essay
Southeastern mid-Holocene coastal settlements
archaeology of the mid-holocene southeast • Gainesville • Published In 1996 • Pages: 177-199
By: Russo, Michael.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The reader is urged to use caution as Russo discusses coastal settlements during the mid-Holocene. This time period does not always correspond to the Middle Archaic. Russo examines evidence of coastal settlements in Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Most archaeologists have assumed that few coastal settlements existed due to rising sea level which prevented stable estuaries (with rich estuarine flora and fauna) from forming and therefore the coast lacked the resources neccessary to attract humans for extended periods of time. Archaeologists also assumed any evidence of coastal occupation would have been destroyed by rising seas. However, 'preceramic mid to late Holocene coastal occupations have been identified suggesting that coasts were productive and capable of supporting human occupation earlier than was previously thought. In fact, mid-Holocene coastal cultures were widespread along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and represent some of the most permanent, sedentary societies of the time' (pages 177-178). Russo briefly describes these sites and their dates. Russo also shows that coastal Florida groups had a 'settlement strategy distinct from contemporary interior groups, which are most often seen as having been seasonally transhumant or semisedentary' (page 198).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Identification
- Location
- Topography and geology
- Prehistory
- Settlement patterns
- Chronologies and culture sequences
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Eastern Middle Archaic
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2001
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Woodlands
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- mid-Holocene
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- coastal Southeast United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Michael Russo
- For bibliographical references see Anonymous, 1996.
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 95045466
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Indians of North America--Southern States--Antiquities