Foodways of the Late Archaic people of St. Catherines Island, Georgia: an analysis of vertebrate remains from two shell rings

ABSTRACT

The results of a large study of vertebrate remains from two shell rings on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, are presented: the St. Catherines (9LI231) and McQueen (9LI1648) Shell Rings. The vertebrate archaeofaunal collections are used to infer foodways of Late Archaic people on St. Catherines Island, which centered on a limited suite of small-bodied, estuarine fishes. Given the prevalence of small-bodied fishes, Late Archaic people deployed a number of mass-capture fishing technologies which may have necessitated shared labor and community cooperation. Although there are similarities in the vertebrate assemblages at these two rings, suggesting a shared foodways tradition, differences are notable. These differences may indicate that the occupants of the two rings had unique preferred or controlled fishing grounds. The zooarchaeological collections also are used to contextualize the vertebrate data within the current formational models proposed for Late Archaic shell rings. Vertebrate remains align with models that interpret shell rings as the result of Late Archaic people living in circular villages, discarding refuse from daily meals; however, these animals were also featured in a ritualized event highlighting their relevance and meaning beyond food.

KEYWORDS:

• Late Archaic shell rings
• coastal fishing
• central Georgia Bight (USA)
• zooarchaeology
• foodways
• formational models

Acknowledgments

Many individuals helped throughout the course of this research. Matthew C. Sanger and David Hurst Thomas excavated the collections used for this research. Matthew C. Sanger, Ginessa Mahar, Matthew Napolitano, and Anna Semon provided important information about excavations on St. Catherines Island. Irvy Quitmyer and Kitty Emery helped me collect fish and made the resources of the Florida Museum of Natural History available to me. Clark Sturdevant created the map in Figure 1 and helped modify the images used for Figures 2 and 3. Lauren Boop, Marianne English, Carla Hadden, Maran Warlick, Jackie Murtha, Julia Orr, Glenn Thomas, Heather Thomas, and Kathy Wiggins provided laboratory assistance. Sarah Bergh, Matt Compton, Carla Hadden, and Kelly Orr helped with identifications. I am very grateful to Lori Pendleton, interns, and staff of the American Museum of Natural History who spent countless hours picking out tiny bones to make this research possible. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments improved this article.

Data availability statement

The materials and data used here are curated at the Georgia Museum of Natural History and the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant BCS0912176, the Edward John Noble Foundation, and the St. Catherines Island Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Carol E. Colaninno

Carol E. Colaninno is a research associate professor at the Center for STEM Research, Education, & Outreach, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, whose research uses zooarchaeology to understand human-environmental interactions in estuarine and riverine systems. She also studies archaeological education with an emphasis on creating inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible field learning environments.