Dissertation Improvement Grant- Archaeological and Geophysical Investigations of the Grove's Creek Site (09CH71), Skidaway Island, Georgia

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation support, Ms. Deborah Keene will conduct doctoral dissertation research under the direction of Dr. Ervan Garrison. The project centers on the Grove's Creek Site, a Native American Village dating to the Mississippian period (AD 1000-1580). The Grove's Creek Site is on Skidaway Island, near Savannah, Georgia. There are two objectives to this project. The first is to combine geophysical data with a geographic information system (GIS) and create a subsurface map of the site. The second is to determine whether the inhabitants of the Grove's Creek Site lived there year round or seasonally. Current archaeological methods are inherently destructive; therefore, any information that is lost can never be recovered. The refinement of a mapping procedure using a limited amount of excavation will result in greater preservation of archaeological sites. The first step of this mapping procedure is to collect shallow geophysical data. During the Grove's Creek project both the conductivity and magnetism of the soil were measured. Archaeologically significant remains such as cooking hearths and burned clay will cause the conductivity and magnetism of the surrounding soil to be higher. When all of the data are plotted, contour maps are created in which these higher readings are visible. The size and shape of the contours give clues as to what subsurface features created them. We use this information to predict the types of archaeological remains and will then excavate to test several of these predictions. Ultimately, this process can be used to map an archaeological site with very little digging. Although there are many important Mississippian sites along the Georgia coast, they are still not fully understood. There is currently considerable disagreement about whether Mississippian peoples were true agriculturists and could live in their village year round or still had to do some hunting and gathering and so traveled for part of the year. Three methods shall be employed to determine whether the inhabitants of Grove's Creek lived there year round or seasonally. The first is to look at the plant and animal remains at the site. Different animals and plants are available at different times of the year. For example, certain fruits are available only in the fall and certain fish migrate nearby in particular months. By identifying the animals and plants at the site and the times that they were available for consumption, we can determine when the site was occupied. The second is to study site architecture. In many Mississippian communities, there is evidence for both summer and winter houses. Two winter houses have already been found at the site, and if a summer house is found, that would show that the site was occupied year round. The last way to determine occupation is by isotopic analysis of oyster shells. By measuring the oxygen isotopes in the growth layers of the shell, it is possible to determine water temperature and therefore the time of year when the animal was killed. Analysis of multiple shells will determine what seasons the site was occupied. This project will not only develop a mapping procedure that will protect archaeological sites; it will also address questions, which are important to the understanding of coastal subsistence and settlement patterns of Native American cultures.