The Aker site (23PL43): Lithic economy and ritual aggregation among the Kansas City Hopewell

The Aker site (23PL43) is a Kansas City Hopewell village site situated on the floodplain at the confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers. This unusual placement and evidence for periodic flooding raise questions about site use. Traditional models for Hopewell settlement in the East suggest that regional exchange centers were placed in such precarious locations to facilitate the movement of trade goods along major waterways. More recent models focus on "sacred landscapes" and the necessity of periodic aggregation among middle range societies. The present study examines the possibility that the Aker site played a role in one of these systems, with particular reference to the site's lithic assemblage.