Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T06:10:57.911Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sea-Level Rise and Subsidence Effects on Gulf Coast Archaeological Site Distributions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. Barry Lewis
R. Barry Lewis*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 S. Mathews St., MC-148, Urbana, IL 61801
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines the archaeological effects of two major geologic factors, eustatic sea-level rise and land subsidence, on the archaeological site distributions of low-energy coastlines. It describes an inexpensive, quick approach to identify these effects, which exploits the interpretive value of state-maintained archaeological site location files. The application of this approach to the Mississippi Gulf Coast suggests that coastal sites older than roughly 3500 B.P. were submerged or destroyed by eustatic sea-level rise; more recent sites were affected little by this process. Among subsidence factors, endogenic or deep-earth subsidence has had little impact on local site distributions. Exogenic or surficial subsidence processes, however, are sufficient to explain the temporal gradient of tidally inundated marsh sites.

Resumen

Resumen

Este artículo examina los efectos arqueológicos de dos factores geológicos mayores—la subida eustática del nivel del mar y el hundimiento de la tierra—en la distribución de los sitios arqueologicos en un litoral de baja energía. El artículo describe una manera barata y rápida de identificar estos efectos. El método explota el valor interpretativo de las fichas de ubicación de sitio que mantienen las oficinas estatales. La aplicación de este método a la casta del Golfo de misisipí sugiere que los sitios costeños mayores a aproximadamente 3500 A. C. de antiguedad fueron sumergidos o destruídos por la subida eustática del nivel del mar mientras que los sitios más recientes no fueron muy afectados por este proceso. Entre los factores de hundimiento, el hundimiento de tierra profunda o de endogénesis tiene poco impacto en las distribuciones de los sitios locales. No obstante, los procesos de hundimiento exógenos o de la superficie sí son suficientes como para explicar la gradiente temporal de los sitios de pantano que son inundados por las mareas.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 65 , Issue 3 , July 2000 , pp. 525 - 541
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Aleto, T. F. 1981 Archaeological Survey at St. Louis Bay, Mississippi: Preliminary Results. Paper presented at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference meetings, Asheville, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Barber, R. J. 1983 Another Look at Late Holocene Sea Level Oscillations in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Alabama Archaeology 29: 143–147.Google Scholar
Bahr, L. M. Jr., Costanza, R., Day, J. W. Jr., Bayley, S. E., Neill, C., Leibowitz, S. G., and Fruci, J. 1983 Ecological Characterization of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain Region: A Narrative with Management Recommendations. FWS/OBS-82/69. Division of Biological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Bailey, G., and Parkington, J. 1988 The Archaeology of Prehistoric Coastlines: An Introduction. In The Archaeology of Prehistoric Coastlines, edited by Bailey, G. and Parkington, J., pp. 1–10. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Barry A. Vittor & Associates Inc. 1985 Tuscaloosa Trend Regional Data Search and Synthesis. 2 vols. Contract No. 14-12-0001-30048. Final report submitted to Minerals Management Service, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Bird, E. C. F. 1993 Submerging Coasts: The Effects of a Rising Sea Level on Coastal Environments. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K. Google Scholar
Blanton, D. B. 1996 Accounting for Submerged Mid-Holocene Archaeological Sites in the Southeast: A Case Study from the Chesapeake Bay Estuary, Virginia. In Archaeology of the Mid-Holocene Southeast, edited by Sassaman, K. E. and Anderson, D.G. pp. 200–217. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Blitz, J. H. 1982 A Brief Outline and Bibliography of Southeastern Mississippi Prehistory: Pt I. Mississippi Archaeology 17: 16–26.Google Scholar
Blitz, J. H. 1983 A Brief Outline and Bibliography of Southeastern Mississippi Prehistory: PtU. Mississippi Archaeology 18: 26–37.Google Scholar
Blitz, J. H., and Mann, C. B. Jr. 1993 Archaeological Investigations in Coastal Jackson County, Mississippi. Interim Report No. 1. Mississippi Gulf Coast Archaeological Project, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.Google Scholar
Brown, C. S. 1992 The Archaeology of Mississippi. Reprint. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson. Originally published 1926, Mississippi Geological Survey, University.Google Scholar
Bruseth, J. E. 1991 Poverty Point Development as Seen at the Cedarland and Claiborne Sites, Southern Mississippi. In The Poverty Point Culture: Local Manifestations, Subsistence Practices, and Trade Networks, edited by Byrd, K. M., pp. 7–25. Geoscience and Man, Vol. 29. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Ceci, L. 1984 Shell Midden Deposits as Coastal Resources. World Archaeology 16: 62–74.Google Scholar
Christmas, J. Y. (editor) 1973 Cooperative Gulf of Mexico Estuarine Inventory and Study, Mississippi. Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.Google Scholar
Coastal Environments Inc. 1977 Cultural Resources Evaluation of the Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Shelf. 3 vols. Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Colquhoun, D. J., and Brooks, M. J. 1986 New Evidence from the Southeastern United States for Eustatic Components in the Late Holocene Sea Levels. Geoarchaeology 1: 275–291.Google Scholar
Cross, R. D., Wales, R. W., and Traylor, C. T. (editors) 1974 Atlas of Mississippi. University Presses of Mississippi, Jackson.Google Scholar
Curren, C. B. Jr. 1976 Prehistoric and Early Historic Occupation of the Mobile Bay and Mobile Delta Area of Alabama with an Emphasis on Subsistence. Journal of Alabama Archaeology 22: 61–84.Google Scholar
Davis, D.D. 1984 Perspectives on Gulf Coast Cultural History: A Roundtable Discussion. In Perspectives on Gulf Coast Prehistory, edited by Davis, D. D., pp. 315–332. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
DePratter, C. P., and Howard, J. D. 1980 Indian Occupation and Geological History of the Georgia Coast: A 5000 Year Summary. In Excursions in Southeastern Geology: The Archaeology-Geology of the Georgia Coast, edited by Howard, J. D., DePratter, C. B., and Frey, R. W., pp. 1–65. Guidebook No. 20. Georgia Geologic Survey, Atlanta.Google Scholar
Dolan, R., and Goodell, H. G. 1986 Sinking Cities. American Scientist 74: 38–17.Google Scholar
Dunn, G. E. 1958 Hurricanes and Hurricane Tides. In Proceedings of the 6th Coastal Engineering Conference, December, 1957, Florida, edited by Johnson, W, pp. 19–29. Council on Wave Resources, The Engineering Foundation, New York.Google Scholar
Emery, K. O., and Aubrey, D. G. 1991 Sea Levels, Land Levels, and Tide Gauges. Springer-Verlag, New York.Google Scholar
Emery, K. O., and Edwards, R. L. 1966 Archaeological Potential of the Atlantic Continental Shelf. American Antiquity 31: 733–737.Google Scholar
Gagliano, S. M. 1963 A Survey of Preceramic Occupations in Portions of South Louisiana and South Mississippi. Florida Anthropologist 16: 105–132.Google Scholar
Emery, K. O., and Edwards, R. L. 1967 Late Archaic-Early Formative Relationships in South Louisiana. Southeastern Archaeological Conference Bulletin 6: 9–22.Google Scholar
Emery, K. O., and Edwards, R. L. 1984 Geoarchaeology of the Northern Gulf Shore. In Perspectives on Gulf Coast Prehistory, edited by Davis, D. D., pp. 1—40. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Gagliano, S. M., Meyer-Arendt, K. J., and Wicker, K. M. 1981 Land Loss in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies 31: 295–301.Google Scholar
Gagliano, S. M., Pearson, C. E., Weinstein, R. A., Wiseman, D. E., and McClendon, C. M. 1982 Sedimentary Studies of Prehistoric Archaeological Sites: Criteria for the Identification of Submerged Archaeological Sites of the Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Shelf. Coastal Environments, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Gagliano, S. M., and Saucier, R. T. 1963 Poverty Point Sites in Southeastern Louisiana. American Antiquity 28: 320–327.Google Scholar
Gagliano, S. M., and Webb, C. H. 1970 Archaic-Poverty Point Transition at the Pearl River Mouth. In The Poverty Point Culture, edited by Broyles B. and H. C. Webb. Southeastern Archaeological Conference Bulletin 12: 47–72.Google Scholar
Goodyear, A. C, and Warren, L. O. 1972 Further Observations on the Submarine Oyster Shell Deposits of Tampa Bay. Florida Anthropologist 25: 52–66.Google Scholar
Goraitz, V. M., and White, T. W. 1993 A Coastal Hazards Data Base for the U. S. Gulf Coast. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.Google Scholar
Gunter, G., and Demoran, W. J. 1976 The Dead Shell or Mudshell Industry in Mississippi. In Shell Dredging and Its Influence on Gulf Coast Environments, edited by Bouma, A. H., pp. 386–392. Gulf Publishing, Houston.Google Scholar
Haag, W.G. 1978 The Paleoecolbgy of the South Atlantic Coast. In Environment and Culture, compiled by Walker, H. J. and Newton, M. B. Jr., pp. 127–130. Department of Anthropology and Geography, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Hilgard, E. W. 1860 Report on the Geology and Agriculture of the State of Mississippi. Mississippi Agricultural and Geological Survey, Jackson.Google Scholar
Hutchins, T. 1968 An Historical Narrative and Topographical Description of Louisiana, and West-Florida. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Johnson, L. L. 1992 Paleoshorelines and Prehistory: An Investigation of Method. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.Google Scholar
Lang, J. H. 1936 History of Harrison County. Dixie Press, Gulfport, Mississippi.Google Scholar
Lewis, R. B. 1981 Site Survey at St. Louis Bay on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Mississippi Archaeology 16: 53–62.Google Scholar
Lewis, R. B. 1982 Postal Archaeology: The St. Louis Bay Study. Southeastern Archaeology 1: 52–64.Google Scholar
Lewis, R. B. 1988 Fires on the Bayou: Cultural Adaptations in the Mississippi Sound Region. Southeastern Archaeology 7: 109–123.Google Scholar
Lewis, R. B. 1994 Mississippi Coast Archaeology and Ethnohistory in the WPA Historical Records Survey. Paper presented at the 51st Annual Southeastern Archaeological Conference Meeting, Lexington, Kentucky.Google Scholar
Lewis, R. B., and Murphy, S. A. 1982 The Use of Mail Questionnaires in Archaeological Surveys: The St. Louis Bay Project. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana.Google Scholar
Lowry, R. C. 1969 Poverty Point Sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Mississippi Archaeological Association Newsletter 4(l): 3–5.Google Scholar
McGinnis, M. W. Jr. 1977 Gulf Coast Reminiscences of James A. Cuevas of Day s before Sixties. Mississippi Coast Historical and Genealogical Society 13(l): 30–34.Google Scholar
Mclntire, W. G. 1958 Prehistoric Indian Settlements of the Changing Mississippi River Delta. Coastal Studies Series 1. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Milliman, J. D., and Haq, B. U. 1996 Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Subsidence: Causes, Consequences, and Strategies. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Moore, C. B. 1905 Certain Aboriginal Remains on Mobile Bay and on Mississippi Sound. Journal of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia 13: 279–297.Google Scholar
Morton, R. A. 1996 Geoindicators of Coastal Wetlands and Shorelines. In Geoindicators: Assessing Rapid Environmental Changes in Earth Systems, edited by A. R. Berger & W. J. lams, pp. 207–230. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Murty, T. S. 1984 Storm Surges: Meteorological Ocean Tides. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries andAquatic Sciences 212. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Neuman, R.W. 1976 Archaeological Techniques in the Louisiana Coastal Region. Louisiana Archaeology 3: 1–22.Google Scholar
Neumaier, M. G. 1985 Prehistory on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: A Report on the Mulatto Bayou Area of Southwest Hancock County. In Anthology of Mississippi Archaeology, 1966-1979, edited by Galloway, P., pp. 153–164. Mississippi Archaeological Association and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.Google Scholar
Nutalaya, P., Yong, R. N., Chumnankit, T., and Buapeng, S. 1996 Land Subsidence in Bangkok during 1978-1988.In Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Subsidence, edited by Milliman, J. D. and Haq, B.U., pp. 105–130. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Otvos, E. G. Jr. 1982 Coastal Geology of Mississippi, Alabama and Adjacent Louisiana Areas. New Orleans Geological Society, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Penland, S., and Boyd, R. (editors) 1985 Transgressive Depositional Environments of the Mississippi River Delta Plain: A Guide to the Barrier Islands, Beaches, and Shoals in Louisiana. Guidebook No. 3. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Phillips, P. 1970 Archaeological Survey in the Lower Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, 1949-1955. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 60. Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Pirazzoli, P. A. 1991 World Atlas ofHolocene Sea-Level Changes. Elsevier, New York.Google Scholar
Pirazzoli, P. A. 1996 Sea-Level Changes: The Last 20,000 Years. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K. Google Scholar
Prokopovich, N. P. 1978 Genetic Classification of Land Subsidence. In Evaluation and Prediction of Subsidence; Proceedings of the Engineering Foundation Conference in Pensacola, Florida, pp. 269–283. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.Google Scholar
Russell, R. J. 1936 Physiography of the Lower Mississippi River Delta. Louisiana Geological Survey Bulletin 8: 1–193.Google Scholar
Russell, R. J. 1978 Physiography of Lower Mississippi River Delta: Submergence. In Environment and Culture, compiled by Walker, H. G. and Newton, M. B. Jr., pp. 73–81. Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Russo, M. 1996 Southeastern Mid-Holocene Coastal Settlements. In Archaeology of the Mid-Holocene Southeast, edited by Sassaman, K. E. and Anderson, D.G., pp. 177–199. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Sanger, D., and Sanger, M. J. 1997 The Damariscotta Oyster Shell Heaps. Northeastern Naturalist 4: 93–102.Google Scholar
Saucier, R.T. 1994 Geomorphology and Quaternary Geologic History of the Lower Mississippi Valley. 2 vols. Mississippi River Commission, Vicksburg, Mississippi.Google Scholar
Sears, W. H. 1977 Prehistoric Culture Areas and Culture Change on the Gulf Coastal Plain. In For the Director: Research Essays in Honor of James B. Griffin, edited by Cleland, C. E., pp. 152–185. Anthropological Paper No. 61. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Simpson, R. H. and Riehl, H. 1981 The Hurricane and Its Impact. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge.Google Scholar
Smith, E. A., Johnson, L. C., and Langdon, D. W. Jr. 1894 Report on the Geology of the Coastal Plain of Alabama. Special Report No. 6. Geological Survey of Alabama, Montgomery.Google Scholar
Stright, M. J. 1986 Human Occupation of the Continental Shelf During the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene: Methods for Site Location. Geoarchaeology 1: 347–364.Google Scholar
Stright, M. J. 1990 Archaeological Sites on the North American Continental Shelf. In Archaeological Geology of North America, edited by Lasca, N. P. and Donahue, J., pp. 436–465. Centennial Special Volume 4. Geological Society of America, Boulder.Google Scholar
Titus, J. G., and Narayanan, V. K. 1995 The Probability of Sea Level Rise. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Tooley, M. J., and Jelgersma, S. 1993 Impacts of Sea-level Rise on European Coastal Lowlands. Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Turner, R. E., and Cahoon, D. R. 1988 Causes of Wetland Loss in the Coastal Central Gulf of Mexico. 2 vols. Contract No. 14-12-0001-30252. OCS Study/MMS 87-0120. Final report submitted to Minerals Management Service, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Usner, D. H. Jr. 1992 Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in a Frontier Exchange Economy: The Lower Mississippi Valley before 1783. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.Google Scholar
Van Beek, J. L., Davis, D. J., Emmer, R. E., Hsu, S. A., Mendelssohn, I. A., Sabins, D. S., Wax, C. L., and Wicker, K. M. 1981 An Introduction to the Environmental Literature of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain Region. FWS/OBS-79-30. Division of Biological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Warren, L. O. 1964 Possibly Submerged Oyster Shell Middens of Upper Tampa Bay. Florida Anthropologist 17: 227–230.Google Scholar
Warren, L. O. 1972 Commercial Oyster Shell of Tampa Bay: 1966 Progress Report. Florida Anthropologist 25: 49–51.Google Scholar
Webb, E. J., Campbell, D. T., Schwartz, R. D., Sechrest, L., and Grove, J.B. 1981 Nonreactive Measures in the Social Sciences. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, New York.Google Scholar
Wells, J. T. 1996 Subsidence, Sea-Level Rise, and Wetland Loss in the Lower Mississippi River Delta. In Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Subsidence, edited by Milliman, J. D. and Haq, B.U. pp. 281–311. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Williams, M. J. 1987 Archaeological Excavations at the Jackson Landing/Mulatto Bayou Earthwork. Archaeological Report No. 19. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.Google Scholar
Williams, S. J., Dodd, K., and Gohn, K. K. 1990 Coasts in Crisis. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1075. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Williams, S. J., Penland, S., and Sallenger, A. H. Jr. (editors) 1992 Atlas of Shoreline Changes in Louisiana from 1853 to Williams S. J., S. Penland, and A. H. Sallenger Jr. (editors) 1989. Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2150-A. U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar