SREL Reprint #2132
Carolina Bay Geoarchaeology and Holocene Landscape Evolution on the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina
Mark J. Brooks
Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, South Carolina Institute of
Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, P.O. Drawer 600, New
Ellenton, South Carolina 29809
Barbara E. Taylor
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, South
Carolina 29802
John A. Grant
Earth Science and Science Education, State University of New York, College at Buffalo,
1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222
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.
