Were they or weren't they? A study of possible sedentariness using faunal indicators at a coastal Thom's Creek site (38ch1693)

Author

Lauren Lowrey Alford

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Peacock, Evan

Committee Member

Rafferty, Janet

Committee Member

Hogue, Homes S.

Date of Degree

8-6-2011

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Applied Anthropology

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures

Abstract

Site 38CH1693 is a coastal site located in Charleston County, South Carolina. Thom’s Creek ceramics place the site in the Late Archaic/Early Woodland Period and radiocarbon dating corroborates this, placing the features present between 3650 and 3950 BP. Faunal analysis was undertaken to assess seasonality in order to understand the occupations that occurred at the site. Faunal seasonality, botanical seasonality, and sedentariness indicators are used to determine the sedentariness of the site. The presence of certain marine fish species is one of the most important seasonality indicators used. It is determined from the available evidence that at least one short-duration, year-round occupation is represented by the materials recovered at 38CH1693. Site 38CH1693 does not fit into the current Late Archaic settlement pattern models for the coast, calling for a reevaluation of these settlement pattern models and the sedentary sites within them.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15380

Recommended Citation

Alford, Lauren Lowrey, "Were they or weren't they? A study of possible sedentariness using faunal indicators at a coastal Thom's Creek site (38ch1693)" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 5005.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/5005