Bluff Field (9CH160) ceramics and radiocarbon dating and their implications for chronology building on Ossabaw Island and the Georgia coast

ABSTRACT

We present the results of the 2022 excavations at the Bluff Field site (9CH160), wherein we consider the juxtaposition of Bayesian radiocarbon modeling against the current ceramic chronologies derived for the Georgia coast. New evidence from AMS radiocarbon dating and statistical modeling pushes both the timing and span of Wilmington series ceramics beyond the ranges afforded by current models. Short-lived carbonized hickory nuts from within excavation units and shovel tests returned dates that are hundreds of years later in time than the currently accepted timing for Wilmington ceramics. These ceramics contribute the largest proportion of the ceramic assemblage recovered from the site and within the levels from which we dated for chronological modeling. Our modeling of these dates that are in stratigraphic sequence calls into question not only the use history of the Wilmington ceramic series, but also the demographic history of the island that is currently predicated upon the timing of this and other ceramic styles. We recommend reinterrogating existing chronologies in order to bring the settlement chronologies for the Georgia coastal region up to present-day methodological and statistical standards.

KEYWORDS:

• Georgia coast
• ceramic chronology
• radiocarbon
• Woodland period
• Mississippian period

Acknowledgments

Both the 2018 and 2022 excavations would not have been possible without the help and enthusiasm of the University of Georgia Archaeology Field School students. Thank you to Anna Semon, David Hurst Thomas, and the American Museum of Natural History for their timely contribution and interest in the research project. We also thank the Muscogee Nation for allowing us to conduct research on their ancestral lands and commenting on this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data needed to evaluate the conclusions are presented in the paper, and all raw data are available and curated at the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology.

Additional information

Funding

Special thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the University of Georgia Department of Anthropology for assisting and providing funds for research on Ossabaw Island. Also, thank you to the Ossabaw Island Foundation for providing accommodations and use of facilities during our research. This research was supported, in part, in association with the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER project and the National Science Foundation (NSF grant number OCE-1832178).

Notes on contributors

Brett Parbus

Brett Parbus is a PhD candidate and graduate student researcher at the Laboratory of Archaeology at the University of Georgia.

Victor D. Thompson

Victor D. Thompson is a Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Archaeology at the University of Georgia.

Carey J. Garland

Carey Garland is a Research and Compliance Archaeologist at the Laboratory of Archaeology at the University of Georgia.

Bryan Tucker

Bryan D. Tucker is a Senior Technical Advisor at New South Associates.