Slack Farm
Encyclopedia
Slack Farm is an archaeological site of the Caborn-Welborn variant of the Mississippian culture
. Slack Farm is located near Uniontown, Kentucky
close to the confluence of the Ohio River
and the Wabash River
s. The site included a Native American
mound
and an extensive village occupation dating between 1400-1650 CE. Although Slack Farm was long known to be one of the major villages of the Caborn-Welborn people, it became famous when it was very seriously damaged by looters in 1987.
300 metres (984.3 ft) from the Ohio River. There was a mound (Site 15 UN 70) located on the bluff overlooking the site. The Slack Farm site itself consisted of 7 discrete village areas surrounding a central plaza and covering roughly 14 ha. A shallow ravine bisects the site running from the west to the south. Houses were typical Mississippian rectangular wall trench wattle and daub
structures set in shallow basins. Many had prepared clay hearths. Located near most houses were special pits used to store maize
and other dried foods. The pits were large enough to have stored enough grain to feed 7 to 12 people for a year.
, as well as small pottery jars were often included, usuaslly near the body's upper torso. In Late Caborn-Welborn times, european trade goods such as glass beads, copper
/brass
bracelets and tubes were deposited in the graves. During the 1987 looting, 650 to 750 graves were opened by the looters. Given the fact that infants and children are under-represented in this total, archaeologists speculate that as many as a thousand or more people could have been buried at the seven cemeteries at the site.
of "desecrating a venerable object" (a charge which is now a felony
, in part due to the controversy over Slack Farm). Prosecution on this charge was difficult in the late 1980s, in part because this predated the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
and related state legislation, which made it clearer that such activities were illegal.
The looting of Slack Farm contributed to the passage of more stringent laws in the state of Kentucky relating to the protection of burial
s, sacred grounds, and indigenous/archaeological site
s. The damage done to Slack Farm attracted worldwide attention and was written about in National Geographic Magazine
, prompting widespread outcry against illicit removal of antiquities.
The hundreds of broken bones were reburied by Native American groups. As of May 2007, Native American groups still meet in the area to commemorate the site and mourn the damage done.
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
. Slack Farm is located near Uniontown, Kentucky
Uniontown, Kentucky
Uniontown is a city in Union County, Kentucky in the United States of America. The population was 1,064 at the 2000 census. The name derives from the fact that the city was formed by merging the towns of Francisburg and Locust Port. The John T...
close to the confluence of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
s. The site included a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
mound
Platform mound
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...
and an extensive village occupation dating between 1400-1650 CE. Although Slack Farm was long known to be one of the major villages of the Caborn-Welborn people, it became famous when it was very seriously damaged by looters in 1987.
Description
The Slack Farm site is located on a projecting terrace and adjacent leveeLevee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
300 metres (984.3 ft) from the Ohio River. There was a mound (Site 15 UN 70) located on the bluff overlooking the site. The Slack Farm site itself consisted of 7 discrete village areas surrounding a central plaza and covering roughly 14 ha. A shallow ravine bisects the site running from the west to the south. Houses were typical Mississippian rectangular wall trench wattle and daub
Wattle and daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...
structures set in shallow basins. Many had prepared clay hearths. Located near most houses were special pits used to store 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...
and other dried foods. The pits were large enough to have stored enough grain to feed 7 to 12 people for a year.
Graves
Each section of the large village maintained its own cemetery. Burials were typically in extended positions. They were often laid out in parallel rows and the absence of overlapping burials suggests that they were marked in some way. Grave goods such as limestone disc pipes, shell beads and ear plugsPlug (jewellery)
A plug , in the context of body modification, is a short, cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings. Because of their size—which is often substantially thicker than a standard wire earring—plugs can be made out of almost any material...
, as well as small pottery jars were often included, usuaslly near the body's upper torso. In Late Caborn-Welborn times, european trade goods such as glass beads, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
/brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
bracelets and tubes were deposited in the graves. During the 1987 looting, 650 to 750 graves were opened by the looters. Given the fact that infants and children are under-represented in this total, archaeologists speculate that as many as a thousand or more people could have been buried at the seven cemeteries at the site.
1987 looting and its effects
In 1987 the ten looters of Slack Farm paid $10,000 to a new landowner of the Slack Farm property for the right to dig at the site. After renting a tractor, the ten individuals spent two months destroying hundreds of Native American graves, Mississippian culture houses, and unknown other artifacts. Local complaints by the people of Uniontown led to the arrest of the perpetrators for the misdemeanorMisdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
of "desecrating a venerable object" (a charge which is now a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
, in part due to the controversy over Slack Farm). Prosecution on this charge was difficult in the late 1980s, in part because this predated the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act , Pub. L. 101-601, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., 104 Stat. 3048, is a United States federal law passed on 16 November 1990 requiring federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American "cultural items" to...
and related state legislation, which made it clearer that such activities were illegal.
The looting of Slack Farm contributed to the passage of more stringent laws in the state of Kentucky relating to the protection of burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
s, sacred grounds, and indigenous/archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
s. The damage done to Slack Farm attracted worldwide attention and was written about in National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, prompting widespread outcry against illicit removal of antiquities.
The hundreds of broken bones were reburied by Native American groups. As of May 2007, Native American groups still meet in the area to commemorate the site and mourn the damage done.
See also
- Caborn-Welborn culture
- Hovey Lake-Klein Archeological SiteHovey Lake-Klein Archeological SiteHovey Lake-Klein Archeological Site is an archaeological site of the Caborn-Welborn variant of the Mississippian culture. Hovey Lake-Klein Archeological Site is located on the west bank of Hovey Lake, a backwater lake near the Ohio River close to its confluence with the Wabash River...
- Mississippian cultureMississippian cultureThe Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
- Angel MoundsAngel MoundsAngel Mounds State Historic Site is located on the Ohio River in Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties eight miles southeast of Evansville and just upriver of the confluence of the Green and Ohio rivers. Administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Indiana State Museums...
- List of Mississippian sites
External links
- Society for American Archaeology: Preserving the Past for the Future
- Anthropologist Brian M. Fagan explains the Slack Farm Tragedy in three parts
- Kentucky Burial Laws
- Archaeological vandalism in the Southeast
- Purifying the Slack Farm: Native Americans continuing to celebrate the site