ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA RECOVERY EXCAVATIONS AT 38CH11079 KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA CHICORA RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION 178 © 2001 by Chicora Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherWise without prior permission of Chicora Foundation, Inc. except for brief quotations used in reviews. Full credit must be given to the authors, publisher, and project sponsor. ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA RECOVERY EXCAVATIONS AT 38CH1107, KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA Prepared for: Mr. Ray Pantlik Kiawah Resort Associates 7 Beachwalker Drive Kiawah Island, South Carolina 29455 Prepared By: Michael Trinkley, Ph.D. Chicora Research Contribution 178 Chicora Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 8664 • 861 Arbutus Drive Columbia, South Carolina 29202 803/787-6910 November 10, 1995 This report is printed on permanent recycled paperoo ABSTRACT This report documents and descnbes the with the Stanyame Plantation, built in the early results of archaeological data recovery excavations eighteenth century. undertaken for Kiawah Resort Associates at 38CH1107 on Kiawah Island in Charleston County, Initial investigations, which incorporated South Carolina. It was conducted in compliance auger tests and a metal detector survey, suggested with a Memorandum of Agreement between that the site had been heavily and deeply plowed. Kiawah Resort Associates, the Army Corps of This was confirmed by the excavation of 250 Engineers, and the South Carolina State Historic square feet of contiguous units, which exposed au Preservation Office. agricultural ditch, as well as modem plowscars. The plowzone varied from LO to nearly 1.2 feet in The site was originally identified by depth. Brockington and Associates as a large, disturbed Middle Woodland scatter with a small historic The recovered artifacts suggest an component thought to be associated with the ephemeral structure, most likely inhabited by a oocupation of the nineteenth century Shoolbred black slave. One scenario is that the site represents Plantation (38CH129). Chicora's data recovery the remains of a dwelling of an Africau-Americau . excavations have documented a historic component cattle tender. Once abandoned, the site was first which predates the posited construction of the cultivated as part of the Shoolbred Plantation aud Shoolbred Plantation aud is more likely associated continued as farm land into the twentieth century. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures iv List of Tables iv Acknowledgements v Introduction 1 Background 1 Site Environs 5 Historical Background 9 Excavations at 38CH1107 15 Methods 15 Findings 19 Material Culture Remains 23 Lab Methods 23 Recovered Artifacts 23 Dating Synthesis 26 Pattern Analysis 27 Status and Lifestyle Observations 28 Summary and Conclusions 31 Sources Cited 35 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Kiawah Island vicinity in southern Charleston County 2 2. Site 38CH1107 on Kiawah Island 4 3. Site vegetation at the time of the survey and excavations 9 4. Auger tests and excavation units at 38CH1107 16 5. Piao view of block excavations 17 6. View of the block excavations 18 7. Feature 1 before excavation 20 8. Feature 1 after excavation 20 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Soil series and drainage on Kiawah Island 7 2. Major types of pottery present at 38CH1107 25 3. Mean ceramic date for 38CH1107 26 4. Artifact pattern analyses 27 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work has been funded and supported Presetvation Office's staff archaeologists. I also by Kiawah Resort Associates and I want to take want to thank Ms. Debi Hacker for her dedication this occasion to thank them, especially Leonard in the analysis of the collection, as well as Long, Esq. and Mr. Ray Pantlik:, for their consetvation of selected materials. continued support and interest in the heritage of Kiawah Island. They are exceptional stewards of a We have also received continued support unique resource and we are fortunate to have this from Ms. Sharon Pekrul, during the curation of the opportunity to work in such a rich and diverse collections at the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and area. Anthropology and Mr. Keith Derting, during the process of updating site files associated with the Although this was a relatively short field site. I appreciate their continued professionalism, project, it was made successful by the diligence, kindness, and cooperation. enthusiasm, and dedication of the field archaeologists, including Ms. Natalie Adams, the Finally, to all of those others who field director; Ms. Liz Pinckney, who has worked participate, offer an occasional kind word, or with us on nearly all of our Kiawah