Natural and cultural history

p. 157-248 : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 244-248).The natural history of St. Catherines Island / David Hurst Thomas -- The prehistory of St. Catherines Island / Clark Spencer Larsen and David Hurst Thomas -- The ethnohistory of the Guale Coast through 1684 / Grant D. Jones -- The history of St. Catherines Island after 1684 / Roger S. Durham and David Hurst Thomas -- Appendix: Notes on ethnohistorical resources and methodology / Grant D. Jones."This volume, the first in a series, considers the natural and cultural background to anthropological research being conducted on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. The island is one of a complex series of barrier islands, of various orgins. The extant vegetation is an interesting mixture of natural succession, periodically disrupted by recent historical processes. Archaeologists have worked on St. Catherines Island discontinuously since 1896, when C.B. Moore conducted excavations in several prehistoric burial mounds. The University of Georgia then conducted a program of burial mound and midden excavations in 1969-1970, and the American Museum of Natural History began intensive archaeological investigations on St. Catherines Island in 1974. The ethnohistory of the Guale Indians is discussed in detail, suggesting that they were essentially a riverine people with strong internal trade contacts. Guale political organization was that of the classic Creek chiefdom. Each chiefdom maintained two principal towns, and may have been organized according to dual political organization. This interpretation contrasts sharply with the traditional view of the Guale, who are often characterized as isolated, scattered, shifting cultivators. The volume concludes with a historical outline of St. Catherines Island from the early Spanish mission period up to present times"--P. 159

South End Mound complex

46 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-46)."This volume presents results of archaeological excavations of two prehistoric burial mounds on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. South End Mound I is an Irene period mortuary site, initially excavated by C.B. Moore during the winter of 1896-1897. Although Moore adequately described his investigations in a subsequent publication, he retained only six complete ceramic vessels for later analysis. These vessels have been reexamined and are discussed here. None of the skeletal materials excavated by Moore, to our knowledge, was saved for later analysis. Field crews from the American Museum of Natural History recently reexcavated parts of this site, finding evidence that at least some of the primary human burials previously exposed by Moore remain intact beneath the backdirt of South End Mound I. Further investigation might be fruitful. South End Mound II, a previously unexplored mortuary site, was discovered not far from Moore's excavations. This St. Catherines/Savannah period burial mound, extensively excavated by the American Museum of Natural History, had a central pit containing two cremations and a mass grave containing at least 15 individuals. Grave goods included a perforated copper sheet, worked galena, a river otter mandible, and a polished stone pendant. Prehistoric copper has rarely been reported from archaeological contexts from this area and, to our knowledge, this is the first occurrence of galena in coastal Georgia. Mound construction methods resemble those employed at Johns and Marys mounds, two roughly contemporary mortuary sites on St. Catherines Island"--P. 4

Sheet-copper from the mounds is not necessarily of European origin,

"Primitive metal working, by Charles C. Willoughby": p. 55-57."Are the Hopewell copper objects prehistoric?" by Warren K. Moorehead: p. 50-54."Mr. Moore's reply to Mr. McGuire's closing remarks": p. [i]-xvi.No t.-p.Reprinted from the American anthropologist, v. 5, no. 1, Jan.-Mar., 1903.Mode of access: Internet

Aboriginal urn-burial in the United States,

"A form of urn-burial on Mobile Bay" (reprinted from the American Antropologist, v. 7, no. 1, January-March, 1905): p. [167]-168.Reprinted from American Anthropologist, v. 6, no. 5, October-December, 1904.Cover title: Urn-burials in the United States.Five blank leaves at end, with heading: Additional urn-burials.Cover title.Mode of access: Internet.ANTH; E98.M8.M7: Gift of S.A. Barret

Late prehistoric Guale bioarchaeology

104 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-69).The setting -- Previous work at South End Mound I -- Later excavations and bioarchaeological study -- Methods of analysis -- The South End Mound I individuals -- Artifacts / David Hurst Thomas and Jessica McNeil -- Resource utilization and dietary reconstruction / Elizabeth J. Reitz, Clark Spencer Larsen and Margaret J. Schoeninger -- Patterns of community health: pathology -- Dental and skeletal size and morphology."South End Mound I is one of more than 50 mortuary sites (mostly burial mounds) excavated by Clarence Bloomfield Moore (1897) during his five-month expedition to the Georgia coast, and it is one of seven mounds he described on St. Catherines Island. The mound was subsequently tested by Larsen and Thomas (1986), who reported on a small sample of fragmentary human remains left at the site by Moore. This monograph reports on human remains recovered from a large-scale excavation undertaken by Larsen. This excavation revealed that Moore disturbed skeletal remains, but these remains were left in the general location of their original discovery. Our conjoining of fragmentary bones and teeth allowed identification of 26 of the 50 skeletons encountered by Moore. Importantly, this sample provides the only late prehistoric (Irene period) skeletal series from St. Catherines Island, allowing for the first time temporal comparisons with both earlier prehistoric populations (e.g., Johns Mound) and later historic populations (Santa Catalina de Guale) from the island. Analysis of faunal remains and stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen indicates that the population consumed a variety of terrestrial and marine fauna, along with significant amounts of maize in diet. Analysis of dental caries prevalence is consistent with this reconstruction. In addition, presence of skeletal infections indicates poorer health in general relative to prehistoric St. Catherines Islanders. At least some of the periosteal reactions displayed on tibiae reflect treponematosis (nonvenereal syphilis). The overall pattern of health is strikingly similar to contemporary late prehistoric populations from the Georgia coast in particular and to the Eastern Woodlands of North America in general. Lastly, study of body size and postcranial skeletal morphology indicates a similar pattern of activity and lifestyle as for other groups from the Georgia Bight during the late prehistoric era. Overall, this bioarchaeological analysis reveals that the shift from a foraging lifeway to one that incorporated maize agriculture likely had a profound impact on health and lifestyle"--P. 5