Seeking Native American Identities in Material Culture – Ethnic Markers in Colono Wares and Associated Artifact Assemblages

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Sixteenth-century European colonization prompted Southeast Native groups to utilize new socio-political strategies to cope with instability brought on by accelerated change in Ethridge’s “shatter zone”, where surviving indigenous groups were forced to adapt and redevelop their cultural systems to survive and to maintain their cultural identities. In the “shatter zone,” Native groups occupy a liminal space between changing political economies fueled by enslavement and new realities that decimating traditional practices and alliances. Recent archaeological excavations and analyses on 17th to early 19th-century sites in South Carolina and Georgia reveal a dynamic landscape reflected in focused material culture assemblages. This poster presents behavioral observations, material culture attributes, and expected site characteristics for 17th and 18th-century Shawnee, Yamasee, Westo, Catawba, Ashley phase, and 18th-19th century “Settlement” Indians.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• 2024 SHA Poster Submissions

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow