Abstract

This report presents findings from recent systematic surveys and excavations at the site of Finley’s Pond (9CH204) to evaluate craft production (e.g., shell beads) and settlement expansion on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, within the context of larger social, political, and economic changes that occurred along the Georgia coast over the last millennia. Shovel tests and excavation units were conducted at Finley’s Pond as part of the University of Georgia’s 2016 Field School. The spatial distribution and density of Woodland and Late Mississippian period Irene ceramics at Finley’s Pond suggests settlement expansion and an increase in population size during the Mississippian period. The presence of beads in various forms of production, as well as raw materials and tools, such as whelk shells, abraders, and a microdrill, support the interpretation that Finley’s Pond was a location of craft production, specifically shell beads. These data suggest that the economic pursuits of Indigenous communities on the Georgia Coast was far more varied than archaeologists once thought. Our report underscores the need for further research into how non-subsistence based economic pursuits articulated with the timing of settlement expansion and the shift from foraging to farming along the Georgia Coast.

摘要

本报告介绍了最近在芬利池塘 (9CH204) 遗址进行的系统调查和挖掘的结果，以评估在更大的社会、政治和经济变化背景下佐治亚州奥萨巴岛的工艺生产（例如贝壳珠）和定居点扩张这发生在过去几千年的佐治亚州海岸。作为佐治亚大学 2016 年野外学校的一部分，铲子测试和挖掘装置在芬利池塘进行。芬利池塘林地和密西西比晚期艾琳陶器的空间分布和密度表明密西西比时期定居点扩张和人口规模增加。珠子以各种形式的生产存在，以及原材料和工具，如海螺壳、研磨器和微型钻头，支持芬利池塘是工艺品生产地的解释，特别是贝珠。这些数据表明，乔治亚海岸原住民社区的经济追求远比考古学家曾经认为的更加多样化。我们的报告强调需要进一步研究以非生计为基础的经济追求如何与定居点扩张的时间以及乔治亚海岸沿线从觅食到农业的转变相联系。