Papers by Joseph E Wilkinson
Early Human Life on the Southeastern Coastal Plain, 2018
Chapter 13 examines the evidence for Early Archaic use and settlement of the inter-riverine zone ... more Chapter 13 examines the evidence for Early Archaic use and settlement of the inter-riverine zone between the Savannah and the Santee Rivers, both of which are the major alluvial rivers on southern Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Heretofore little work has been done in this zone. Several large, private collections, forming a transect, are analyzed for diagnostic hafted bifaces – or various stone tools – including their raw materials. The entire Early Archaic tool kit is found in this zone, though with relatively low density sites. Based on raw material sources, a considerable going back and forth between these major rivers is indicated.
This thesis is dedicated to Steve Williams, a devoted grandfather, father, husband, archaeology e... more This thesis is dedicated to Steve Williams, a devoted grandfather, father, husband, archaeology enthusiast, artifact collector, flintknapper, and friend. He was a very generous, kind, and considerate man who would do everything he could for those he cared about. A man who stood by his principles and was firm in his convictions. He was very generous in sharing his artifact collections with me, data from which have greatly contributed to this thesis, his observations regarding stone tools, and his expertise with flintknapping. Thank you Steve, you will be missed. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been influenced by a number of people over a several year period. First and foremost my parents, Robert and Belinda Wilkinson have sacrificed and supported me throughout my life in countless ways, making my education possible. To them both I owe a great deal of love and thanks for all they have done and continue to do to support me. A great deal of thanks is owed to Albert Goodyear whose encouragement and mentorship has made the beginning of my archaeological career and this thesis possible. Numerous individuals at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology have encouraged and supported me, and to whom much thanks is owed.
South Carolina Antiquities, 2019
This paper attempts to emphasize and evaluate the importance of singular behavioral residues, suc... more This paper attempts to emphasize and evaluate the importance of singular behavioral residues, such as hafted biface resharpening, with an experimental approach in order to shed some light on the overall use-life of a Kirk corner notched hafted biface within such a mobile settlement system. This evaluation will aid in identifying such residues on sites for interpretation regarding site function, as well as aid in modeling predictions of technological capabilities within Early Archaic settlement systems. The primary interests of this experiment are to 1) identify the average number of resharpening events Kirk corner notched hafted bifaces can withstand, 2) evaluate the physical changes that the Kirk bifaces exhibit from such resharpening, and 3) evaluate the nature and characteristics of the resulting debitage such that the visibility of these residues in archaeological assemblages might be more easily identified and evaluated.
South Carolina Antiquities, 2019
As in the rest of the Southeast, researchers of South Carolina prehistory use projectile point ty... more As in the rest of the Southeast, researchers of South Carolina prehistory use projectile point typologies to organize sequences of culture history and frame questions about change through time. For the Early Archaic a general temporal distinction between earlier side notched points (such as Taylor, Big Sandy, and Hardaway side notched) and later corner notched points (generally referred to as Kirk) has been accepted for the last five decades (Coe 1964; Michie 1966; Charles and Moore 2018:21-30). The shift from side notching to corner notching in the Southeast was part of a wider pattern of technological change that extended across much of the Eastern Woodlands (see Tuck 1974). The recognition that side notched and corner notched points tend to differ in age across the Eastern Woodlands is based on several lines of evidence: (1) the radiocarbon record; (2) stratigraphic relationships between the two point forms; and (3) the existence of “closed” assemblages that contain either side notched or corner notched points rather than a mixture of the two forms.
South Carolina Antiquities, 2017
In a previous study of Paleoindian points in the COWASEE basin, which includes the Congaree, Wate... more In a previous study of Paleoindian points in the COWASEE basin, which includes the Congaree, Wateree, and Santee rivers, fluted points such as Clovis and Redstone were reported by frequency and raw material (Goodyear 2014). Later points, such as Daltons were also included and compared with previous fluted point frequencies. Some interesting and significant differences were found between points made from local raw materials, such as orthoquartzite, and points made from extra-local or exotic materials. The relevance of the latter has to do with the location of the COWASEE basin as a hypothesized physical and cultural boundary between Clovis macrobands to the north referred to as the North Carolina Uwharrie band and the southern band centered on the Coastal Plain chert quarries of the central Savannah River known as the Allendale band (Goodyear 2017; Daniel and Goodyear 2015, 2017).
South Carolina Antiquities, 2017
Orthoquartzite, a minimally evaluated raw material type present on the South Carolina Coastal Pla... more Orthoquartzite, a minimally evaluated raw material type present on the South Carolina Coastal Plain, is examined here in the locality of present-day Calhoun County in order to better understand its influence on local archaeological assemblages and the ways in which people throughout prehistory negotiated and exploited this raw material.
Arrowheads, projectile points, or, more generally, hafted
bifaces, have long been the focus of ar... more Arrowheads, projectile points, or, more generally, hafted
bifaces, have long been the focus of archaeological
investigations. They have captured the attention of
many archaeological enthusiasts, amateur archaeologists,
collectors, and professional archaeologists for decades.
Much has been learned from this focused attention, such
as chronologies, cultural settlement and mobility patterns,
social interaction, trade and transmission of ideas, among
many other things. Understanding formal typologies and
the relationships between technological systems are at the
very heart of archaeology, as it gives us a means by which
to understand the human past. The Southern Hardin, a
relatively unknown hafted biface type in the southeastern
United States, is just one of many such artifacts found in
South Carolina and the broader Southeast. Its presence and
characteristics have been grossly under-evaluated, as its
frequency in assemblages is very sparse to nonexistent. A
sample of this type from South Carolina is evaluated here,
and patterns of spatial distribution, raw material selection,
morphology, and its technological relationship with other
types are presented. This paper is intended to form an
initial understanding of its presence in South Carolina
and the Southeast, in order to more fully understand the
spectrum of cultural development and change among
Early Archaic hunter-gatherers.
Evaluating the effects of raw material quality on
technology is important for understanding subsi... more Evaluating the effects of raw material quality on
technology is important for understanding subsistence
and mobility strategies. This study quantifies raw
material quality and selection through the analysis of
prehistoric notched hafted bifaces from the Kolb Site,
where quality refers to stone with exceptional conchoidal
fracture. The frequencies of the different raw materials
present were compared to the geographic distributions
of those raw materials. The results indicate the selection
of highly desired materials for notched tool manufacture,
including raw material types from areas geographically
removed from the Pee Dee region.
Book Reviews by Joseph E Wilkinson
Thesis Chapters by Joseph E Wilkinson
Previous models predicting Early Archaic mobility and subsistence strategies in South Carolina ha... more Previous models predicting Early Archaic mobility and subsistence strategies in South Carolina have evaluated behavioral negotiations of specific resource distributions. A new model is presented using empirical datasets that quantify and evaluate the quality and geographic distributions of lithic raw materials and drainage systems in the state. By utilizing datasets from private collections and landscape elevation data, this model is generated using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software in order to produce a "Risk Landscape" from which predictions of site density, artifact density, lithic raw material diversity, and the condition of lithic toolkit assemblages can be generated based on landscape location. This model is tested using geographically extensive private collections from site specific locations and demonstrate variability in archaeological assemblages based on proximity to resources.
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Papers by Joseph E Wilkinson
bifaces, have long been the focus of archaeological
investigations. They have captured the attention of
many archaeological enthusiasts, amateur archaeologists,
collectors, and professional archaeologists for decades.
Much has been learned from this focused attention, such
as chronologies, cultural settlement and mobility patterns,
social interaction, trade and transmission of ideas, among
many other things. Understanding formal typologies and
the relationships between technological systems are at the
very heart of archaeology, as it gives us a means by which
to understand the human past. The Southern Hardin, a
relatively unknown hafted biface type in the southeastern
United States, is just one of many such artifacts found in
South Carolina and the broader Southeast. Its presence and
characteristics have been grossly under-evaluated, as its
frequency in assemblages is very sparse to nonexistent. A
sample of this type from South Carolina is evaluated here,
and patterns of spatial distribution, raw material selection,
morphology, and its technological relationship with other
types are presented. This paper is intended to form an
initial understanding of its presence in South Carolina
and the Southeast, in order to more fully understand the
spectrum of cultural development and change among
Early Archaic hunter-gatherers.
technology is important for understanding subsistence
and mobility strategies. This study quantifies raw
material quality and selection through the analysis of
prehistoric notched hafted bifaces from the Kolb Site,
where quality refers to stone with exceptional conchoidal
fracture. The frequencies of the different raw materials
present were compared to the geographic distributions
of those raw materials. The results indicate the selection
of highly desired materials for notched tool manufacture,
including raw material types from areas geographically
removed from the Pee Dee region.
Book Reviews by Joseph E Wilkinson
Thesis Chapters by Joseph E Wilkinson
bifaces, have long been the focus of archaeological
investigations. They have captured the attention of
many archaeological enthusiasts, amateur archaeologists,
collectors, and professional archaeologists for decades.
Much has been learned from this focused attention, such
as chronologies, cultural settlement and mobility patterns,
social interaction, trade and transmission of ideas, among
many other things. Understanding formal typologies and
the relationships between technological systems are at the
very heart of archaeology, as it gives us a means by which
to understand the human past. The Southern Hardin, a
relatively unknown hafted biface type in the southeastern
United States, is just one of many such artifacts found in
South Carolina and the broader Southeast. Its presence and
characteristics have been grossly under-evaluated, as its
frequency in assemblages is very sparse to nonexistent. A
sample of this type from South Carolina is evaluated here,
and patterns of spatial distribution, raw material selection,
morphology, and its technological relationship with other
types are presented. This paper is intended to form an
initial understanding of its presence in South Carolina
and the Southeast, in order to more fully understand the
spectrum of cultural development and change among
Early Archaic hunter-gatherers.
technology is important for understanding subsistence
and mobility strategies. This study quantifies raw
material quality and selection through the analysis of
prehistoric notched hafted bifaces from the Kolb Site,
where quality refers to stone with exceptional conchoidal
fracture. The frequencies of the different raw materials
present were compared to the geographic distributions
of those raw materials. The results indicate the selection
of highly desired materials for notched tool manufacture,
including raw material types from areas geographically
removed from the Pee Dee region.