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Oyster Morphology in Middle Woodland Middens and Late Woodland Pits at the Shelly Archaeological Site (Southeastern Virginia)
Jackowski, Parker J.
Jackowski, Parker J.
Abstract
The Shelly archaeological site (44GL318) is located along the York River across from the Kiskiak site (44YO2) and was inhabited from the Late Archaic to Late Woodland periods (2500 B.C. – 1650 A.D.). The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) excavated a shell midden dated to the Middle Woodland period (250 A.D. – 900 A.D.), as well as two pit features dated to the Late Woodland period (900 A.D. – 1650 A.D.). Middens are areas of shell deposited over a long period of time of discarded shell from daily meals, whereas pit features represent single events such as feasts. This study analyzes the morphology of the oysters excavated from these features to make inferences about whether the people at Shelly were harvesting intertidal or subtidal oysters for everyday meals and feasting events, then compares it to the results found at the nearby site of Kiskiak to make inferences about the social practices of Shelly’s residents. I analyzed characteristics of oyster morphology such as height, length, height-to-length ratio, left valve concavity, presence/absence/type of epibionts, and presence/absence/type of attachment scar to determine what type of environment the oysters were harvested from. Additionally, I analyzed the presence/absence/type of processing performed on the oysters by the people at Shelly to prepare the oysters for eating to interpret social practices. This analysis shows that shell from both the Middle Woodland midden and the Late Woodland pits display characteristics consistent with subtidal or more saline oyster reefs. At the Kiskiak site intertidal oysters were harvested for daily meals and subtidal oysters were harvested for feasts. Differences in the practices associated with oyster harvesting, consumption, and deposition between the two sites could be due to Kiskiak’s status as a place of political importance and the residence of a werowance (i.e., petty chief), whereas Shelly had no such status.
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2023-01-01
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Geology