Oyster paleoecology and Native American subsistence practices on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, USA

Lulewicz, Isabelle; Thompson, Victor D.; Cramb, Justin; Tucker, Bryan

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.07.028

Cited by 8 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“… Diamonds represent Mississippian period sites and circles represent Late Archaic period sites. Inset oyster drawing shows measurement locations on C. virginica [adapted from ( 5 , 6 )]. Drawing by E. R. Parham.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, oyster size measurements at individual sites demonstrate that some oyster populations experienced harvesting pressure at the outset of human occupation during the Late Archaic. In the southern part of Ossabaw Island, the mean oyster size decreases for several periods ( 6 ). Overall, however, our data show growth in oyster size through time, implying localized increases in ecosystem productivity, either through human management practices or environmental change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…LVL and LVH measurements (millimeters) were taken following a standard method outlined by Lulewicz et al . ( 6 ). Although LVH is more commonly used in oyster paleobiology studies, we also include LVL measurements because it too is an important proxy for paleoenvironment and human population pressures ( 5 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

et al. 2020

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The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is an important proxy for examining historical trajectories of coastal ecosystems. Measurement of ~40,000 oyster shells from archaeological sites along the Atlantic Coast of the United States provides a long-term record of oyster abundance and size. The data demonstrate increases in oyster size across time and a nonrandom pattern in their distributions across sites. We attribute this variation to processes related to Native American fishing rights and environmental variability. Mean oyster length is correlated with total oyster bed length within foraging radii (5 and 10 km) as mapped in 1889 and 1890. These data demonstrate the stability of oyster reefs despite different population densities and environmental shifts and have implications for oyster reef restoration in an age of global climate change.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

et al. 2020

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“…BP) Irene Mound [18]. The size of oyster shells is determined by several factors including age, human predation pressures, and environmental variability, with healthier reefs and climatic stability generally producing larger oyster shells [19][20][21][22]. For these reasons, temporal changes in oyster size are used as a proxy for environmental change as well as human activity and harvesting practices [21,22].…”

Section: Oyster Paleobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of 2,130 eastern oysters were measured from Sapelo Shell Rings I, II, and III. Left valve length (LVL) and left valve height (LVH) measurements (mm) were taken using digital, hand-held calipers, and following a standard method outlined in Lulewicz et al (22]. All data analyses were conducted using the statistical software R. A Bartlett and Shapiro Wilk test were first used to examine homogeneity of variance and normality of the data, respectively.…”

Section: Oyster Paleobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-proxy assessment of the impact of climate change on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

Garland

Thompson

Sanger

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Circular shell rings along the Atlantic Coast of southeastern North America are the remnants of some of the earliest villages that emerged during the Late Archaic Period (5000 – 3000 BP). Many of these villages, however, were abandoned during the Terminal Late Archaic Period (ca 3800 – 3000 BP). Here, we combine Bayesian chronological modeling with multiple environmental proxies to understand the nature and timing of environmental change associated with the emergence and abandonment of shell ring villages on Sapleo Island, Georgia. Our Bayesian models indicate that Native Americans occupied the three Sapelo shell rings at varying times with some generational overlap. By the end of the complex’s occupation, only Ring III was occupied before abandonment ca. 3845 BP. Ring III also consists of statistically smaller oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ) that people harvested from less saline estuaries compared to earlier occupations. These data, when integrated with recent tree ring analyses, show a clear pattern of environmental instability throughout the period in which the rings were occupied. We argue that as the climate became unstable around 4300 BP, aggregation at shell ring villages provided a way to effectively manage fisheries that are highly sensitive to environmental change. However, with the eventual collapse of oyster fisheries and subsequent rebound in environmental conditions ca. 3800 BP, people dispersed from shell rings, and shifted to non-marine subsistence economies and other types of settlements. This study provides the most comprehensive evidence correlations between large-scale environmental change and societal transformations on the Georgia coast during the Late Archaic period.

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Indigenous oyster fisheries persisted for millennia and should inform future management

et al. 2022

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Historical ecology has revolutionized our understanding of fisheries and cultural landscapes, demonstrating the value of historical data for evaluating the past, present, and future of Earth’s ecosystems. Despite several important studies, Indigenous fisheries generally receive less attention from scholars and managers than the 17th–20th century capitalist commercial fisheries that decimated many keystone species, including oysters. We investigate Indigenous oyster harvest through time in North America and Australia, placing these data in the context of sea level histories and historical catch records. Indigenous oyster fisheries were pervasive across space and through time, persisting for 5000–10,000 years or more. Oysters were likely managed and sometimes “farmed,” and are woven into broader cultural, ritual, and social traditions. Effective stewardship of oyster reefs and other marine fisheries around the world must center Indigenous histories and include Indigenous community members to co-develop more inclusive, just, and successful strategies for restoration, harvest, and management.

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Oyster paleoecology and Native American subsistence practices on Ossabaw Island, Georgia, USA

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

A Multi-proxy assessment of the impact of climate change on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

Indigenous oyster fisheries persisted for millennia and should inform future management

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