Mortuary Patterning Within the Dallas Culture at Toqua

The purpose of this study was to examine the mortuary patterning at Toqua, a late Mississippian site on the Little Tennessee River in East Tennessee. Analytical considerations included testing an energy expenditure model based on burial pit size, shape, modifications, location, and grave associations.

The sample included 533 individuals from 511 burials. Non-random patterning of intra-site burial traits indicated the presence of social stratification at the chiefdom level of socio-cultural integration. There were five distinct site areas, two mounds, two villages and a structure, which were analyzed and ordered according to relative social ranking. Mound A (N=115) contained individuals with the highest relative status followed by Mound B (N=114), East Village (N=201), and West Village (N=88). An additional site area, Structure 3 (N=15), possessed burial status intermediate between the Mounds and Villages.

Through the use of regression, analysis of variance, the G-Test and Chi-square, the presence of both ascribed and achieved modes of social ranking were apparent in the data. The results compare positively with previous studies of Toqua social organization and the general social model of the Mississippian period.