Archaeological Investigations at Yourhaney Plantation (38GE18)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT YOURHANEY PLANTATION175Feature 299 (Historic Posts)Feature 299 contains longbone shaft fragments from an indeterminate vertebrate and a largemammal, two teeth from a pig (Sus scrofa), and a single valve fragment from an oyster(Crassostrea virginica). None of the elements show signs of burning, calcination, or butchering.Feature 305 (Historic Post)Faunal remains from Feature 305 consist predominately of shellfish shell fragments. A single valvefragment belonging to an oyster (Crassostrea virginica) was identified. The indeterminate largemammal element was calcined.SUBSISTENCE STUDIES CONCLUSIONSPREHISTORIC PERIOD ARCHAEOBOTANICAL SUMMARYThe Woodland and Mississippian Period macroplant assemblage from the Yauhannah Bluff sitewas relatively abundant and diverse. Evidence of diet was provided by the identification of 1domesticate--maize, 2 edge-zone favoring fruits—blackberry/raspberry and grape, 2 nut taxa, and2 edible herbs. The identification of maize demonstrated the presence of gardens in the sitelocality in the Mississippian Period. The recovery of blackberry/raspberry, grape, bedstraw, andpennyroyal indicated edible resources the inhabitants may have gathered in addition to nut-crops,which were clearly a dietary staple at this site throughout the Woodland and Mississippian Periodoccupations.When examined by ubiquity and nut to wood ratios, mast was shown to represent a significantresource to both the Woodland and Mississippian period American Indian occupants ofYauhannah Bluff. The mast to wood ratio and high ubiquity of mast in the analyzed contextsargued that mast was a dietary staple and mast collection was a major subsistence focusthroughout the prehistoric occupation of this site. Examination of nutshell ubiquity indicated that thesite inhabitants were engaged in large-scale collection and processing of mast during both periods.However, ratios (mast to wood) indicated a lessened emphasis upon nutshell collection in theMississippian Period. During both the Woodland and Mississippian periods, acorns wereapparently the most important nutcrop (adjusted 8:1 ratio of acorn to hickory/walnut in theWoodland and 25:1 in the Mississippian). Nutshell ratios indicated that the collection of acornswas apparently more important in the Mississippian than the preceding Woodland Period.HISTORIC PERIOD ARCHAEOBOTANICAL SUMMARYThe Historic Period macroplant assemblage from the Yauhannah Bluff site was relatively abundantand diverse. This analysis concluded that the entire seed assemblage dated to the time of the site'soccupation and use. Evidence of diet was provided by the identification of 2 condiments, 3domesticated vegetables, 1 probable domesticated fruit (peach), 1 probable gathered fruit(mulberry), 3 probable gathered nut taxa, and 2 edible herbs.