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Geoarchaeological research in the coastal plain portion of the Savannah River valley
Author(s) -
Brooks Mark J.,
Stone Peter A.,
Colquhoun Donald J.,
Brown Janice G.,
Steele Kathy B.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.3340010305
Subject(s) - swamp , floodplain , geology , point bar , holocene , sedimentary depositional environment , alluvium , archaeology , terrace (agriculture) , coastal plain , dominance (genetics) , marsh , wetland , estuary , sea level , river terraces , fluvial , oceanography , geography , geomorphology , paleontology , ecology , biochemistry , chemistry , cartography , structural basin , gene , biology
Selected archaeological, stratigraphical, sedimentological, hydrological, sea level, and 14 C data are considered in order to ascertain the times and rates of saltmarsh, floodplain, river swamp, and alluvial terrace development in the lower Savannah River valley. Archaeological data are emphasized in the elucidation of these developmental trends and their environmental correlates. It is concluded that the modern environments associated with the categories of archaeological sites examined (estuarine shell middens, river swamp point bar sites, raised terrace/point bar sites) are not representative of local conditions during occupation(s). Accordingly, a mid‐Holocene development of lower energy depositional environments is documented, along with a corresponding shift in subsistence‐settlement patterning that suggests more diffuse, or broad spectrum, socio‐economic strategies. A base level (sea level) dominance on river sedimentation, even far inland from the coast, may also be indicated.