This chapter provides an overview on the natural and cultural environment
surrounding Dougherty County and Albany. This section first begins with a discussion of the physiographic regions of the state, with particular focus to the environments around CPP. I then delve into the cultural chronology of the Southeast, including the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and Historic periods. Lastly, archaeological sites located in the region around the plantation are examined.
3.1 Physiographic Features
Georgia can be divided into geologic provinces defined by the age of their bedrock, character of the rock formation and topography (Goad 1979). The state is considered to have five major physiographic regions: the Plateau, the Ridge and Valley, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain (Georgia Department of Natural Resources 2005). Since Dougherty County is in the Coastal Plain region, I describe the characteristics of that region in further detail.
3.1.1 Coastal Plain
The Coastal Plain province occupies the southern 3/5ths of the state (Figure 3.1). It is predominately composed of clays, sands and marls. Exposed sediments range in age from the Late Cretaceous to the Holocene (Georgia Department of Natural Resources 2005). The Coastal Plain has four broad subareas: the Fall Line Hills area, the
Dougherty Plain area, Coastal Georgia and the Altamaha Upland area.
In southwestern Georgia, the Dougherty Plain is covered with mostly upper Eocene and Oligocene limestones, first deposited when sea levels were unusually high
(Georgia Department of Natural Resources 2005). Chert found in this region is mainly produced from the limestone deposits. West of the Flint River, Cretaceous and early Tertiary sediments are mostly of marine sands and gray clays. Those same deposits become more coarsely sandy east of the Flint River.
Figure 3.1: Georgia's physiographic regions. Dougherty County is located in the Dougherty Plain, highlighted in the red oval (USGS 1976).
In Dougherty County, the physiographic features are uniform with the larger part of the county lying within the Dougherty Plain. This area is a karst-like province, where numerous irregular shaped depressions (also known as lime sinks) vary in size up to several hundred acres (Pritchett 1981). Depressions vary by location. Some are filled with water while others are dry and under cultivation. Some are swampy and support the thick growths of cypress, tupelo and bay (Pritchett 1981). The plantation is currently a mixture of live oak and pecan trees, manicured lawns, flat lands for cultivation,
swamplands and forests. 3.1.2 Chert
Chert outcrops are one of the more recognizable features in the county. Chert was a key resource for prehistoric Native Americans, as they used it to make stone tools. It also formed a large percentage of what I recovered during my archaeological
investigations. There are conflicting arguments concerning the difference between chert and flint. Using Andrefsky (2005) definition, chert is a “compact cryptocrystalline or microcrystalline variety of quartz originating from a sedimentary context.” Contrary to chert, flint is “a form of chert usually found in accumulations of chalk” (Andrefsky
2005:255). In general, chert is mostly associated with limestone, while flint is associated with chalk (Goad 1979). For this thesis, I will be using the word chert as opposed to flint for describing the lithic material, although colloquially the chert is referred to as flint, as evidenced by the name of the Flint River.
Chert is distributed throughout many of the physiographic areas of the state. Chert may be differentiated based on color, texture, inclusion and fracture patterns (Goad 1979). The color of chert can range from black or brown to white, yellow gray or
cream (Goad 1979). In Albany, chert ranges from a dark red to a butterscotch cream color. Heat treatment of chert modifies the structure of it by re-crystalizing its silica and producing a finer, more workable material (Goad 1979). Treating chert with heat also alters the color of the material, making it a bright pink, orange, purple or gray.
Eight sites within Dougherty County are listed as being chert quarries (9DU29, 36, 52, 80,81, 88, 97, and 132). None of the sites are described in detail within the Georgia State Site Files but 9DU29 and 52 did have test excavations performed at them (Elliott 2004). Site 9DU29 produced 1,200 flakes, consisting of debitage, cores,
projectile points, blanks, knives and flake tools. Cultural affiliation could not be established (Rudolph and Barber 1979). Site 9DU52’s artifacts were indicative of quarrying and processing of raw material for lithic tool production (Georgia
Archaeological Site Files 1973). Similar to 9DU29, 9DU52 did not have any diagnostic artifacts to determine cultural affiliation.
