Archaeological Investigations at Yourhaney Plantation (38GE18)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT YOURHANEY PLANTATION37IV. METHODSRESEARCH DESIGNHISTORICAL RESEARCHThe focus of the field work at 38GE18 was on the historic component, since it is concentrated inthe eastern third of the site where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to make improvements tothe property. As such, New South Associates performed a complete chain of title research andgathered specific information on the activities on the property and the lives of those who occupiedthe site. Most of this research had been accomplished by Mr. Deryl Young who graciously sharedhis notes and ideas. New South’s efforts were directed at attempting to fill in gaps using recordson file at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History as well as researching the SouthCarolina Gazette newspaper. During the historical research, the questions listed below were usedto guide the research:oooooooWho lived at the site?What is the earliest documentable occupation of the site and what was itsfunction?If the site contained a trading post, what items were being traded there?At what point was the property being used as a plantation? What did they grow?How did the plantation’s economic situation change through time?What was the composition of the slave population? Is there evidence for NativeAmerican slaves?Was the plantation a primary residence or a secondary property? Who livedthere? Did they live there year round or seasonally?When was the plantation abandoned and what were the circumstances around theabandonment?ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCHThe work at the Yauhannah Bluff site focused on a number of research questions, mostly related tothe historic occupation of the site. These questions were laid out prior to the fieldwork and areoutlined below:o Are there artifacts and features that confirm an early 18 th century use of theproperty as a trading post? Such artifacts might consist of temporally sensitiveitems such as early historic pottery or seventeenth century tobacco pipe fragments.