SREL Reprint #2132

Carolina Bay geoarchaeology and holocene landscape evolution on the upper coastal plain of South Carolina

Mark J. Brooks1, Barbara E. Taylor2, and John A. Grant3

1Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology,
University of South Carolina, P.O. Drawer 600, New Ellenton, South Carolina 29809
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802
3Earth Science and Science Education, State University of New York, College at Buffalo, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222

Abstract: Surface water on the mainly dry, upland interfluves of the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina occurs currently as a sporadic distribution of shallow ponds held within Carolina bays and other small, isolated basins. At seven bays on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site on the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina, we investigated Holocene changes in bay morphology, ecology, and prehistoric human activity. At Flamingo Bay, we employed archaeological survey and testing, shovel and auger testing, sediment analysis, and ground-penetrating radar to document stratigraphy and chronology of the sand rim on the eastern side of the bay. Artifact assemblage indicate changes in intensity of human use of the bay. Radiocarbon dates from a sediment core establish time scales for depositional processes at the center of the basin. Ground-penetrating radar data from the other bays indicate that the stratigraphy of all seven bays is broadly similar. We conclude that: (1) Significant modification of the bays, including rim development and basin infilling, occurred during the Holocene; (2) ponds on the early Holocene landscape were larger and more permanent than at present; (3) early Holocene climate, as indicated by both depositional processes and human activity, was not characterized by prolonged periods of extremely dry conditions; and (4) fluvial-centric models of terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene human adaptations require revision to include intensive use of isolated upland ponds.

SREL Reprint #2132

Brooks, M.J., B.E. Taylor, and J.A. Grant. 1996. Carolina Bay geoarchaeology and holocene landscape evolution on the upper coastal plain of South Carolina. Geoarchaeology 11:481-504.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).