A Pilot Study to Characterize Organic Residues of Earliest Pottery in the American Southeast

The oldest pottery of the American Southeast, Stallings fiber-tempered ware (ca. 2550–1850 BCE), is typically associated with shell midden deposits, ostensibly supporting narratives that link pottery innovation with aquatic exploitation and increased sedentism. However, technofunctional and sourcing data on Stallings pottery belie a direct connection between shellfishing, sedentism, and ceramic cooking technology. Refining understanding of the relationships among these variables requires better data on the actual uses of early pottery. This chapter presents pilot data on organic residues preserved in the sherds of Stallings vessels from four sites in the middle Savannah River valley of Georgia and South Carolina. These data support the hypothesis that emergence of early pottery in the Southeast does not comport with the aquatic-centric pattern of early forager pottery documented elsewhere, but instead reflect the complex relationships among mobility, seasonality, and ritual intensification in a dynamic landscape of group interactions.