Dr. Cook Hale is primarily focused on examining submerged paleo landscapes for evidence of human occupation. The overall goal of her research is extending our understanding of cultural histories from the onshore into the offshore. Over 40% of modern populations live within 100 kilometers of the coastline, and there is no reason to think that past human populations were any less attracted to that littoral zone. However, multiple cycles of marine transgression and regression have left evidence for many significant developments in human history submerged on the modern continental shelves. This includes past human responses to climate change and relative sea level rise that may hold critical lessons for us today. To meet this broader goal, Dr. Cook Hale employs a multi-disciplinary approach that draws on her training in geology and anthropological archaeology. This allows her to integrate cultural historical perspectives, including a high priority on indigenous perspectives, with geoarchaeological ones. Supervisors: Ervan G. Garrison
The nature of preservation potential for submerged cultural landscapes on continental shelves rem... more The nature of preservation potential for submerged cultural landscapes on continental shelves remains varied and not easily defined. This is due to two factors: First, relatively few sites have been discovered offshore, creating a small sample size. Second, excavation and analysis of such submerged sites have only begun to mature during the past few decades. We present here results from an exploratory study of one such site that examines impacts from two tropical cyclone systems in successive years. The main feature of this site is a specific type of archaeological feature: a shell midden. These sites are excellent indicators for coastal occupations globally and can retain evidence for major developments in cultural evolution, including reactions to climate change and sealevel rise from the Pleistocene into the Holocene. Further, they are found worldwide. The degree to which middens have been impacted by past and present marine forces, including tropical cyclones, is a key factor in their potential to preserve such evidence. We used a geoarchaeological methodology that quantifies particle size fractions from sediments taken from various zones within the site to compare them before and after each storm. Results have significant implications for preservation of submerged, formerly coastal archaeological sites globally.
This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged... more This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged archaeological landscapes in the Apalachee Bay off the coast of Florida. We show how bathymetric LiDAR can re-identify previously recorded archaeological sites and identify new cultural deposits at shallow depths and help aid SCUBA surveys of submerged environments. While most prior archaeological applications of bathymetric LiDAR have focused on shipwrecks and historic era sites, our case study demonstrates that bathymetric LiDAR is capable of detecting Holocene and Pleistocene era archaeological sites as well. Detecting and eventually characterizing these ancient deposits will greatly expand our understanding of settlement trends when sea levels were lower and may provide insights into how some of the earliest coastal populations adapted to this novel and changing environment. Our SCUBA surveys also elucidate the impact of local environmental conditions of the applicability of deployi...
This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged... more This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged archaeological landscapes in the Apalachee Bay off the coast of Florida. We show how bathymetric LiDAR can re-identify previously recorded archaeological sites and identify new cultural deposits at shallow depths and help aid SCUBA surveys of submerged environments. While most prior archaeological applications of bathymetric LiDAR have focused on shipwrecks and historic era sites, our case study demonstrates that bathymetric LiDAR is capable of detecting Holocene and Pleistocene era archaeological sites as well. Detecting and eventually characterizing these ancient deposits will greatly expand our understanding of settlement trends when sea levels were lower and may provide insights into how some of the earliest coastal populations adapted to this novel and changing environment. Our SCUBA surveys also elucidate the impact of local environmental conditions of the applicability of deploying bathymetric LiDAR; specifically, eel grass cover does not hinder LiDAR capabilities, while high rates of sedimentation greatly reduce success in identifying archaeological deposits. Overall, our results show promise in the future of applying remote sensing to study shallow submerged archaeological landscapes, which can help improve our understanding of human–environment dynamics prior to and during periods of sea level change.
New Directions in the Search for the First Floridians, 2019
This chapter examines, in detail, the Geoarchaeological methods for both predicting and interpret... more This chapter examines, in detail, the Geoarchaeological methods for both predicting and interpreting sites subjected to anthropogenic activities and taphonomic processes specific to inundated contexts. Garrison and Hale show that sediment particle-size, grain-size, and point-count studies coupled with debitage/micro-debitage analyses isolate middens deposits from those of natural origin. Chemical, faunal (primarily vertebrate), and floral proxies for anthropogenic activities were lacking, but they related the nature on inundated sites in a marine environment. The authors discuss how sea-level rise is coupled with these factors.
