Cultural Resource Management Plan for Shaw Air Force Base and Poinsett Range: Final Report

The purpose of this progress report is to comply with the requirements set forth in the Scope of Work. An extensive literature search and knowledgeable informant search was completed as specified in the Scope of Work. A research design following the Scope of Work specifications and the contract proposal prepared by CHRS has been developed. The research design has incorporated the information acquired by the literature and informant research. A predictive model for both the prehistoric and historic distribution of cultural resources has been prepared. The prehistoric section of the model incorporates environmental and economic factors as they correlate with the settlement patterns recognized at given cultural time periods. These environmental and cultural behavioral patterns are used to develop predictions concerning the likelihood of Amerindian sites occurring within particular environmental configurations, i.e. ecozones or ecotones. The historical section of the model incorporates the Frontier Model as presented by Kenneth Lewis (1979) and post frontier adaptations due to the introduction of new forms of transportation such as the railroad.
A number of research problems were identified that the data available from the cultural resources at Shaw AFB/Poinsett Range might answer. Prehistoric research problems were oriented toward the pattern of site location in relation to the environmental configuration exhibited in the project area. It appears that during the Woodland period human populations exploited areas of oak and hickory forests during the fall and early winter when the nuts ripened and the deer population concentrated in the area to feed on the nuts.
With the corrected prehistoric site location model and the historic site location model, areas of high historic and prehistoric site occurrence were outlined. A cultural resource management plan was developed. Locations for federal action that will directly or indirectly alter the environment with the least possibility of adversely affecting cultural resources were outlined. Methods of base maintenance and other means of reducing adverse impact to the cultural resources were prescribed. Recommendations for the sites recorded in the 100% survey area, and the practice bombing area in Poinsett Range, were made. These recommendations include additional subsurface testing to provide further information on the integrity of the sites. A cultural resource educational program for base personnel was also presented.