This week’s post focuses on the thesis research of second year graduate student Brenden Patterson (last year’s blog writer!) His work is on Green’s Shell Enclosure (GSE) in South Carolina.

Coastal shell rings are unique archaeological features in the southeastern United States. These sites likely represent long-term habitations, and they offer a wealth of information on various aspects of Indigenous life prior to European contact. Mainly composed of valves from the American oyster, the rings range between 15 and 90 meters in diameter, 1 to 6 meters in height, and the ridges can be nearly 10 meters wide. Shell rings along the Atlantic coast are considered to be among the earliest works of monumental architecture in the Eastern Woodlands. These sites contain some of the earliest known pottery in North America. Shell rings are differentiated from general shell middens because their scale and design exceed any practical functions for which they could have been intended.

LiDAR imagery of Green’s Shell Enclosure.

Shell rings are mainly characteristic of the Late Archaic period (3000-1000 BCE), but GSE stands out as a Mississippian (1000-1600 CE) occupation of a coastal shell ring. Recent excavations collected animal bones from two 1×1 meter excavation units in the interior of the ring, and this collection is currently housed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Analysis of these materials can provide insight into the subsistence strategies of this unusual site’s occupants and develop our understanding of how GSE fits into the context of broader Mississippian traditions in the region. There are relatively few coastal Mississippian sites in South Carolina that have been subject to this kind of analysis, and the work proposed for this thesis should serve as a valuable contribution to this area of study.

Skull Creek running along the site.

Brenden’s thesis is concerned with determining what animals are represented at GSE, the cultural modifications visible on the remains, and how animal use at the site compares to other coastal Mississippian sites in the region. The comparative collection at Indiana University of Pennsylvania will be used to identify specimens in this assemblage to the lowest taxonomic level possible. The collection of primary data will consist of determining the number of identified specimens for each taxon (NISP), skeletal weight, elements represented, anatomical siding, and the portion of the elements present. During preliminary analysis, the bones were sorted by class (mammals, fish, reptiles, and birds), and NISP was counted for each to determine the distribution. So far, it appears that there is a large proportion of reptiles, specifically turtles, at this site compared to other sites in the region. The site is already unique for its layout, and these initial results show there is even more than meets the eye.

Department of Anthropology, Geospatial, and Earth Sciences at IUP