projects; Mr. otherwise support the efforts, I want to offer my Ryan Borea; and Mr. Niels Taylor, who has gone deepest appreciation. on to setve as one of the State Historic v INTRODUCTION Background through Jauuary 7 for a total of 1795 person hours. A management snmmary of that work was A Programmatic Memorandum of provided to KRA and the S.C. SHPO on August Agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of 15 and September 30, 1994 respectively. Engineers, the Advisory Council on Historic Presetvation, the South Carolina State Historic The laboratory work and analyses for this Presetvation Office (SHPO), and Kiawah Resort project began in February 1994, with the work Associates {KRA) was developed in late 1990 directed by Ms. Debi Hacker. Artifact conservation (signed by the Advisory Council on September 6, was conducted at the Chicora Foundation 1990) to protect historic and prehistoric resources laboratories under the supetvision of Ms. Hacker, on Kiawah Island. The agreement stipulated that Chicora's Conservation Administrator. archaeological sites determined eligtble for inclusion on the National Register of Historic This work was conducted on Kiawah· Places would be either green spaced or subjected Island, about 3300 acres :in size, which is situated to archaeological data recovery excavations prior to about 14 miles sonthwest of the City of Charleston any development activity. and 13 miles northeast of Edisto Island in Charleston County. It is bordered to the north and An initial sutvey of the 56 acre Rhett's west by the Kiawah River, to the east by the Stono Bluff tract was conducted in 1989 (Poplin 1989). Inlet and River, and to the south by the Atlantic This study identified seven sites, five of which were Ocean. The island is separated from neighboring recommended for inclusion on the National Folly Island to the east by the Stono Inlet, from Register. One additional site on the study tract had Seabrook Island to the west by the Kiawah River, previonsly been placed on the National Register. and John's Island to the north by the Kiawah River Data recovery excavations have previously been and associated marshes (Fignre 1). conducted by Chicora Foundation at three of these six sites (38CH124, 38CH125/126, and 38CH129) The background and archival research (Trinkley 1993 ). In early July 1993 KRA requested specific to the work on Kiawah Island was that Chicora prepare a data recovery plan for a conducted by Dr. Michael Trinkley, Ms. Debi fourth site, 38CH1107. This plan was submitted to Hacker, Ms. Natalie Adams, and Ms. Liz Pinckney KRA on July 19, 1993 and was approved on intermittently over a period of nearly six months in December 6, 1993. Notice of the proposed early to mid 1991 and has been discussed in an undertaking was provided to the Charleston earlier Kiawah study (Trinkley 1993). This current District Corps of Engineers, the Advisory Council report will only briefly review some aspects of that on Historic Preservation, and the S.C. SHPO on earlier study. December 10, with a request for any comments. Chicora was verbally informed of the Advisory Although development activities on Council's approval of the research design and the Kiawah Island will be phased, the remainder of the Charleston Corps notified KRA that they had no island is anticipated to be opened for residential comments on the work. development within the next two to five years. The current project is designed to facilitate the Archaeologicalinvestigationsat38CH1107 expansion of the Rhett's Bluff development, begun were begun by a crew of five on January 3, 1994 after the conclusion of our initial Kiawah study (which included the project's Principal Investigator, (Trinkley 1993 ). The development activity will Dr. Michael Trinkley). The work continued involve the clearing, grubbing, filling, and grading 1 N ~.,,,.. ~ >-~ ~'?~( ~gi ) ~~t~MT.PLEASANT . CHARLES\ON SULLNANS 0 ISLAND J 1 0 ' 10 SCALE tl MILES ATLANTIC OCEAN Figure 1. The Kiawah Island vicinity in the southern portion of Charleston County. of roadways. Construction activities will also antebellum plantation. include the placement of water and sewer lines, Comparisons to other sites in the underground utilities, and disturbance caused by region also could provide house construction on individual lots. These additional information concerning activities will result in considerable land alteration the Iifeways of all plantation with potential damage to archaeological and residents in the South Carolina historical resources which may exist in the project Low Country (Poplin 1989:46). area. Poplin went on to recommend a data recovery Research Goals strategy designed to '1ocate and recover the remains" of this structure using 1.5 foot tests Site 38CH1107, as previously mentioned, excavated at 16 foot intervals in the approximate was originally identified