The Gregg Shoals and Clyde Gulley Sites: Archaeological and Geological Investigations at Two Piedmont Sites on the Savannah River

Archaeological and geological investigations at two sites along the upper Savannah River, Elbert County, Georgia, were presented. Large block excavations were undertaken at the Gregg Shoals site (9EB259) and the Clyde Gulley Site (9EB387), which resulted in documenting an occupation sequence spanning 10,000 years, from Early Archaic to Late Prehistoric. Further work identified activity areas within the Middle and Early Archaic zones. Research questions focused on assemblage characterization, raw material changes through time, and interassemblage variation. Precision backhoe testing of the Clyde Gulley floodplain resulted in the identification of six archeological components, ranging from Early Archaic to Mississippian. Block excavations were conducted in the Early Archaic, a small, intact Palmer component, and the Mississippian midden components. The Mississippian midden area contained an Etowah II and III ceramic assemblage and a lithic assemblage composed mainly of small triangular points and blades. Several post holes and small pits were identified, possibly associated with a small structure. The archeological and geological investigations at the Gregg Shoals and Clyde Gulley sites have documented several significant cultural components and generated a preliminary model of the depositional processes in this section of the floodplain of the Savannah River. Cultural components representing at least 10,000 years were found to be stratified vertically at Gregg Shoals and horizontally at Clyde Gulley.