SUBSISTENCE, SETTLEMENT, AND LAND-USE CHANGES DURING THE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD ON ST. CATHERINES ISLAND, GEORGIA by SARAH GREENHOE BERGH (Under the Direction of Elizabeth J. Reitz) ABSTRACT This research examines the human-environment interactions on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, during the late Woodland through the Mississippian period (AD 800–1580). Results from multiple analyses indicate that socio-political, demographic, and economic changes during this period were associated with changes in subsistence, settlement, and land-use patterns. Archaeofaunal collections of vertebrates and invertebrates are examined from three sites in a single locality, representing human occupation during the entire Mississippian period—9LI21, 9LI229, and 9LI230. Two additional late Mississippian archaeofaunal collections of vertebrates are examined from different island locations—9LI207 and 9LI1637. Fine-grained recovery techniques, not previously used for Mississippian deposits on St. Catherines Island, produced collections dominated by estuarine resources, especially oysters, clams, stout tagelus, sea catfishes, mullets, killifishes, and drums. Previous methods used to recover faunal remains produced collections dominated by deer. This study suggests that, though deer contributed large amounts of meat to the diet, estuarine resources were more abundant and contributed the most meat. A Mississippian chiefdom developed on the island during the Irene phase (AD 1300– 1580), with social inequality, large and dense populations living in communities of multiple, integrated settlements, and maize farming. Zooarchaeological evidence presented in this study suggests these socio-political changes led to new human-environment interactions, compared to the early Mississippian period. Irene peoples used a larger number and wider variety of shellfishing and fishing locations than early Mississippian folk. The Irene fishing strategy caught more large fishes and may have involved a shift to larger-scale mass-capture techniques, such as weirs. Irene settlements were occupied for longer periods of time and waste disposal was more organized than in earlier periods. These land-use and subsistence changes affected animal populations. Increased exploitation of estuarine resources influenced growth rates of clams and catfishes. Over time, the landscape became more open and heterogeneous, affecting the foraging habits of deer. These subtle changes are observed because of the fine-grained recovery and multiple analyses of multiple taxa. Yet, overall, the St. Catherines Island subsistence-settlement strategy, focusing on a specific suite of estuarine resources, supplemented with the occasional deer, was stable for thousands of years. INDEX WORDS: Zooarchaeology, Mississippian period, Coastal archaeology, Georgia, Stable isotope analysis, Optimal foraging theory, Resource depression, Subsistence, Land-use patterns, Environmental change SUBSISTENCE, SETTLEMENT, AND LAND-USE CHANGES DURING THE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD ON ST. CATHERINES ISLAND, GEORGIA by SARAH GREENHOE BERGH BA, Skidmore College, 2000 MA, Hunter College, City University of New York, 2006 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 Sarah Greenhoe Bergh All Rights Reserved SUBSISTENCE, SETTLEMENT, AND LAND-USE CHANGES DURING THE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD ON ST. CATHERINES ISLAND, GEORGIA by SARAH GREENHOE BERGH Major Professor: Elizabeth Reitz Committee: Stephen Kowalewski Byron Freeman David Hurst Thomas Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I want to thank Betsy Reitz for all her support and guidance as my major advisor. Special thanks to David Hurst Thomas for encouraging and facilitating my research on St. Catherines Island , to Steve Kowalewski for his intellectual insights and editorial advice on the design and writing up of this research, and to Bud Freeman for his enthusiasm and insights on the coast. Funding for this research was provided by the Edward John Noble Foundation, the St. Catherines Island Foundation, the St. Catherines Island Research Program Grant, the Dienje Kenyon Fellowship of the Society for American Archaeology, and the University of Georgia (UGA) Graduate School of Arts and Humanities Dean’s Award. The stable isotope analysis was possible thanks to a number of individuals and labs. The Florida Museum of Natural History graciously provided an initial sample of archaeological deer and raccoon bones from St. Catherines Island. Thanks to Kitty Emery, Betsy Reitz, and Donna Ruhl for making that loan possible. Tom Maddox at the Stable Isotope Laboratory in the Odum School of Ecology at UGA performed the