A COMPLEX WEB OF HISTORY AND ARTIFACT TYPES IN THE EARLY ARCHAIC SOUTHEAST By KARA BRIDGMAN SWEENEY A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2013 1 © 2013 Kara Bridgman Sweeney 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Most deserving of my acknowledgment are the indigenous American groups who created the archaeological record that forms the basis of this research. I hope that this document will serve as a partial history of the Early Archaic, which so long has been relegated to “prehistory.” I would very much like to thank the numerous individuals who shared their artifact collections and local knowledge with me. I especially want to express appreciation to those artifact collectors who make a concerted effort to share the information they have with archaeologists, and who assist in the recording of archaeological sites. In Alabama, I thank Ed and Richard Kilborn. I would also like to thank Don Marley and Steve Lamb for their contributions, as well as one individual who asked that he not be named in my dissertation (in this document, I have called him “X,” as requested). In South Carolina, I thank Doug Boehme, Darby, Kevin, and Ted Hebert, Gary LeCroy, Earline Mitchum, George Neil, Jimmy Skinner, and Larry Strong. Becky Shuler of the Elloree Heritage Museum and Barbara Butler of the South Carolina Bank and Trust of Elloree deserve thanks for allowing access to artifact collections at their repositories. In Georgia, I thank Danny Greenway, Seaborn Roberts, Danny Ely, Emery Fennell, John Arena, Larry Meadows, Marvin Singletary, and John Whatley. I also thank Bud Carter, Mike Warren, Ann Parker Gilmore, and Mary and Tommy Bailey. In Florida, I thank Brian Evensen, Jerry Spencer, Jim Drawdy, Alvin Hendrix, and Tom Pertierra. I also thank Becky and Bill Dean. I would also like to thank several people from the numerous institutions at which I either performed research, or else more generally consulted people regarding my project. In North 3 Carolina, I thank Randy Daniel of East Carolina University, and Joel Gunn of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In South Carolina, I thank Tommy Charles, Chris Gillam, Al Goodyear, Daryl Miller, and Kenn Steffy, all of whom are or were affiliated with the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, during my periods of research. In Alabama, I thank Eugene Futato and Robert Clouse of the David DeJarnette Research Center in Moundville, Philip Carr of the University of South Alabama, and Mac Brooms of Troy University. In Georgia, I thank Mark Williams at the Georgia Archaeological Site Files and David Leigh of the University of Georgia, as well as Frankie Snow of South Georgia College. I also thank Scott Jones and Jerald Ledbetter of Southern Research, and Lisa O’Steen of New South Associates, as well as Dan Elliott of the Lamar Institute. In Florida, I thank Bob Austin and Ann Stokes of Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc., Brinnen Carter of the National Park Service, Dave Dickel and Jim Dunbar of the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and Harley Means of the Florida Geological Survey. I also thank Barbara Purdy and Jamie Waggoner at the University of Florida, as well as Asa Randall of the Laboratory of Southeastern Archaeology at the University of Florida. These individuals all assisted me in tracking down collections of interest, or made time to discuss my research throughout this project. Bob Austin generously identified the raw material sources of a large sample of the collections I analyzed from the northern and Tampa Bay regions of Florida. I also learned a great deal from informal discussions with numerous Southeastern archaeologists since I began this project. I sincerely apologize for not naming all of these kind people here. I benefited enormously from the contributions of all of these professionals to my research. 4 Todd Braje, Diana Byrne, and Neil Jacobs deserve thanks for sharing their time and their statistics knowledge. Todd Braje deserves special thanks for his continued friendship and support as a valued colleague, and Neil Jacobs generously wrote script to enhance my statistical analyses. I also want to recognize those generous individuals who provided me with a place to stay during my research trips. This support was greatly appreciated. These individuals include Mary Askew, Jane Anne Blakney-Bailey, Brendon Bailey, Meggan Blessing, Alysia Bridgman, Jen Coody, Eugene Futato, Asa Randall, Jane Sharp, and Andrea and John Whatley. Also, the brothers at Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina generously welcomed me as a lecturer/retreatant for a portion of my research efforts. My dissertation committee members deserve special thanks for their participation and suggestions. While this work benefitted greatly from discussions with numerous researchers, Ken Sassaman and Al Goodyear have been instrumental mentors in my development as an archaeologist and scholar. Much of my research in South Carolina and eastern Georgia was made possible by generous grants from the Archaeological Research Trust (2003), and the Archaeological Society of South Carolina (2004). I also am truly grateful for my loving and supportive family, especially my parents Mary Ann and Howard, my sisters Laura and Alysia, and my Papa. Finally, and most especially, I would like to thank my husband, Alex for his invaluable assistance, humor, love, and support throughout this research effort. His countless contributions and insights propelled me toward the completion of this project. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................3 LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................................................10 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................13 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................17 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM ORIENTATION ........................................................19 Patterned Variation in the Early Side-Notched Horizon ........................................................21 Structure of the Dissertation ...................................................................................................25 Summary ................................................................................................................................27 2 HUNTER-GATHERER SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PLACE-MAKING .........................36 Hunter-Gatherers and Social Networks ..................................................................................36 Place-Making ..........................................................................................................................42 Summary ................................................................................................................................47 3 GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE-HISTORY ........................................................................49 The Pleistocene-Holocene Transition ....................................................................................50 The Late Pleistocene Environmental Setting and Culture-History .................................50 The Early Holocene Environmental Setting and Culture-History ..................................56 Early Holocene environmental setting ....................................................................57 Early Side-Notched Horizon artifact types .............................................................62 Early Archaic sites and settlement models ..............................................................71 Raw Material Sources and Selection ......................................................................................80 Chert ................................................................................................................................81 South Carolina ................................................................................................................83 Georgia ............................................................................................................................84 Florida .............................................................................................................................86 Alabama ..........................................................................................................................87 A Regional View of Coastal Plain Chert Distribution ...................................................88 Summary ................................................................................................................................89 4 RESEARCH METHODS AND DATA SETS .......................................................................95 6 Attributes for Analysis ...........................................................................................................95 Individual Objects ...........................................................................................................96 Individual Artifact Attributes ..........................................................................................97 Hafted bifaces ..........................................................................................................98