Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Adaptations in the Lower Mid-South, United States

Summary

The Lower Mid-South has a rich history of archaeological research and provides a valuable dataset for exploring the relationships between climate and culture. Here, we provide an overview of the available paleo-environmental and archaeological data in this area, and argue that there were significant changes in diet, landscape use, and technological organization. The possibility that localized territories are established in the Southeast prior to the onset of the Holocene is critically evaluated. We argue that analyses of site distributions indicate an expansion of settlement into areas previously largely ignored, probably a result of population growth during the Younger Dryas and Early Holocene. Temporal trends in regional biface technologies and tool stone selection decisions reflect continual modifications of behavioral strategies into the Early Holocene, further indicating that the colonization process was still underway. We conclude by highlighting recent, ongoing research in the region, and provide some future directions for continuing research for this time interval in the Mid-South.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Human Adaptations to Lateglacial and Early Holocene Climate and Environmental Changes: Towards a Trans-Atlantic Perspective (Part 1)

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