The Woodland Southeast

15. Aspects of Deptford and Swift Creek of the South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains

Chapter 15 Aspects of Deptford and Swift Creek of the South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Keith Stephenson, Judith A. Bense, and Frankie Snow The terms Deptford and Swift Creek originated as Georgia site names (Figure 15.1). Both the Deptford type site (9CH2), in the vicinity of Savannah (Caldwell 1952:315–16; Caldwell et al. n.d.; DePratter 1991:122– 56; Waring and Holder 1968), and the Swift Creek type site (9BI3), near Macon (Jefferies 1994; A. Kelly 1938; A. Kelly and B. A. Smith 1975), were excavated under various relief organizations associated with the New Deal program. During this period of Depression-era archaeology, a culturehistorical paradigm emphasized artifact taxonomy (Willey and Phillips 1958). Accordingly, ceramics from these sites that shared distinctive stamped surfaces were assigned the respective type site names (Caldwell and Waring 1939; Jennings and Fairbanks 1939). Also in line with the precepts of culture -historical integration, the terms Deptford and Swift Creek were extended to identify separate Woodland archaeological “cultures” located mainly in South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. Chronologically, Deptford precedes Swift Creek with some temporal overlap of ceramic types, notably in southwestern Georgia (B.A. Smith 1975a, 1975b, 1977:66–67, 1979:182– 83) and northwestern Florida (P. Thomas and Campbell 1985). On the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Deptford surface stamping of ceramic vessels originated between 800 and 500 B.C., and possibly as early as circa 1000 B.C. in South Carolina, and continued until at least A.D. 500 (Trinkley 1980c:9, 11, 1989, 1990). In Florida, Deptford ceramics appeared somewhat later, about 500 B.C., and persisted until A.D. 100 to 300 (Bense 1998; Milanich 1994:114; Milanich and Fairbanks 1980:66; P. Thomas and Campbell [eds.] 1993). An inventory of ninety-seven dates for Deptford contexts is presented in Table 15.1. The early curvilinear-engraved, paddle-stamped vessels of the Swift Creek period co-occurred with Deptford pottery in the south Georgia–north Florida area at circa A.D. 100. Thereafter, Swift Creek Complicated Stamped continued until circa A.D. 600 in northeast Florida (Bense 1998) and until at least circa A.D. 800 in the interior Georgia Coastal Plain (F. Snow and Aspects of Deptford and Swift Creek 319 Figure 15.1 — Major Middle Woodland period sites in the coastal zone and interior Coastal Plain areas of northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina Stephenson 1990) as well as in portions of the Georgia Piedmont (Cable and Raymer 1991; Cantley et al. 1997; T. Rudolph 1986, 1991; R. Webb et al. 1994; Wood et al. 1986). Swift Creek pottery is virtually nonexistent on the South Carolina Coastal Plain (Elliott 1998:31; Sassaman et al. 1990). With this general spatial-temporal framework, we turn to a more in-depth review of the Deptford and Swift Creek periods emphasizing technological and socioeconomic continuities and discontinuities between the Gulf and Atlantic regions. Table 15.1 — Radiocarbon Dates from Deptford Period Sites Site No. Site Name Radiocarbon Calibrated Date (1 Sigma) * Lab. No. Reference Years B . P . max. cal age (cal ages) min. cal ages Atlantic Coast 38BU1214 1020± 70 A . D . 899 (994) 1044 Beta 40519 Trinkley 1991:91, 211 9GY-nr South Cooper Field 1060± 70 A . D . 894 (991) 1025 UM 673 cited in Trinkley 1990:13, 14 38BU861 Old House Creek 1350± 60 A . D . 663 (691, 703, 708, 753, 758) 778 Beta 72297 Trinkley and Adams 1994:107, 108 38BU2 1265± 75 A . D . 652 (697) 781 UGa 6546 Espenshade et al. 1994:64 9LI26 Seaside Md. 1 1430± 125 A . D . 475 (640) 689 UGa 112 Caldwell 1970; cited in Milanich 1973a:55; B. A. Smith 1972:19 38BU832 1375± 47 A . D . 552 (625) 671 UGa 6643 Espenshade n.d. 38BU1302 1390± 60 A . D . 548 (618) 667 Beta 79489 Roberts and Huddleston 1998 38BU513 1410± 50 A . D . 541 (607) 661 UGa 6681 Roberts and Brockington 1996:76 9LI13 Wamassee B 1460± 90 A . D . 533 (605, 610, 616) 662 UGa 116 Caldwell 1970; cited in Milanich 1973a:55; B. A. Smith 1972:19 38BU1302 1410± 70 A . D . 514 (600) 661 Beta 79484 Roberts and Huddleston 1998 38BU1302 1420± 60 A . D . 513 (585) 649 Beta 79486 Roberts and Huddleston 1998 38BU832 1442± 46 A . D . 466 (556) 628 UGa 6644 Espenshade n.d. 38BU66/67 Pinkney Island 1505± 85 A . D . 430 (545, 560) 646 UGa 2853 Trinkley 1981:41...