Both chemical and mechanical weathering can heavily alter lithic artifacts from prehistoric sites... more Both chemical and mechanical weathering can heavily alter lithic artifacts from prehistoric sites. One interesting finding in the Ray Hole Spring assemblage was the use of a so-called non-traditional tool stone (dolomitized arkosic rock) in place of chert. The Douglas Beach artifact (a lanceolate point) was also a chert object that, like the Ray Hole materials, was heavily corroded. This chapter describes the battery of instrumental techniques—SEM, XRF, XRD and EMPA—that the authors used and discusses the results of these analyses. The authors then propose a protocol for evaluating corroded lithics.
Abstract Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric si... more Abstract Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric sites remains an integral part of this subdiscipline. It typically relies on a combination of physiographic parameters detectable in offshore zones and known archaeological trends, most of which lie onshore, not offshore. These models are not always temporally and spatially scaled to account for changes in cultural practices and/or baseline ecological conditions associated with climate changes, however. To account better for these potential variations, we used a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based spatial statistical analysis method. Our study seeks evidence of variation in site correlations to environmental patterns to detect spatial and temporal variation in site locations, and for where site patterns depart from robust quantitative correlations to ecological conditions. Our results support a hypothesis that sites do tend to correlate to certain ecological parameters, but these effects vary across the study area and through time. We also found that some site groups did not correlate well to any particular set of hypothetically favorable ecological conditions, suggesting that other undetected variables played significant roles in those site locations. These may be undetected/untested ecological variables or may represent culturally-based decision making with non-linear relationships with ecological conditions.
Abstract Here, we present a historical review of important published studies of submerged prehist... more Abstract Here, we present a historical review of important published studies of submerged prehistoric sites in North America prior to 1990. Prior to that point, a review of mid-twentieth century literature on the subdiscipline demonstrates that “prehistoric” was not a significant element in practice. In the U.S.A. and Canada, very few professional papers or articles were published on the topic of submerged prehistoric archaeological sites until mid-century or later. Most early studies were written by avocational archaeologists or specialists from other disciplines interested in archaeology. This changed in the 1970s, when formal surveys, reports, and publications written by academically trained archaeologists increasingly appeared in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. By the 1980s the establishment of underwater prehistoric archaeology as new sub-discipline was well underway. This review is designed to give the reader a brief overview of the discipline as it matured, though we lack the space to provide a full critical analysis here.
Shell middens, sometimes in the form of mounds of great size, are a ubiquitous indicator of coast... more Shell middens, sometimes in the form of mounds of great size, are a ubiquitous indicator of coastal settlement and exploitation of marine resources across the world. However, shell middens are relatively rare before the mid-Holocene because most palaeoshorelines before that time are now submerged by sea-level rise since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Previously reported examples of underwater shell middens are almost unknown and of uncertain status, and it has generally been assumed that such deposits would not survive the destructive impact of sea-level rise or would be indistinguishable from natural shell deposits. Recently, two examples of underwater shell deposits have been independently discovered and verified as anthropogenic midden deposits e a Mesolithic shell midden on the island of Hjarnø in the Straits of Denmark, and a Middle to Late Archaic shell midden in the Econfina Channel of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, USA. We report the comparative geoarchaeological analysis of these deposits, using a sedimentological approach to unravel their formation history and post-depositional transformation. Despite the differences in coastal geomorphology and geology, cultural context, molluscan taxonomy and preservation conditions between these sites, the results demonstrate similar sedimen-tological profiles that are distinctive of anthropogenic deposits, demonstrate their origin as subaerial deposits at the shore edge before inundation by sea-level rise, and show that these properties can be identified in sediment samples recovered from coring. These findings support arguments that such sites likely exist in greater numbers than previously assumed, that they can be identified from minimally invasive techniques without the need for extensive underwater excavation, and that they should be sought to fill critical gaps in the temporal and geographical record concerning Late Quaternary human use of coastal zones and marine resources.
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2020
Here, we present a historical review of important published studies
of submerged prehistoric site... more Here, we present a historical review of important published studies of submerged prehistoric sites in North America prior to 1990. Prior to that point, a review of mid-twentieth century literature on the subdiscipline demonstrates that “prehistoric” was not a significant element in practice. In the U.S.A. and Canada, very few professional papers or articles were published on the topic of submerged prehistoric archaeological sites until mid-century or later. Most early studies were written by avocational archaeologists or specialists from other disciplines interested in archaeology. This changed in the 1970s, when formal surveys, reports, and publications written by academically trained archaeologists increasingly appeared in peer reviewed journals and edited volumes. By the 1980s the establishment of underwater prehistoric archaeology as new sub-discipline was well underway. This review is designed to give the reader a brief overview of the discipline as it matured, though we lack the space to provide a full critical analysis here.