isotope analysis of that sample. The Mammalogy Department, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) provided a modern sample of deer and raccoon bones from St. Catherines Island. Thanks to Eileen Westwig and Neil Duncan for making that loan possible, and Chelsea Graham for her help researching in the collection. John Krigbaum and Gypsy Price of the Bone Chemistry Lab, Department of Anthropology at University of Florida prepared the archaeological deer and raccoon remains, recovered during this research, and the modern sample for isotopic analysis. Jason Curtis at the Light Stable iv Isotope Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in the Department of Geological Sciences at University of Florida performed the isotopic analysis on the bone samples and modern plant and animal samples. Thanks so much to all of you for making this critical part of my dissertation possible. I also need to thank all the people involved in the St. Catherines Island Archaeological Project. Elliot Blair and Anna Semon, as my fellow “late prehistoric” researchers, provided invaluable insights in designing this project and interpreting the data, in addition to moral support during fieldwork and analysis. Elliot also provided the maps in Figures 3.2 and 3.1. Anna spent several days helping measure oysters, a tedious job I was very thankful to have help with. Lori Pendleton Thomas, Ginessa Mahar, Matt Napolitano, Rachel Cajigas, Christina Friberg, and Matt Sanger facilitated the excavation and recovery of the archaeological materials and provided invaluable help accessing records and analytical results from the Nels Nelson North American Archaeology Lab at AMNH. The 2008, 2009, and 2010 excavation crews were great—enthusiastic, thorough, and fun to work with. Irv Quitmyer, Nicole Canarozzi, and Donna Ruhl, fellow St. Catherines researchers from University of Florida, provided advice on sampling, processing, and identifying invertebrate remains. This research would never have happened without the hard work and encouragement of all these folks. Thanks a million. Special thanks to Royce Hayes for arranging my trips to St. Catherines and for his enthusiasm, insights, and friendship over the years, and to Christa Frangiamore for her interest in my project and for taking the time to help me locate and identify the plant specimens used in isotopic analysis. The St. Catherines Island staff was amazing, ferrying us to and from the island, building those beautiful nested screens, refitting the fire trucks for water screening, and clearing sites, among many other things. This research would not have been possible without all their help. v I was lucky to have such wonderful teachers and mentors in the UGA Anthropology Department; thanks especially to Rene Bobé, David Hally, Bram Tucker, Ervan Garrison, and Mark Williams. My years here would not have been as enjoyable or productive without their support. Thanks to the Anthropology Department staff, Margie Floyd, LaBau Bryan, Lisa Norris, Deb Chasteen, Jill Morris, Cabe Mottley, and Brenda Yuhas. I also want to thank the faculty and staff of the Georgia Museum of Natural History, Kim Leissner, Liz McGhee, and Carol Hoffman, for the supportive working environment at the Museum. Zooarchaeology Lab interns, staff, and volunteers contributed many hours of support to this research. Maran Little sectioned many of the clam valves and measured specimens. Carla Hadden identified the materials from TP 1 at 9LI1637 and helped with identifications from a few Meeting House Field middens. Amber Knowles measured oysters, Megan Fowler helped count oysters, and Siavash Samei counted and measured clams. Victor Iminjili rough sorted materials from two Meeting House Field middens. Kathy Wiggins, Carol Colaninno-Meeks, and Thad Meeks measured specimens or derived regression formulae for back-calculations of fish size. Alex Emmons, Kevin Gibbons, Glenn Thomas, Heather Thomas, Marianne English, Lauren Boop, and Jackie Murtha provided laboratory assistance. The lab has been a great place to work. Thanks for all your help. My fellow graduate students (and some former undergraduates) in Anthropology at UGA provided much-needed sounding boards and reality checks during my studies: Carol Colaninno, Ben Steere, Emily Beahm, Carla Hadden, Stefan Brannan, John Turck, Viki Dekle, Ellen Burlingame-Turck, Matt Compton, Kelly Orr, Jared Wood, Dan Bigman, Yanxi Wang, Patti Dunne, Matt McDaniel, Kate Dunbar, and Kristin VanderMolen. It has been a pleasure working and hanging out with all of you. vi I would also like to thank the teachers, professors, and archaeologists who inspired me to study history, archaeology, and anthropology in the first place: Jean Shaw, Cynthia Daly, Bill Holiday,