 6
Fabaceae Pulse Family x --- 6
Rhus sp. Sumac x --- 6
Vitus sp. Grape x --- 1
Junglans cinerea Butternut x x 1,2,3,4,5,8
Junglans nigra Walnut x x 1,3
Polygonum sp. Knotweed, Smartweed x x 3,6
Rubus sp. Raspberry x x 1,3,5,6,9,8
Amaranthus sp. Amaranth --- x 8
Chenopodium sp. 1 Goosefoot --- x 2,3,8
Sambucus canadensis Elderberry --- x 8
Crataegus sp. Hawthorn --- x 3
Eleocharis sp. Spike rush --- x 3
Gramineae sp. Grass Family --- x 3,9
Oxalis sp. Wood Sorrel --- x 9
Prunus sp. Cherry --- x 3
Prunus pensylvanica Pin cherry --- x 8
Trifolium sp. Clover --- x 3
Domesticated Plants
Zea mays Maize --- x 5
1 Floral remains have not been analyzed to determine if they represent domesticated or wild specimens. In the absence of
such information, it is assumed that they are wild.
Key:
1-Fortin II, late Middle Woodland component (Funk 1998a).
2-Street, late Middle Woodland component (Starna and Gutierrez 1980; Wellman 1998).
3-Ouleout Creek (Hartgen Archaeological Associates, Inc., 1989).
4-Street, early Late Woodland component (Starna and Gutierrez 1980; Wellman 1998).
5-Fortin II, early Late Woodland component (Funk 1998a).
6-SUBi-505, Middle Woodland occupation (Wanser 1977).
7-Sternberg, Middle Woodland component (Funk 1993, 1998b).
8-Otego Yard, Late Woodland component (Hartgen Archaeological Associates, Inc., 1988).
9-Hudson Lake, Late Woodland component (Weide 1975; Snethkamp 1976).
include butternut, hazelnut, walnut, knotweed or
smartweed, and raspberries. While this disparity was
initially thought to represent different seasons of
exploitation, plants associated with spring-summer
and fall-winter occupations are present in both the
late Middle and early Late Woodland assemblages. In
the future, additional work is needed to determine
whether these patterns are real or if they represent a
sampling bias.
The early Late Woodland period is largely defined
by the use and gradual intensification of maize horticulture.
Maize has been recovered from the western
and central portions of the Susquehanna Valley as early
as the eighth century A.D. (Hart and Sidell 1996) and
from the upper Susquehanna Valley during the
eleventh century A.D. (Prezzano 1993; Prezzano and
Rieth 2001; Ritchie 1994; Wurst and Versaggi 1993).
Despite this, little direct evidence of maize horticulture
has been identified in the Oneonta-Worchester area.
Currently, only the Fortin II site has produced charred
corn kernels. According to Funk (1993b, 1998a:78), two
charred corn kernels were recovered from features in
Occupation Zone 4. These corn kernels appear to have
been found in association with cordmarked pottery
(Funk 1998a) and probably date to the occupation of
the site during the twelfth century A.D.
218 Rieth