Ideal free distribution (IFD) models generally predict that populations, including human populati... more Ideal free distribution (IFD) models generally predict that populations, including human populations, will distribute themselves across the landscape such that resource access is optimized. However, links between ecology and human responses to it are not always straightforward, especially during periods of climate change when people often act based on incomplete information and for reasons not connected directly to ecological output. Here, we analyze archaeological site distribution across the coastal plains of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to test the roles that both ecology and knowledge of a region, as estimated based on past site occupations, played in human decision making during the Middle and Late Archaic periods. These periods correlate to substantial climatic, environmental and ecological change during the middle Holocene and beginning of the late Holocene. We find that IFD models that include both ecological variables and past landscape use fit both cultural periods, but to different degrees.
Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric sites remai... more Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric sites remains an integral part of this subdiscipline. It typically relies on a combination of physiographic parameters detectable in offshore zones and known archaeological trends, most of which lie onshore, not offshore. These models are not always temporally and spatially scaled to account for changes in cultural practices and/or baseline ecological conditions associated with climate changes, however. To account better for these potential variations, we used a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based spatial statistical analysis method. Our study seeks evidence of variation in site correlations to environmental patterns to detect spatial and temporal variation in site locations, and for where site patterns depart from robust quantitative correlations to ecological conditions. Our results support a hypothesis that sites do tend to correlate to certain ecological parameters, but these effects vary across the study area and through time. We also found that some site groups did not correlate well to any particular set of hypothetically favorable ecological conditions, suggesting that other undetected variables played significant roles in those site locations. These may be undetected/untested ecological variables or may represent culturally-based decision making with non-linear relationships with ecological conditions.
Discovery and excavation of submerged prehistoric sites has the potential to shed light on multip... more Discovery and excavation of submerged prehistoric sites has the potential to shed light on multiple questions concerning human responses to changing climates and coast- lines. However, it is hampered by multiple challenges, not the least of which is where, precisely, we should seek for them across marine landscapes that are difficult to access and study. Landscape reconstruction using geographic information systems (GIS) analysis, in particular, spatial statistical analyses that take human choices into account are one way forward in addressing this problem. We present preliminary results from a test run using spatial statistical analyses using coastal plain site distribution patterns within the state of Georgia from the Paleoindian period (>11,500 cal BP). Our results suggest that the highest probability for Paleoindian sites lies offshore along two watersheds: The Ogeechee and possibly the Savannah Rivers.
Offshore submerged sites can retain valuable data concerning many questions of interest to archae... more Offshore submerged sites can retain valuable data concerning many questions of interest to archaeology, including what form coastal occupations may have taken during periods before the establishment of modern coastlines and late Holocene climate and ecological conditions. However, submerged offshore sites experience post-depositional forces entirely unlike those in terrestrial contexts, including erosion/deflation of sediments, and degradation of artifacts and/or features caused by the marine environment. Methodological and theoretical approaches to assessing submerged marine sites, versus terrestrial ones, must be adjusted accordingly to extract valuable data and interpretations from them. This study demonstrates the application of these different approaches at the Econfina Channel site (8TA139) in Apalachee Bay, Florida, USA. The site appears to contain significant evidence for coastally adapted occupation during the final part of the Middle Archaic period (∼8600–5000 cal BP), but we needed to address marine site formation processes before we could assess human activities at the site. Sedimentological and archaeological traces of human activities can be teased out using geoarchaeological methods, which differentiate between nonhuman postdepositional processes and the cultural material remains left behind by those who used the site before it was abandoned and subsequently submerged.
Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanc... more Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, 32 km offshore Georgia, and nearby JY Reef have recovered archeological and paleontological materials dating from the Late Pleistocene, primarily Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, 59–24 KYBP as well as the early-to-mid Holocene, 6000 BP. The paleontological materials include both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa from both the Pleistocene and Holocene while the archeological materials are Holocene age. Sediment coring has developed a more comprehensive picture of the inner-to-mid continental shelf sediment prism of the Georgia Bight. Optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray dif-fraction (XRD) have been used to characterize Gray's Reef lithic artifacts and nearby outcrops which are both primarily Pliocene age calcareous sandstones. JY Reef is, by contrast, a coquina rich in fossil and subfossil materials but depauperate in any archeologic finds. Petrologic and geochemical data have been developed for both the out-crops and artifacts that are in good agreement with previous studies using optical petrography.
Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanc... more Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, 32 km offshore Georgia, and nearby JY Reef have recovered archeological and paleontological materials dating from the Late Pleistocene, primarily Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, 59–24 KYBP as well as the early-to-mid Holocene, 6000 BP. The paleontological materials include both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa from both the Pleistocene and Holocene while the archeological materials are Holocene age. Sediment coring has developed a more comprehensive picture of the inner-to-mid continental shelf sediment prism of the Georgia Bight. Optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to characterize Gray's Reef lithic artifacts and nearby outcrops which are both primarily Pliocene age calcareous sandstones. JY Reef is, by contrast, a coquina rich in fossil and subfossil materials but depauperate in any archeologic finds. Petrologic and geochemical data have been developed for both the outcrops and artifacts that are in good agreement with previous studies using optical petrography.
The nature of preservation potential for submerged cultural landscapes on continental shelves rem... more The nature of preservation potential for submerged cultural landscapes on continental shelves remains varied and not easily defined. This is due to two factors: First, relatively few sites have been discovered offshore, creating a small sample size. Second, excavation and analysis of such submerged sites have only begun to mature during the past few decades. We present here results from an exploratory study of one such site that examines impacts from two tropical cyclone systems in successive years. The main feature of this site is a specific type of archaeological feature: a shell midden. These sites are excellent indicators for coastal occupations globally and can retain evidence for major developments in cultural evolution, including reactions to climate change and sealevel rise from the Pleistocene into the Holocene. Further, they are found worldwide. The degree to which middens have been impacted by past and present marine forces, including tropical cyclones, is a key factor in their potential to preserve such evidence. We used a geoarchaeological methodology that quantifies particle size fractions from sediments taken from various zones within the site to compare them before and after each storm. Results have significant implications for preservation of submerged, formerly coastal archaeological sites globally.
This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged... more This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged archaeological landscapes in the Apalachee Bay off the coast of Florida. We show how bathymetric LiDAR can re-identify previously recorded archaeological sites and identify new cultural deposits at shallow depths and help aid SCUBA surveys of submerged environments. While most prior archaeological applications of bathymetric LiDAR have focused on shipwrecks and historic era sites, our case study demonstrates that bathymetric LiDAR is capable of detecting Holocene and Pleistocene era archaeological sites as well. Detecting and eventually characterizing these ancient deposits will greatly expand our understanding of settlement trends when sea levels were lower and may provide insights into how some of the earliest coastal populations adapted to this novel and changing environment. Our SCUBA surveys also elucidate the impact of local environmental conditions of the applicability of deployi...
This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged... more This study presents preliminary results from recent bathymetric LiDAR-guided surveys of submerged archaeological landscapes in the Apalachee Bay off the coast of Florida. We show how bathymetric LiDAR can re-identify previously recorded archaeological sites and identify new cultural deposits at shallow depths and help aid SCUBA surveys of submerged environments. While most prior archaeological applications of bathymetric LiDAR have focused on shipwrecks and historic era sites, our case study demonstrates that bathymetric LiDAR is capable of detecting Holocene and Pleistocene era archaeological sites as well. Detecting and eventually characterizing these ancient deposits will greatly expand our understanding of settlement trends when sea levels were lower and may provide insights into how some of the earliest coastal populations adapted to this novel and changing environment. Our SCUBA surveys also elucidate the impact of local environmental conditions of the applicability of deploying bathymetric LiDAR; specifically, eel grass cover does not hinder LiDAR capabilities, while high rates of sedimentation greatly reduce success in identifying archaeological deposits. Overall, our results show promise in the future of applying remote sensing to study shallow submerged archaeological landscapes, which can help improve our understanding of human–environment dynamics prior to and during periods of sea level change.
New Directions in the Search for the First Floridians, 2019
This chapter examines, in detail, the Geoarchaeological methods for both predicting and interpret... more This chapter examines, in detail, the Geoarchaeological methods for both predicting and interpreting sites subjected to anthropogenic activities and taphonomic processes specific to inundated contexts. Garrison and Hale show that sediment particle-size, grain-size, and point-count studies coupled with debitage/micro-debitage analyses isolate middens deposits from those of natural origin. Chemical, faunal (primarily vertebrate), and floral proxies for anthropogenic activities were lacking, but they related the nature on inundated sites in a marine environment. The authors discuss how sea-level rise is coupled with these factors.
