Pleistocene Human Settlement in the Southeastern United States: Current Evidence and Future Directions

• Published in: PaleoAmerica : a journal of early human migration and dispersal Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 7 - 51
• Main Authors: Anderson, David G., Smallwood, Ashley M., Miller, D. Shane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01-01-2015
• Subjects: Clovis; Dalton; Paleoindian; Pre-Clovis; Southeastern United States; Younger Dryas
• ISSN: 2055-5563; 2055-5571
• DOI: 10.1179/2055556314Z.00000000012

Research into the earliest occupations in the southeastern United States has been underway since the 1930s, when a pattern of large-scale excavations combined with the reporting of surface finds was initiated that continues to this day. Work at Macon Plateau and Parrish Village, excavated during the New Deal, was followed by a series of stratigraphic excavations in floodplains, rockshelters, and other locales from the 1940s onward. These early studies produced a basic cultural sequence, portions of which were defined by cross-dating findings from the Southeast with discoveries made in other parts of the country. The Southeast is unique in that surveys of fluted projectile points have been conducted in every state, some since the 1940s. These surveys now encompass a wider range of projectile points and other tool forms, and the large numbers of Paleoindian artifacts found in the region suggest intensive occupation. Whether these quantities reflect the presence of large numbers of early people, or of modern collectors and extensive agriculture, remains the subject of appreciable debate. The regional radiocarbon record is fairly robust for the latter end of the period, but far more sample collection, analysis, and interpretation is needed. The regional literature is burgeoning, with research being conducted in every state, much of it funded by CRM activity.