The Fisherfolk of the Two Late Archaic Shell Rings on St. Catherines Island: Similarities and Differences in Contemporaneous Coastal Economies

Summary

Late Archaic (2250-1800 cal B.C.) shell rings, found along the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States, are large, ring-like structures composed of shell. Sometimes shell rings are complexes with two or more rings in close proximity, while others are singular rings. Rarely are two rings found on an island system without the rings forming a complex. Two shell rings on St. Catherines Island, GA, have been documented and excavated on opposite sides of the island and do not form a complex. Large, systemically analyzed archaeofaunal collections from these rings provide the opportunity to make inferences about Late Archaic coastal economies. In this paper, collections from these roughly contemporaneous shell rings located on opposite sides of the same island are compared. Overall, fishes comprise the vast majority of individuals in these collections. Assemblages from each ring, however, reflect the different localities of the two rings. Further differences are noted in the densities of vertebrate remains from these two sites. Vertebrate remains, particularly fish remains, are far denser in the McQueen Shell Ring compared to the St. Catherines Shell Ring. This preference for fishes can be interpreted as control and access to resources.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage