Woodland-period fisheries on the north-central coast of the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite the prevalence of Woodland-period middens on the Gulf of Mexico’s northern coast, Woodland fisheries remain poorly known. Vertebrate and invertebrate assemblages from Plash Island (1BA134; cal AD 325–640) and Bayou St. John (1BA21; cal AD 650–1040) suggest this period was more than a prelude to Mississippian farming. Much of the coastal Woodland economy centered on reliable, productive estuarine resources, particularly molluscs and fishes that provided communities with multiple options in a resilient strategy employed for at least 700 years. A nuanced interpretation of coastal life as an array of flexible, managed responses to a dynamic estuarine environment is more plausible than a model that postulates seasonal abandonment of a productive coastal territory and valuable gear. We posit a more parsimonious interpretation: residents of Woodland fishing villages on the north-central Gulf coast skillfully and flexibly managed the opportunities and challenges of complex multi-season, year-round fisheries.