Reconstructing the Culture-History of Squires Ridge (31ED365): A Multicomponent Site within the Northern Coastal Plain of North Carolina

Abstract

Until recently, the prehistoric culture-history of the Coastal Plain has remained the least understood region in North Carolina due to a lack of known sites with stratified context and dateable components. Sites, such as Barber Creek (31PT259) and Squires Ridge (31ED365) situated along the Tar River, have archaeological data that can refine the region's stratigraphic sequence (Moore and Daniel 2011; Phelps 1983). The excavations at these two sites have established the presence of archaeological sequences dating from the Early Archaic to the Early/Middle Woodland (11,500-1,000 Cal. BP.). Previous studies (Daniel et al. 2013; Barbour 2014) have analyzed part of the stratigraphic sequence at Squires Ridge. The research presented here analyses additional data from Squires Ridge. In this study, the stratigraphic sequence in the northern was explored using artifact back-plot, artifact frequency distributions, and artifact refitting analyses from material recovered during the 2011-2012 field seasons. The results of this analysis confirms the presence of Early Archaic through Early/Middle Woodland occupations elsewhere on the site. Through the continued analysis of Squires Ridge, the culture history of the site as well as the North Carolina Coastal Plain as a region can be better understood.