3.2 Environmental Setting
3.2.1 Climate
The climate of Dougherty County is a humid, subtropical climate characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The elevation of the county is 208 feet (City-data.com 2015). In the summer,
temperatures are high, leading to warmer nights (Weatherbase 2015). Summers tend to be wetter than winters. The average temperature for the year is 78° F. July is the
warmest month with the average daytime temperature being 93° F. The coolest month is January, with the average temperature of 36° F (U.S. Climate Data 2015). The average
amount of precipitation for the year is 51.47 inches, with July being the wettest month (5.94 inches). October has the least amount of precipitation, with only 2.64 inches of rain (U.S. Climate Data 2015).
3.2.2 Soils
Soil surveys can be generally used for farm, local and wider area planning (United States Department of Agriculture 2015). They are also useful for archaeology in the sense that we can know what type of soil we might encounter. Dougherty County is made up of a large variety of soils. Orangeburg loamy sand covers roughly 9.8% of the county (21,059 acres). Elevation for this type of soil ranges from 40-500 feet. Typically, the first seven inches are considered to be loamy sand. Sandy loam is found from seven to twelve inches. Twelve inches to eighty inches is sandy clay loam (United States Department of Agriculture 2015). Based on the soil survey, Orangeburg soils are considered to be prime farmland.
Over 17,000 acres of swamplands are found in the flood plains of Dougherty County. Sandy loam and sandy clay cover the first sixteen inches. Clay and sandy clay are found after sixteen inches. Grady soils are the third most common soil type found within the county. Grady and similar soils are found in depressions in the land. Soils range from clay loam to sandy clay loam. CPP has all three soil types present.
3.3 Introduction to the History of Southwest Georgia
Most of the lands located in the southwestern part of the state were added to the state as a result of the forced removal of the Creek Indians. In 1814, the Treaty of Fort Jackson was signed, ending the war between the United States and the Creeks. As part
of the treaty, the Creeks ceded approximately 23 million acres of land in the Mississippi Territory to the United States. Much of it was in present-day central and south Alabama as well as in southern Georgia (Maloney 2014). Once the land was surveyed, it was parceled out in various acreages through the 1820 Land Lottery (Georgia Archives 2015a).
The 1820 Land Lottery created eight counties: Appling, Early, Gwinnett,
Habersham, Hall, Irwin, Rabun and Walton (Georgia Archives 2015). Depending on the county, land allotted ranged from 250 acres per person up to 490 acres per person. Early County, created in 1818 from the Creek land, encompassed the southwest region of the state. It was divided to create Baker, Clay, Calhoun, Mitchell, Gray, Decatur, Miller and Seminole counties (Georgia.gov 2014).
3.3.1 Dougherty County
The county was originally created from the northeast corner of Baker County in 1853. Terrell, Lee, Worth, Mitchell, Baker and Calhoun counties surround Dougherty. It is rectangular in shape. Going east and west, Dougherty is about 28 miles, while north and south it is 12 ½ miles (Pritchett 1981). The county is a total of 329 square miles (Georgia.gov 2015).
3.3.2 Albany
The county seat is Albany, first founded by Nelson Tift in 1836. It is now the 8th largest city in Georgia, with a population of 76,185 (City-data.com 2015). The Creek Indians named the area Thronateeska (flint) after the chert/flint that was found near the river (Pritchett 1981). Albany was first established as a commercial venture at the foot of the Flint River (Dixon 1983). Giving Albany its namesake was inspired by Albany,
New York, which is at the head of the Hudson River. A key component of settling Albany was its central location in a new region. Uncultivated land enticed settlers from other parts of Georgia and South Carolina to come. It was also a convenient point for shipping cotton (Pritchett 1981). Albany was incorporated into a town in 1841. At this point in time, Albany was growing so rapidly that it was known it would eventually break into its own county. Dougherty County was created December 9th, 1853.
Large farms characterized the area. Between 1845 and 1860, over 75% of the population was black. Agriculturally, nearly 20,000 bales of cotton and 370,000 bales of corn were being produced annually (Dixon 1983). Nelson Tift established a cotton and wool factory in 1866. Towards the end of 1870, nearly 25,000 bales of cotton and wool were being shipped from Albany. The Civil War did not affect Albany but it did become a refuge for soldiers during the war. A Confederate Naval Depot was built in 1864. A commissary and quartermaster headquarters were also located in Albany during the war (Dixon 1983). Railroads expanded Albany’s commercial success. By 1901, it became one of the largest centers in the state. Post-1900, Albany was looking for diversification in farming. They shifted away from cotton and concentrated on pecans. By 1904, 60,000 acres of pecans were planted within a 40-mile radius of Albany (Dixon 1983). Peanuts were also an important part of the Albany economy. Agriculture remains an important part of the Albany economy including grains, livestock, watermelon, peaches, pecan and peanuts (Dixon 1983). Textiles, lumber, meatpacking, fertilizer processing and
pecan/peanut processing industries also grew in importance during the 20th century. In the 1970’s, industries such as Miller Brewing Company, Firestone, and Proctor and Gamble brought their plants to the Albany area.
Sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois visited Albany in his many travels through Southwest Georgia. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903, he described Albany as a typical African-American rural town in the Deep South. He discussed the culture and economy of the region and how the local sharecroppers struggled with making a living (Du Bois 1903). Du Bois painted Dougherty County as “forlorn and forsaken” (Du Bois 1903:86). He described the sad exterior of ruined plantations, decaying one-room slave cabins, and unfenced fields. He critiqued the tenant system and the negative effects of it but understood that black tenants “can stand such a system, and they only because they must” (Du Bois 1903:86). Du Bois stated that Albany had about fifteen hundred
African-American families in 1898. Most were outside of Albany, where the majority lived in one or two bedroom homes. He observed that the average family size had decreased since the Civil War due to economic stress (Du Bois 1903).
3.4 Cultural Chronology
As discussed in Chapter 2, people have interpreted the landscape in various ways. Prehistoric to historic, individuals have adapted to their surroundings for their own intentions and have therefore altered the way the land has been used. Native Americans have occupied the southeastern United States for thousands of years. Georgia’s
prehistory can be divided into four major time periods: the Paleo-Indian, the Archaic, the Woodland, and the Mississippian. Artifacts found in sites within Dougherty County indicate a more developed presence featuring the latter three time periods, so the Paleo- Indian period is not discussed.
3.4.1 Archaic
The Archaic, generally known as the period from 10,000 to 3,000 B.P (Anderson and Sassaman 2012), is generally considered to be the time associated with mobile hunter-gatherer populations. The term was first used by William Ritchie in 1932 to discuss the cultural material found in the Lamoka Lake Site in New York, which consisted primarily of chipped stone tools (Ritchie 1932). Sites that showed similar characteristics during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930’s and 1940’s were classified as Archaic.
The Archaic is generally regarded as a long period of transition between the initial populating of North America by Paleo-Indian populations and the Woodland and Mississippian periods (Anderson and Sassaman 2012). The Archaic period was
considered to be a period of transition for Caldwell (1959), a slow, progressive trend toward exploitation of forest niches, better technologies and networks of interaction and cultural diffusion that helped spread pottery, food production and customs of politics and religion (Caldwell 1959). Larger groups of people existed across much of the region as noted by the large presence of sites and artifacts (Anderson and Sassaman 2012).
The Hardaway site in North Carolina was one of the first Archaic sites excavated and is now considered to date to the Early Archaic. Joffre Coe (1964) wrote about the Hardaway site as part of the book Formative Cultures of the Carolina Piedmont. In his excavation, he found Hardaway, Palmer, and Kirk projectile points. Coe observed that the Hardaway points found in level four were older than the Palmer and Kirk points found in levels one through three (Coe 1964), identifying a basic cultural chronology. Tools today that are considered to be from the Early Archaic are based on Coe’s work from the Hardaway Site.
The Middle Archaic is known by the introduction of stemmed bifacial tool
technology. During this time, temperatures were comparably higher than those of today. Deer population increased due to the abundance of vegetation. In the Southeast, there was a development of levees, swamps, and oxbow lakes. Food resources such as
mollusks and fowl increased (Anderson and Sassaman 2012:73).
The creation of shell middens began in the Late Archaic. Tool varieties such as ground stones, milling stone, and tools made out of bone emerged. There was a continued expression of mixed resources such as nuts, acorns, and squash (Anderson and Sassaman 2012). Sites abandoned or underutilized during the Mid-Holocene were once again used as seen through the increase of identified sites and artifact densities (Anderson and Sassaman 2012). The earliest pottery in the U.S. was developed during the Late Archaic (ca. 3000 B.C.). The earliest versions of Late Archaic ceramics were thick, and tempered with fiber materials from plants, such as Spanish moss or palmetto palms. Pottery styles such as Stallings Island, Bilbo, St. Simons and Orange (Florida) correspond to this time period; however, Sassaman (2006) argues that Stalling Island pottery is the earliest form, originating in the coast and then diffusing to other parts of the region.
