Gullah Geechee Fishermen in the New South: An Archaeological Perspective

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Fish, Oyster, Whale: The Archaeology of Maritime Traditions", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, wealthy White sportsmen traveled to the former plantations of the South Carolina Lowcountry to hunt and fish. They depended upon local Black guides who knew the land and fishing holes to ensure a successful outing. Prior to the Civil War, fishing was an important social, economic, and subsistence strategy for enslaved Africans and their descendants to persist under the plantation system. After emancipation, Gullah Geechee fishermen used their mastery to enter market activities that helped them become more economically independent, while Whites came to view Black hunting and fishing as a threat to the South’s labor system. Archaeological research that involves oral history and archival research on a former fishing village helps uncover an interrelated story of fishing, landownership, access to resources, and Gullah Geechee life.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Fish, Oyster, Whale: The Archaeology of Maritime Traditions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow