SCLEROCHRONOLOGY’S IMPACT TO SUBSISTENCE AND SETTLEMENT MODELING IN SOUTHEASTERN US ARCHAEOLOGY

Stable oxygen isotope sclerochronology was first proposed as a means of determining mollusk season of capture by Shackleton 50 years ago and has since been applied to archaeological sites worldwide. This method has likely been utilized to greater extent in southeast US coastal sites than any other location. The initial focus of this research was the Georgia Bight, primarily in sites on St. Catherines and Sapelo Islands, but subsequently it has been applied along much of the Sea Islands from South Carolina to northern Florida, and the northern Gulf of Mexico. The results of these studies, coupled with complementary zooarchaeological and ethnobotanical data, has led to a major revision of substance and settlements patterns in this region from the Archaic until European contact. Prior to widespread application of molluscan sclerochronology, the dominant view was that much of this coast’s population was highly mobile, following a seasonal round subsistence pattern, with year-round occupation of sites being comparatively rare. More recent data contradict that view and indicate that sites were commonly occupied year-round, and seasonally occupied sites were often associated with central-place subsistence strategies or represented special political or ceremonial centers. This talk will describe the fundamental methods of oxygen isotope sclerochronology, describe its limitations, summarize its application in the region, and synthesize the results to describe the evolving view of coastal occupation and subsistence patterns.