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EVIDENCE FOR SIGNIFICANT SUBTERRANEAN STORAGE AT TWO HUNTER-GATHERER SITES: THE PRESENCE OF A MAST-BASED ECONOMY IN THE LATE ARCHAIC COASTAL AMERICAN SOUTHEAST

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2017

Matthew C. Sanger
Matthew C. Sanger*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY13902 (msanger@binghamton.edu)
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Abstract

Excavations at two Late Archaic shell rings on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, revealed evidence of significant amounts of subterranean storage. Based on botanical evidence, ethonographic analogies, and interpretations of other Late Archaic sites, hickory nuts and acorns are the most likely resource being stored, and quantifying the capacity found at each ring highlights the prevalence and importance of mast storage. These findings are important because large-scale storage has rarely been proposed for Late Archaic coastal peoples and, therefore, its impact as a potential factor for social changes enacted during this time period, including increasing sedentism, formalization of intragroup relations, and regionalization of cultural identities, has yet to be explored.

Excavaciones en dos anillos de concha correspondientes al Arcaico Tardío de la isla de St. Catherines, Georgia, obtuvieron significativas evidencias de almacenaje subterráneo. Con base en evidencia botánica, analogías etnográficas e interpretaciones de otros sitios del Arcaico Tardío, es probable que las nueces de nogal y las bellotas fueran los recursos almacenados. Cuantificando la capacidad registrada en cada anillo, se destaca la prevalencia e importancia del almacenamiento de bellotas. Estos hallazgos son importantes pues el almacenamiento a larga escala raramente ha sido propuesto para los pueblos costeros del Arcaico Tardío. Por lo tanto, aún no se ha explorado su impacto como factor potencial para cambios sociales promulgados durante este período, incluyendo el incremento del sedentarismo, la formulación de relaciones intragrupo y la regionalización de identidades culturales.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 82 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 50 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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