University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology Series Report No. 28 Georgia Archaeological Research Design Paper No.6 PALEOINDIAN PERIOD ARCHAEOLOGY OF GEORGIA By David G. Anderson National Park Service, Interagency Archaeological Services Division R. Jerald Ledbetter Southeastern Archeological Services and Lisa O'Steen Watkinsville October, 1990 I I I I i I, ...------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES ..................................................................................................... .iii TABLES ....................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. v I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Organization of this Plan ........................................................... 1 Environmental Conditions During the PaleoIndian Period .................................... 3 Chronological Considerations ..................................................................... 6 II. PREVIOUS PALEOINDIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN GEORGIA. ......... 10 Introduction ........................................................................................ 10 Initial PaleoIndian Research in Georgia ........................................................ 10 The Early Flint Industry at Macon .......................................................... l0 Early Efforts With Private Collections ..................................................... 14 The Archaeological Survey of North Georgia ............................................. 15 The Legacy of Early Investigations ......................................................... 16 Recent PaleoIndian Research in Georgia ....................................................... 16 PaleoIndian Remains Examined During Survey Projects .................................... 17 Lake Allatoona and Laffingal Surveys ..................................................... 17 Oglethorpe County Clearcut Surveys ...................................................... 21 An Archeological Survey of the Ocmulgee Big Bend Region ........................... 21 Chattahoochee River Surveys ............................................................... 22 Satilla Basin Survey .......................................................................... 22 Flint River Overview ......................................................................... 23 Savannah River Overview ................................................................... 23 PaleoIndian Assemblages in the Sea Island Area ......................................... 25 The Horseleg Mountain Site ................................................................. 25 PaleoIndian Artifacts in Private Collections .................... : .......................... 26 PaleoIndian Remains Found in Excavation Context.. ........................................ 26 Excavations in Ocmulgee Bottoms ......................................................... 26 Marine Corps Supply Center Site ........................................................... 26 The Kinchafoonee Site ....................................................................... 27 The Standing Boy Flint Industry ........................................................... 27 Lee County Chert Quarry .................................................................... 27 The Muckafoonee Site ....................................................................... 27 The Lowe Site ................................................................................. 28 The Pig Pen Site .............................................................................. 28 The Theriault Site ............................................................................. 29 The Taylor Hill Site .......................................................................... 29 i The Carmouche Site (9Me21) ............................................................... 30 Garrow and Associates Investigations Along Brier Creek .............................. .31 PaleoIndian Occupations in the Wallace Reservoir....................................... 33 Functional Types of PaleoIndian Sites ................................... , ............ 33 Type 1 - Short Term Camps ..................................................... 33 Type 2 - Quarry Camps ........................................................... 34 Type 3 - Residential Camps .. '" .................... , ............................ 34 Type 4 - Kill Sites ................................................................. 34 Major PaleoIndian Assemblages in the Wallace Reservoir .......................... 34 Site 9Ge309 ........................................................................ 35 Site 9Ge534 ........................................................................ 35 Site 9Mg28 ......................................................................... 37 Barnett Shoals ..................................................................... 37 Observations About PaleoIndian Settlement from the Wallace Sample ............ 39 PaleoIndian Occupations in the Russell Reservoir. .................... '" ............... .40 Major PaleoIndian Assemblages in the Russell Reservoir .......................... 40 Rucker's Bottom (9EB91) ....................................................... 40 Simpson's Field (38AN8) ....................................................... .41 Clyde Gulley (9EB357) .......................................................... 41 Observations About Paleolndian Settlement from the Russell Sample ........... .42 The Feronia Locality ......................................................................... 42 Isolated PaleoIndian Artifacts Found During Archaeological Projects ..................... .43 Conclusions ........................................................................................ 44 III. THE GEORGIA PALEOINDIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD .......................... .45 Introduction ........................................................................................ 45 The Importance of PaleoIndian Artifact Surveys .............................................. 45 Implications of Paleolndian Distributional Data.......................................... .46 Implications of Excavation Data .............. '" ........................................... 51 PaleoIndian Research in Georgia: The Current Situation .................................... 51 Results of the Georgia PaleoIndian Projectile Point Survey ................................. 54 Introduction ................................................................................... 54 Primary Attribute Data....................................................................... 55 The Distributions: Sources of Bias ......................................................... 72 Point Distributions: Implications of the Data .............................................. 76 Raw Material Distributions: Implications of the Data ..................................... 77 Point Measurements: Implications of the Data ............................................ 83 Evidence for Population Increase ........................................................... 86 Conclusions ........................................................................................ 87 IV. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS., ........................................... 90 Introduction ........................................................................................ 90 Directions for Future Research .................................................................. 90 Specific Research Questions ................................................................ 90 Managing Georgia's PaleoIndian Archaeological Heritage: General Considerations ..... 98 Improving the Paleolndian Projectile Point Survey Project.. ........................... 99 The Status of Paleolndian Data in the State Site Files .................................... 99 PaleoIndian Artifacts in Amateur Collections ............................................ 100 PaleoIndian Artifacts Reported in the Professional Literature ......................... 101 ii I,l __ ____--------------------------------------- Initiation of Survey and Testing Procedures Designed to Locate PaleoIndian Sites ............................................................ 102 Preservation of Significant Sites .......................................................... 102 Protection ................................................................................ 102 Legal Sanctions ......................................................................... 102 Education ................................................................................ 102 State Landmarks Program............................................................. 102 Acquisition ............................................................................... 103 Standards for Projects Yielding PaleoIndian Materials ................................. 104 Reporting Standards .................................................................... 104 Standards for Curation ................................................................. 105 The Use of Appropriate Research Designs .......................................... 105 Evaluating the Significance of Georgia's PaleoIndian Resources .................... 105 Evaluation Standards: National Register of