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Papers by Chester DePratter
Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 2018
The vascular plant species of Native American clam shell middens were sampled during the 2009–201... more The vascular plant species of Native American clam shell middens were sampled during the 2009–2013 growing seasons. The 15 middens selected in this study include Sewee midden north of Charleston, 6 at Hobcaw Barony in North Inlet-Winyah Bay Natural Research Preserve in North Inlet, and a cluster of 8 middens at Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The vascular flora consists of 129 species within 114 genera in 48 families. The Poaceae (30 species), Asteraceae (12 species), and Fabaceae (12 species) are the largest families. Sporobolus (5 species) and Cyperus (3 species) are the largest genera in the flora. Species diversity was highest at the Sewee midden, and at the large Allston House midden on private property at Murrells Inlet. All middens in this study border on, or are islands within, salt marshes. Soil salinity and tidal flooding influence the distribution of salt marsh vascular plant species at South Carolina tidal marsh clam shell middens.
Chapter 8. Validation of annual shell increments and shifting population dynamics in modern and z... more Chapter 8. Validation of annual shell increments and shifting population dynamics in modern and zooarchaeological hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria)
Archaeological Prospection, 2019
Santa Elena, located on Parris Island along the coast of South Carolina, was the first capital, a... more Santa Elena, located on Parris Island along the coast of South Carolina, was the first capital, and northernmost permanent settlement, of Spanish La Florida. Over two decades of occupation (AD 1566-1587), five forts were successively built while by AD 1569 a burgeoning Spanish settlement of over 200 people, complete with artisans, farmers, and Jesuit missionaries, flourished. Here, we articulate the results of recent, full-coverage ground-penetrating radar and magnetic gradiometry surveys with over 40 years of extant archaeological data to elucidate organizational characteristics of the Spanish settlement at Santa Elena. In particular, we use geophysical data to identify the potential locations of buried Spanish wells across the site. We identify roughly 200 potential well locations and compare these locations to the distribution of Spanish artifacts across the site yielded through a full-coverage shovel test survey, the arrangement of Spanish structures known from large-scale block excavations, and the likely position of roadways and house lots. This new data is used to contextualize and refine extant understandings of Santa Elena's town plan while also contributing to a broader research program devoted to exploring Spanish colonial life and settlement in 16 th-century North America (The Santa Elena Landscape Project). As Santa Elena is a National Historic Landmark currently threatened by rising sea levels, this work contributes to an efficient, minimally invasive research program devoted to exploring the Spanish settlement at Santa Elena and to documenting the range of cultural resources present at the site for the purposes of protection and remediation in the context of significant, ongoing shoreline erosion.
Remote Sensing, 2018
In this study, we present the results of a comprehensive, landscape-scale remote sensing project ... more In this study, we present the results of a comprehensive, landscape-scale remote sensing project at Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina. Substantial occupation at the site extends for over 4000 years and has resulted in a complex array of features dating to different time periods. In addition, there is a 40-year history of archaeological research at the site that includes a large-scale systematic shovel test survey, large block excavations, and scattered test units. Also, modern use of the site included significant alterations to the subsurface deposits. Our goals for this present work are threefold: (1) to explicitly present a logical approach to examine sites with long-term occupations; (2) to examine changes in land use at Santa Elena and its implications for human occupation of this persistent place; and (3) to use the remote sensing program and past archaeological research to make substantive suggestions regarding future research, conservation, and management of the site. Our research provides important insight into the distribution of cultural features at this National Historic Landmark. While the majority of archaeological research at the site has focused on the Spanish period, our work suggests a complex and vast array of archaeological features that can provide insight into over 4000 years of history in the region. At a gross level, we have identified possible Late Archaic structures, Woodland houses and features, Late Prehistoric and early Historic council houses, and a suite of features related to the Spanish occupation which builds on our previous research at the site. In addition to documenting possible cultural features at the site, our work illustrates the value of multiple remote sensing techniques used in conjunction with close-interval shovel test data.
Notebook, 1987
In 1566-68, two Spanish expeditions commanded by Captain Juan Pardo ventured inland from Santa El... more In 1566-68, two Spanish expeditions commanded by Captain Juan Pardo ventured inland from Santa Elena, a Spanish settlement on the south Atlantic coast of North America (DePratter et al. 1980). Accompanied by 125 soldiers, Pardo explored the area from the coast inland beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Despite the importance of these expeditions, they have attracted comparatively little scholarly attention, perhaps because of the limited nature of published primary documents recording these journeys.
