Angel Phase facts for kids
The Angel Phase was a period of time, lasting about 300 to 400 years, when a group of people from the Mississippian culture lived in the central United States. Archaeologists study this time. These people lived from about 1050 to 1350 CE. Their villages and towns were found along the Ohio River in southern Indiana, northwestern Kentucky, and Illinois. Important sites include Angel Mounds near Evansville, Wickliffe Mounds, Tolu Site, and Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site.
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What Did Angel Phase People Make?
The Angel Phase people left behind many objects, called artifacts. Archaeologists have found over 2.5 million items! Most of these are pieces of pottery, called sherds. Pottery makes up about 70% of all the artifacts found, which is more than 1.8 million pieces. Most of this pottery was plain. Some had simple designs, but fancy decorations like cord marking (patterns made by pressing cords into wet clay) or fabric impressing (patterns made by pressing fabric) were rare.
Tools made from chipped stone, like arrowheads, were not very common. They made up less than 1% of all artifacts. Tools made from ground stone were even rarer. However, animal bones and other animal remains were a big part of what was found, making up about 20% of the collection.
When comparing the Angel Phase artifacts to those from other areas, like the Tennessee-Cumberland region, the Angel pottery was simpler. Over time, the pottery became even plainer. For example, in the later Angel 3 phase, only 0.6% of pottery had decorations, down from 3% in the earlier Angel 2 phase. This shows that people in this region started to use less painting and decoration on their pottery after 1200 CE.
How Do We Know When Things Were Made?
Dating Pottery Styles
Archaeologists figure out the age of Angel Phase pottery by looking at certain "markers." These are features that changed over time. For example, the thickness of a pot's rim or the style of its handle changed gradually. Early pots often had "loop handles," which later changed to "strap handles."
Some specific types of pottery also help with dating. Finding a piece of Ramey Incised pottery usually means it's from an earlier period. If they find a piece of Parkin Punctuated pottery, it suggests a later period.
Archaeologists make sure these markers are found in undisturbed layers of soil. This helps them create a reliable timeline for when different pottery styles were popular.
Where Did Angel Phase People Live?
In the lower Ohio River valley, in Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana, several large Mississippian towns like Kincaid, Wickliffe, Tolu, and Angel Mounds are grouped together. This is because their pottery and town layouts are very similar.
The similarities between the Kincaid and Angel sites are especially strong. They have similar town plans, similar artifacts, and are close to each other. Because of these connections, some experts believe that the people who built and lived in these towns were part of the same society.
The 300-400 year period when these sites and artifacts are found is called the "Angel Phase." It is divided into three smaller periods:
- Jonathan Creek (1000/1100-1200 CE)
- Angelly (1200-1300 CE)
- Tinsley Hill (1300-1450 CE)
At all four mound sites, painted and incised pottery pieces are very rare. They make up less than one percent of the pottery at Kincaid and about three or four percent at Wickliffe. Some common pottery styles found include Angel Negative Painted, Kincaid Negative Painted, and Matthews Incised. This pottery was made with crushed shell mixed into the clay (called shell tempered). Some pottery, like Mississippi Ware, had a rougher surface, while Bell Ware had a smoother, more polished surface.
When Were Angel Phase Towns Used?
Building and Living Timelines
Many buildings at the Angel Mounds site were built during the early Angel 2 phase (1200 to 1325 CE). This was the first time Middle Mississippian people lived at Angel Mounds. Pottery designs from this phase show that it was the same time as the transition from Middle to Late Wickliffe phases, and the Angelly phase.
An earlier period, called the Angel 1 phase (Stephan-Steinkamp Phase, 1100 to 1200 CE?), is only known from pottery pieces found near, but not directly at, the Angel Mounds site. Mound A, a large platform mound at Angel, was built in the early 1200s, during the Angel 2 phase. The pottery found at the top of this mound only dates to Angel 2. This suggests that the mound was no longer used during the Angel 3 phase (1325 to 1450 CE). Kincaid's largest mound was also only used until about 1300 CE.
Archaeological findings suggest that only half of the Angel site was used during Angel 2. However, human remains and Angel 3 pottery found at the site show that most of the site was used during Angel 3. It seems that more people lived there and there was more activity during Angel 3 than during Angel 2.
Archaeologists believe that by 1450 CE, the Angel chiefdom (a type of society led by a chief) ended. Many of the Angel people may have moved downriver to where the Ohio and Wabash rivers meet. A new cultural group, called the Caborn-Welborn culture, then appeared in that area.
How Do Archaeologists Study This?
The study of the Angel Phase and Mississippian archaeology has mostly focused on pottery made with shell temper. Early accounts described how women made this pottery with great skill. Archaeologists study pottery to understand when sites were used and how different cultures were connected.
In the past, experts like Fay-Cooper Cole grouped the lower Ohio Valley Mississippian towns of Angel, Kincaid, Tolu, and Wickliffe together. Later, researchers like Thomas J. Green and Cheryl Ann Munson studied where Angel and Caborn-Welborn settlements were located and how they related to each other.
New technologies like radiocarbon dating helped archaeologists figure out the age of the Angel Mounds site. As archaeology changed, so did the questions asked about Mississippian cultures. Studying pottery became more than just dating sites. It also helped answer questions about:
- What pottery was made of: Scientists looked closely at the clay and temper to see where the pottery came from and how it was traded.
- How pottery was made: Researchers learned about the steps involved in making pottery. They even found that adding salt to clay made it easier to work with.
- What pottery was used for: Archaeologists studied if pottery was for ceremonies or everyday use. They also found that new pottery styles appeared when people started growing, storing, and cooking corn.
Archaeologists also looked at the artistic styles of Mississippian pottery, especially from Angel and Kincaid. These styles are similar to other pottery from the Southeastern United States, sharing many of the same designs and symbols.
- Hilgeman, Sherri L. Pottery and Chronology at Angel, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2000.
See Also
Images for kids
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Mississippian sites on the Lower Ohio River
