Pattern and process in the plantation archaeology of the lowcountry of Georgia and South Carolina

Abstract

Considerable archaeological research has been conducted on plantations in Georgia and South Carolina’s lowcountry since James Ford’s (1937) pioneering efforts in the 1930s. This work offers perhaps the most comprehensive body of data related to a particular cultural entity yet to be developed in historical archaeology and hence the opportunity to address problems in archaeological method and theory. This paper presents an interpretation of the problems and potential of artifact patterning (South 1977), as it applies to plantation archaeology. It is argued that patterning is determined by a number of factors, including excavation strategy and cultural processes, and that a more critical application of patterning is called for if the concept is to be successfully employed. The variation between the Georgia and Carolina Slave Artifact patterns is discussed in terms of architecture, ethnicity and status, and technological innovations, all of which are considered as potentially influencing the appearance of distinctive Georgia and Carolina slave patterns. Patterning is viewed as a useful organizational tool but one which requires a more critical application if its comparative research value is to be accurately assessed and positively employed.