South Car'onna Instl"tt~~'2 of 1\ rC''''''eo'r '1\/ ...,. r/ I' .' .
Abstract : Research on the Springfield Canal project, Chatham County, Georgia, consisted of a his... more Abstract : Research on the Springfield Canal project, Chatham County, Georgia, consisted of a historic documents search and an archeological survey. The project area is on the western fringes of the city of Savannah in lowlands once drained by Musgrove Creek and its tributaries. The present Springfield Canal is the result of incremental development over a period of 150 years. A 200-foot-wide corridor along the existing 4.7-mile-long canal right-of-way was surveyed. No prehistoric sites were encountered during the field survey, but several significant historical features were identified. A segment of the Savannah and Ogeechee Canal channel now occupied by the Springfield Canal represents a significant episode in the history and development of the city of Savannah. That canal segment contains remains of two brick locks constructed between 1824 and 1831. Both the locks and the intervening canal segment should be considered eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Two brick Central of Georgia Railroad viaducts (constructed in 1852 and 1859, respectively) cross this canal segment. These viaducts are within and part of the Central of Georgia Railroad Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities, a Historic Landmark District.
The Archaeology and Historical Ecology of Small Scale Economies, 2013
Florida Anthropologist, 1976
Ethnohistory, 2008
Scholars have developed two broad approaches to researching the history of the native peoples of ... more Scholars have developed two broad approaches to researching the history of the native peoples of the American South from the sixteenth century to the present: culture history and social history. The essential task in culture history is to classify native so-called tribes into cultural and/or linguistic categories, to list defining cultural traits, and to show how these “tribes” have persisted, disappeared, or become acculturated. The essential task in social history is to reconstruct the structure of the societies and polities into which native peoples organized themselves within the context of native worlds and to show what happened to them when they came into contact with the modern world-system. Both approaches have been used to depict and explicate Cofitachequi, a native people first encountered by the Hernando de Soto expedition in 1540. Our purpose here is to point out flaws in the culture history approach and to emphasize strengths in the social history approach.
Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 2018
The vascular plant species of Native American clam shell middens were sampled during the 2009–201... more The vascular plant species of Native American clam shell middens were sampled during the 2009–2013 growing seasons. The 15 middens selected in this study include Sewee midden north of Charleston, 6 at Hobcaw Barony in North Inlet-Winyah Bay Natural Research Preserve in North Inlet, and a cluster of 8 middens at Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The vascular flora consists of 129 species within 114 genera in 48 families. The Poaceae (30 species), Asteraceae (12 species), and Fabaceae (12 species) are the largest families. Sporobolus (5 species) and Cyperus (3 species) are the largest genera in the flora. Species diversity was highest at the Sewee midden, and at the large Allston House midden on private property at Murrells Inlet. All middens in this study border on, or are islands within, salt marshes. Soil salinity and tidal flooding influence the distribution of salt marsh vascular plant species at South Carolina tidal marsh clam shell middens.
Chapter 8. Validation of annual shell increments and shifting population dynamics in modern and z... more Chapter 8. Validation of annual shell increments and shifting population dynamics in modern and zooarchaeological hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria)
Archaeological Prospection, 2019
Santa Elena, located on Parris Island along the coast of South Carolina, was the first capital, a... more Santa Elena, located on Parris Island along the coast of South Carolina, was the first capital, and northernmost permanent settlement, of Spanish La Florida. Over two decades of occupation (AD 1566-1587), five forts were successively built while by AD 1569 a burgeoning Spanish settlement of over 200 people, complete with artisans, farmers, and Jesuit missionaries, flourished. Here, we articulate the results of recent, full-coverage ground-penetrating radar and magnetic gradiometry surveys with over 40 years of extant archaeological data to elucidate organizational characteristics of the Spanish settlement at Santa Elena. In particular, we use geophysical data to identify the potential locations of buried Spanish wells across the site. We identify roughly 200 potential well locations and compare these locations to the distribution of Spanish artifacts across the site yielded through a full-coverage shovel test survey, the arrangement of Spanish structures known from large-scale block excavations, and the likely position of roadways and house lots. This new data is used to contextualize and refine extant understandings of Santa Elena's town plan while also contributing to a broader research program devoted to exploring Spanish colonial life and settlement in 16 th-century North America (The Santa Elena Landscape Project). As Santa Elena is a National Historic Landmark currently threatened by rising sea levels, this work contributes to an efficient, minimally invasive research program devoted to exploring the Spanish settlement at Santa Elena and to documenting the range of cultural resources present at the site for the purposes of protection and remediation in the context of significant, ongoing shoreline erosion.