Extensive trade networks developed in the Late Archaic. Poverty Point, located in Louisiana, is a prime example of this (Figure 3.2). There are six concentric circles, all made of earth, that total 11 km in distance. Poverty Point had an extensive trade network based on the artifacts found. Very few items originated in the area. Soapstone from the Blue Ridge, galena from Missouri and copper from the north were common findings at Poverty Point (Ford and Webb 1956). The purpose of Poverty Point is still debated but it was most likely a place that people came to one or a few times a year.
Figure 3.2: Poverty Point, as it may have appeared in 1350 B.C. (Gibson 1996).
3.4.2 Woodland
The Woodland Period (3200-1000 BP) is typically considered by archaeologists to be the era of regionalism, defined by Anderson and Sassaman (2012:113) as the process of cultural differentiation leading to distinct traditions and communities across the Southeast. Variations in pottery, mound building, earthworks, and burial complexes all began in the Woodland. Woodland populations were also starting to settle for longer periods of time. Similar to the Archaic, the Woodland period is divided into the Early Woodland (1200-100 B.C.), Middle Woodland (100 B.C.-A.D. 500) and the Late
Woodland (A.D 500- A.D. 1000) phases (Anderson and Sassaman 2012). Much of what is known about the Southeast during this phase can be traced back to the Midwest
(Anderson and Sassaman 2012). The influences of Hopewell traditions are evidenced in the Southeast in both religion and daily practices.
Pottery became more widespread by 700 B.C. in the Southeast. Tempering
pottery with fiber was replaced with grit and sand. Variations in the surface treatment of ceramics exposed distinct traditions in areas such as the Gulf Coastal Plain, the interior Mid-south region, the middle Atlantic seaboard and the South Appalachian area
(Anderson and Sassaman 2012). Cord or fabric impressions were applied to the pottery of the Middle Atlantic and Mid-south. Pottery from the South Appalachian and Gulf coastal areas exhibited more elaborate designs (Anderson and Sassaman 2012).
The development of agriculture was established in the Woodland period. Our understanding of agricultural practices of this phase is based on paleoethnobotanic evidence. Cultigens such as squash, beans and corn were recognized as being
Mesoamerican staples. Goosefoot, marshelder and sunflower were seen as staples local to the Southeast. Cultural anthropologist Ralph Linton (1924) was the first to use the term Eastern Agricultural Complex (EAC) to describe these indigenous staples. He recognized an independent evolution between the Mesoamerican and indigenous crops based on ethnographic case studies. He noted that foods prepared in the Southeast were different than how food was prepared in Mesoamerica (Linton 1924).
One of the defining characteristics of the Middle Woodland is the treatment of the dead. Burial complexes rooted in the Hopewell tradition of the Midwest spread to the Southeast. The complexes are mainly found in high locations, such as hilltops. Ritual objects, such as copper, quartz crystals, flint blades, mica cutouts, shell and pearl beads and other exotic materials like obsidian and galena were found in the burial complexes (Anderson and Sassaman 2012). Ceremonialism developed further, creating a variety of
subcultures including the Ohio and Illinois Hopewell, Swift Creek, and Santa Rosa. The Tunacunnhee site in Georgia was part of the Hopewell Interaction Sphere. Jefferies (1975) argued that Tunacunnhee was used for efficient communication and
transportation and was positioned to take advantage of trading from both the North and the South.
Lithic artifact types and seriation of ceramic types for the Middle Woodland phase in southern Georgia are derived from excavations done at the Kolomoki site (Windham, et al. 2009). Kolomoki is a prominent mound site in southwest Georgia. There are nine mounds located on the site with a few of them being flat top platform mounds. Pluckhahn (2003) estimated the resident population during the first century of Kolomoki’s history (1000 B.C- A.D. 900) to range between 225 and 405 individuals. At this time, the scale of mounding was minimal, leading Pluckhahn to interpret the site as being a home for residents but also being a locus for the gathering of regional allies (Pluckhahn 2003).
In the Southeast, Swift Creek pottery was popular during the Woodland period. It was contemporaneous with the Hopewell Interaction Sphere, as seen with excavations at the Mandeville site. The first recognition of the Swift Creek pottery style was in 1936 by Arthur R. Kelly at the Swift Creek site in Bibb County, GA (Williams and Elliott 1998). The pottery style was most abundant between A.D. 100 to A.D. 750. Swift Creek pottery seems to have been made and used in a variety of contexts, including