Shellfishing, sea levels, and the earliest Native American villages (5000-3800 yrs. BP) of the South Atlantic Coast of the U.S.

ABSTRACT: Shell ring archaeological sites are one of the most visible site types along the lower South Atlantic Coast of the United States. These cultural sites are large, circular to arcuate piles of mollusk shells with some reaching over three meters in elevation and over 100 m in diameter. They are comprised largely of mollusk shells (e.g., Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica), but also contain early pottery, nonhuman faunal remains, and other artifacts. Our work establishes that they represent the earliest widespread Native American villages occupied year-round in the Eastern Woodlands of North America. Significantly, our results from sea-level modelling and isotope geochemistry on mollusks establish that the inhabitants of these earliest villages (ca. 5000-3800 yrs. BP) lived within a fluctua

SUBMITTER: Thompson VD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11436858 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature