Human-Environmental Dynamics of the Georgia Coast

Abstract

This chapter synthesizes and evaluates settlement and subsistence patterns in relation to landscape change for Native American occupations of the Georgia coast in the southeast USA. Dynamic coastal processes of the region have altered the topography and distribution of resources, including those important to humans. These processes were neither uniform in space nor time, with variations leading to the creation of micro-habitats. We assess these habitats, individually and as part of a complex whole, to better elucidate the nature of human–environmental interactions and socio-ecological systems. Understanding this complex relationship helps reveal social trajectories and environmental impacts on the ecosystem of coastal groups. This research, based on historical ecology, is used as a departure point to discuss the future of humans along changing coastlines. We argue that past peoples dealt with similar coastally-related issues as today, such as sea level fluctuations or changes to once productive resources. The knowledge archeologists have gained concerning past human–environmental interactions must be conveyed to the public, including policy-makers, to transform society for the better.