Both chemical and mechanical weathering can heavily alter lithic artifacts from prehistoric sites... more Both chemical and mechanical weathering can heavily alter lithic artifacts from prehistoric sites. One interesting finding in the Ray Hole Spring assemblage was the use of a so-called non-traditional tool stone (dolomitized arkosic rock) in place of chert. The Douglas Beach artifact (a lanceolate point) was also a chert object that, like the Ray Hole materials, was heavily corroded. This chapter describes the battery of instrumental techniques—SEM, XRF, XRD and EMPA—that the authors used and discusses the results of these analyses. The authors then propose a protocol for evaluating corroded lithics.
Abstract Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric si... more Abstract Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric sites remains an integral part of this subdiscipline. It typically relies on a combination of physiographic parameters detectable in offshore zones and known archaeological trends, most of which lie onshore, not offshore. These models are not always temporally and spatially scaled to account for changes in cultural practices and/or baseline ecological conditions associated with climate changes, however. To account better for these potential variations, we used a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based spatial statistical analysis method. Our study seeks evidence of variation in site correlations to environmental patterns to detect spatial and temporal variation in site locations, and for where site patterns depart from robust quantitative correlations to ecological conditions. Our results support a hypothesis that sites do tend to correlate to certain ecological parameters, but these effects vary across the study area and through time. We also found that some site groups did not correlate well to any particular set of hypothetically favorable ecological conditions, suggesting that other undetected variables played significant roles in those site locations. These may be undetected/untested ecological variables or may represent culturally-based decision making with non-linear relationships with ecological conditions.
Abstract Here, we present a historical review of important published studies of submerged prehist... more Abstract Here, we present a historical review of important published studies of submerged prehistoric sites in North America prior to 1990. Prior to that point, a review of mid-twentieth century literature on the subdiscipline demonstrates that “prehistoric” was not a significant element in practice. In the U.S.A. and Canada, very few professional papers or articles were published on the topic of submerged prehistoric archaeological sites until mid-century or later. Most early studies were written by avocational archaeologists or specialists from other disciplines interested in archaeology. This changed in the 1970s, when formal surveys, reports, and publications written by academically trained archaeologists increasingly appeared in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. By the 1980s the establishment of underwater prehistoric archaeology as new sub-discipline was well underway. This review is designed to give the reader a brief overview of the discipline as it matured, though we lack the space to provide a full critical analysis here.
Shell middens, sometimes in the form of mounds of great size, are a ubiquitous indicator of coast... more Shell middens, sometimes in the form of mounds of great size, are a ubiquitous indicator of coastal settlement and exploitation of marine resources across the world. However, shell middens are relatively rare before the mid-Holocene because most palaeoshorelines before that time are now submerged by sea-level rise since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Previously reported examples of underwater shell middens are almost unknown and of uncertain status, and it has generally been assumed that such deposits would not survive the destructive impact of sea-level rise or would be indistinguishable from natural shell deposits. Recently, two examples of underwater shell deposits have been independently discovered and verified as anthropogenic midden deposits e a Mesolithic shell midden on the island of Hjarnø in the Straits of Denmark, and a Middle to Late Archaic shell midden in the Econfina Channel of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, USA. We report the comparative geoarchaeological analysis of these deposits, using a sedimentological approach to unravel their formation history and post-depositional transformation. Despite the differences in coastal geomorphology and geology, cultural context, molluscan taxonomy and preservation conditions between these sites, the results demonstrate similar sedimen-tological profiles that are distinctive of anthropogenic deposits, demonstrate their origin as subaerial deposits at the shore edge before inundation by sea-level rise, and show that these properties can be identified in sediment samples recovered from coring. These findings support arguments that such sites likely exist in greater numbers than previously assumed, that they can be identified from minimally invasive techniques without the need for extensive underwater excavation, and that they should be sought to fill critical gaps in the temporal and geographical record concerning Late Quaternary human use of coastal zones and marine resources.