Remote Sensing, 2018
In this study, we present the results of a comprehensive, landscape-scale remote sensing project ... more In this study, we present the results of a comprehensive, landscape-scale remote sensing project at Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina. Substantial occupation at the site extends for over 4000 years and has resulted in a complex array of features dating to different time periods. In addition, there is a 40-year history of archaeological research at the site that includes a large-scale systematic shovel test survey, large block excavations, and scattered test units. Also, modern use of the site included significant alterations to the subsurface deposits. Our goals for this present work are threefold: (1) to explicitly present a logical approach to examine sites with long-term occupations; (2) to examine changes in land use at Santa Elena and its implications for human occupation of this persistent place; and (3) to use the remote sensing program and past archaeological research to make substantive suggestions regarding future research, conservation, and management of the site. Our research provides important insight into the distribution of cultural features at this National Historic Landmark. While the majority of archaeological research at the site has focused on the Spanish period, our work suggests a complex and vast array of archaeological features that can provide insight into over 4000 years of history in the region. At a gross level, we have identified possible Late Archaic structures, Woodland houses and features, Late Prehistoric and early Historic council houses, and a suite of features related to the Spanish occupation which builds on our previous research at the site. In addition to documenting possible cultural features at the site, our work illustrates the value of multiple remote sensing techniques used in conjunction with close-interval shovel test data.
Notebook, 1987
In 1566-68, two Spanish expeditions commanded by Captain Juan Pardo ventured inland from Santa El... more In 1566-68, two Spanish expeditions commanded by Captain Juan Pardo ventured inland from Santa Elena, a Spanish settlement on the south Atlantic coast of North America (DePratter et al. 1980). Accompanied by 125 soldiers, Pardo explored the area from the coast inland beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Despite the importance of these expeditions, they have attracted comparatively little scholarly attention, perhaps because of the limited nature of published primary documents recording these journeys.
South Car'onna Instl"tt~~'2 of 1\ rC''''''eo'r '1\/ ...,. r/ I' .' .
Abstract : Research on the Springfield Canal project, Chatham County, Georgia, consisted of a his... more Abstract : Research on the Springfield Canal project, Chatham County, Georgia, consisted of a historic documents search and an archeological survey. The project area is on the western fringes of the city of Savannah in lowlands once drained by Musgrove Creek and its tributaries. The present Springfield Canal is the result of incremental development over a period of 150 years. A 200-foot-wide corridor along the existing 4.7-mile-long canal right-of-way was surveyed. No prehistoric sites were encountered during the field survey, but several significant historical features were identified. A segment of the Savannah and Ogeechee Canal channel now occupied by the Springfield Canal represents a significant episode in the history and development of the city of Savannah. That canal segment contains remains of two brick locks constructed between 1824 and 1831. Both the locks and the intervening canal segment should be considered eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Two brick Central of Georgia Railroad viaducts (constructed in 1852 and 1859, respectively) cross this canal segment. These viaducts are within and part of the Central of Georgia Railroad Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities, a Historic Landmark District.
The Archaeology and Historical Ecology of Small Scale Economies, 2013
Florida Anthropologist, 1976
Ethnohistory, 2008
Scholars have developed two broad approaches to researching the history of the native peoples of ... more Scholars have developed two broad approaches to researching the history of the native peoples of the American South from the sixteenth century to the present: culture history and social history. The essential task in culture history is to classify native so-called tribes into cultural and/or linguistic categories, to list defining cultural traits, and to show how these “tribes” have persisted, disappeared, or become acculturated. The essential task in social history is to reconstruct the structure of the societies and polities into which native peoples organized themselves within the context of native worlds and to show what happened to them when they came into contact with the modern world-system. Both approaches have been used to depict and explicate Cofitachequi, a native people first encountered by the Hernando de Soto expedition in 1540. Our purpose here is to point out flaws in the culture history approach and to emphasize strengths in the social history approach.