The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2020
Here, we present a historical review of important published studies
of submerged prehistoric site... more Here, we present a historical review of important published studies of submerged prehistoric sites in North America prior to 1990. Prior to that point, a review of mid-twentieth century literature on the subdiscipline demonstrates that “prehistoric” was not a significant element in practice. In the U.S.A. and Canada, very few professional papers or articles were published on the topic of submerged prehistoric archaeological sites until mid-century or later. Most early studies were written by avocational archaeologists or specialists from other disciplines interested in archaeology. This changed in the 1970s, when formal surveys, reports, and publications written by academically trained archaeologists increasingly appeared in peer reviewed journals and edited volumes. By the 1980s the establishment of underwater prehistoric archaeology as new sub-discipline was well underway. This review is designed to give the reader a brief overview of the discipline as it matured, though we lack the space to provide a full critical analysis here.
Ideal free distribution (IFD) models generally predict that populations, including human populati... more Ideal free distribution (IFD) models generally predict that populations, including human populations, will distribute themselves across the landscape such that resource access is optimized. However, links between ecology and human responses to it are not always straightforward, especially during periods of climate change when people often act based on incomplete information and for reasons not connected directly to ecological output. Here, we analyze archaeological site distribution across the coastal plains of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to test the roles that both ecology and knowledge of a region, as estimated based on past site occupations, played in human decision making during the Middle and Late Archaic periods. These periods correlate to substantial climatic, environmental and ecological change during the middle Holocene and beginning of the late Holocene. We find that IFD models that include both ecological variables and past landscape use fit both cultural periods, but to different degrees.
Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric sites remai... more Predictive modeling for high probability zones for detection of submerged prehistoric sites remains an integral part of this subdiscipline. It typically relies on a combination of physiographic parameters detectable in offshore zones and known archaeological trends, most of which lie onshore, not offshore. These models are not always temporally and spatially scaled to account for changes in cultural practices and/or baseline ecological conditions associated with climate changes, however. To account better for these potential variations, we used a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based spatial statistical analysis method. Our study seeks evidence of variation in site correlations to environmental patterns to detect spatial and temporal variation in site locations, and for where site patterns depart from robust quantitative correlations to ecological conditions. Our results support a hypothesis that sites do tend to correlate to certain ecological parameters, but these effects vary across the study area and through time. We also found that some site groups did not correlate well to any particular set of hypothetically favorable ecological conditions, suggesting that other undetected variables played significant roles in those site locations. These may be undetected/untested ecological variables or may represent culturally-based decision making with non-linear relationships with ecological conditions.
Discovery and excavation of submerged prehistoric sites has the potential to shed light on multip... more Discovery and excavation of submerged prehistoric sites has the potential to shed light on multiple questions concerning human responses to changing climates and coast- lines. However, it is hampered by multiple challenges, not the least of which is where, precisely, we should seek for them across marine landscapes that are difficult to access and study. Landscape reconstruction using geographic information systems (GIS) analysis, in particular, spatial statistical analyses that take human choices into account are one way forward in addressing this problem. We present preliminary results from a test run using spatial statistical analyses using coastal plain site distribution patterns within the state of Georgia from the Paleoindian period (>11,500 cal BP). Our results suggest that the highest probability for Paleoindian sites lies offshore along two watersheds: The Ogeechee and possibly the Savannah Rivers.
Offshore submerged sites can retain valuable data concerning many questions of interest to archae... more Offshore submerged sites can retain valuable data concerning many questions of interest to archaeology, including what form coastal occupations may have taken during periods before the establishment of modern coastlines and late Holocene climate and ecological conditions. However, submerged offshore sites experience post-depositional forces entirely unlike those in terrestrial contexts, including erosion/deflation of sediments, and degradation of artifacts and/or features caused by the marine environment. Methodological and theoretical approaches to assessing submerged marine sites, versus terrestrial ones, must be adjusted accordingly to extract valuable data and interpretations from them. This study demonstrates the application of these different approaches at the Econfina Channel site (8TA139) in Apalachee Bay, Florida, USA. The site appears to contain significant evidence for coastally adapted occupation during the final part of the Middle Archaic period (∼8600–5000 cal BP), but we needed to address marine site formation processes before we could assess human activities at the site. Sedimentological and archaeological traces of human activities can be teased out using geoarchaeological methods, which differentiate between nonhuman postdepositional processes and the cultural material remains left behind by those who used the site before it was abandoned and subsequently submerged.
Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanc... more Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, 32 km offshore Georgia, and nearby JY Reef have recovered archeological and paleontological materials dating from the Late Pleistocene, primarily Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, 59–24 KYBP as well as the early-to-mid Holocene, 6000 BP. The paleontological materials include both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa from both the Pleistocene and Holocene while the archeological materials are Holocene age. Sediment coring has developed a more comprehensive picture of the inner-to-mid continental shelf sediment prism of the Georgia Bight. Optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray dif-fraction (XRD) have been used to characterize Gray's Reef lithic artifacts and nearby outcrops which are both primarily Pliocene age calcareous sandstones. JY Reef is, by contrast, a coquina rich in fossil and subfossil materials but depauperate in any archeologic finds. Petrologic and geochemical data have been developed for both the out-crops and artifacts that are in good agreement with previous studies using optical petrography.
Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanc... more Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, 32 km offshore Georgia, and nearby JY Reef have recovered archeological and paleontological materials dating from the Late Pleistocene, primarily Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, 59–24 KYBP as well as the early-to-mid Holocene, 6000 BP. The paleontological materials include both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa from both the Pleistocene and Holocene while the archeological materials are Holocene age. Sediment coring has developed a more comprehensive picture of the inner-to-mid continental shelf sediment prism of the Georgia Bight. Optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to characterize Gray's Reef lithic artifacts and nearby outcrops which are both primarily Pliocene age calcareous sandstones. JY Reef is, by contrast, a coquina rich in fossil and subfossil materials but depauperate in any archeologic finds. Petrologic and geochemical data have been developed for both the outcrops and artifacts that are in good agreement with previous studies using optical petrography.
Predictive modeling is a critical component in the search for submerged prehistoric archaeologica... more Predictive modeling is a critical component in the search for submerged prehistoric archaeological sites and typically relies on prospection for geomorphological features considered to have been attractors for human populations in now-drowned coastal plains. However, success rates are still low, likely because geomorphology does not directly inform us concerning cultural landscapes. This study incorporates new GIS-based approaches that consider paleoclimate, geomorphology, and the potential for cultural choices in the search for offshore cultural landscapes. As such, it is a test for the potential for this method; it is expected that continued refinements in variable choice will improve the method over time.
Ideal free distribution (IFD) models generally predict that populations, including human populati... more Ideal free distribution (IFD) models generally predict that populations, including human populations, will distribute themselves across the landscape such that resource access is optimized. However, links between ecology and human responses to it are not always straightforward, especially during periods of climate change when people often act based on incomplete information and for reasons not connected directly to ecological output. Here, we analyze archaeological site distribution across the coastal plains of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to test the roles that both ecology and knowledge of a region, as estimated based on past site occupations, played in human decision making during the Middle and Late Archaic periods. These periods correlate to substantial climatic, environmental and ecological change during the middle Holocene and beginning of the late Holocene. We find that IFD models that include both ecological variables and past landscape use fit both cultural periods, but to different degrees.
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Papers by Jessica W Cook Hale
of submerged prehistoric sites in North America prior to 1990. Prior
to that point, a review of mid-twentieth century literature on the
subdiscipline demonstrates that “prehistoric” was not a significant
element in practice. In the U.S.A. and Canada, very few professional
papers or articles were published on the topic of submerged prehistoric
archaeological sites until mid-century or later. Most early studies
were written by avocational archaeologists or specialists from
other disciplines interested in archaeology. This changed in the
1970s, when formal surveys, reports, and publications written by academically trained archaeologists increasingly appeared in peer reviewed journals and edited volumes. By the 1980s the establishment
of underwater prehistoric archaeology as new sub-discipline
was well underway. This review is designed to give the reader a brief
overview of the discipline as it matured, though we lack the space
to provide a full critical analysis here.
of submerged prehistoric sites in North America prior to 1990. Prior
to that point, a review of mid-twentieth century literature on the
subdiscipline demonstrates that “prehistoric” was not a significant
element in practice. In the U.S.A. and Canada, very few professional
papers or articles were published on the topic of submerged prehistoric
archaeological sites until mid-century or later. Most early studies
were written by avocational archaeologists or specialists from
other disciplines interested in archaeology. This changed in the
1970s, when formal surveys, reports, and publications written by academically trained archaeologists increasingly appeared in peer reviewed journals and edited volumes. By the 1980s the establishment
of underwater prehistoric archaeology as new sub-discipline
was well underway. This review is designed to give the reader a brief
overview of the discipline as it matured, though we lack the space
to provide a full critical analysis here.