Shell rings of the southeast US.

Shell rings of the southeast US. Shell rings are circular and semi-circular deposits of shell(mostly oyster, Crassostrea virginica), faunal bone, artefacts and soilconstructed along the Florida, Georgia and South Carolina South Carolina,state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW).Facts and FiguresArea, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. coasts of thesoutheastern United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Rings in Georgia and South Carolina date to c. 4200-3200 BP andrange in size from 1 to 3 m tall and 22 to 83 m across. Theselittle-studied sites have been suggested to be the remains of gamingarenas, astronomical observatories This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in operation. , torture chambers, houses of state,and fish traps. Most archaeologists view the sites as the subsistenceremains of egalitarian hunter/fisher encampments. The rings'generally symmetrical, circular shapes are seen as reflective of theequal status among their societal members wherein no individual orfamily held a unique or favoured position over another. The generalabsence of exotic or prestige artefacts, elaborate burials andceremonial mounds has reinforced the concept that these Late Archaicshell rings reflect rudimentary hunter/fisher cultures. Ironically,shell rings have also been cited as the earliest evidence for the riseof hierarchical social development in North America (Russo 1991; Russo& Saunders 1999). Shell rings have yielded evidence of the earliestpermanent year-round occupations, the earliest development of potteryand the earliest examples of large-scale monumental architecture.Consequentially the function of shell rings remains an open question. Recent work at six sites has shown that shell rings in Florida areas tall (1-4 m), but larger (150-250 m across) and more structurallycomplex than those found in Georgia and South Carolina. At 4600 Be Oxeyeis the oldest. It lies half-buried beneath a salt marsh and pre-datesthe local invention of pottery by at least 100 years. Located high anddry on a nearby barrier island, Rollins shell ring dates to 3700 BP andis unusual in that numerous smaller `ringlets' are attached to itsmain ring. Twenty miles south, and of the same orientation andapproximate size as Rollins, lies the Guana ring. It also dates to c.3700 BP. The Joseph Reed ring, which has been diminished by coastalerosion, is the youngest ring at 3300 BP. Finally, on the southwestFlorida coast, two aceramic, U-shaped rings, Bonita Bonita (Spanish and Portuguese for "beautiful") is the name of: Bonita Magazine, an international men's magazine Bonita, California Bonita, Louisiana Bay (4100 BP) andHorr's Island (4400 BP) are unique in that they are associated withceremonial mounds. Unlike some of the Georgia and South Carolina rings, none of theFlorida rings represent a complete or closed circle. To determine thedegree and character of hierarchy in the societies that constructedthese rings, our current research applies Gron's (1991) spatialmodel, which posits that high- and low-status societal members occupieddifferent but specific positions in circular and semicircularsettlements. We believe that the mounding of shell at these rings mayhave functioned as a display of status. By linking the volume of shelland differing amounts and kinds of artefacts to predicted positions ofstatus within the ring, we hope to identify the level and character ofsocial complexity among shell-ring builders. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] References DICKEL, D. 1992. An archaeological and historical survey of bonitSprings, parcel three, Lee Co., FL. Miami (FL): the Archaeological andhistorical Conservancy. Technical Report 43. GRON, O. 1991. A method for reconstruction of social structure inprehistoric societies and examples of practical application, in O. Grin,E. Englestad & I. Lindblom (ed.), Social space: human spatialbehaviour in dwellings and settlements: 100-17. Odense: OdenseUniversity Press. Russo, M. 1991. Archaic sedentism on the Florida coast: a casestudy from Horr's Island. Unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Departmentof Anthropology, University of Florida University of Florida is the third-largest university in the United States, with 50,912 students (as of Fall 2006) and has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year). UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. . Russo, M. & R. SAUNDERS 1999. Identifying the early use ofcoastal fisheries and the rise of social complexity in shell rings andarcuate arcuate/ar��cu��ate/ (ahr��ku-at) arc-shaped; arranged in arches. ar��cu��ateadj.Formed in the shape of an arc. middens on Florida's northeast coast. Final report, theNational Geographic Society, Washington (DC). M. Russo & G. HEIDE(*) (*) SEAC SEAC Student Environmental Action CoalitionSEAC Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory CommitteeSEAC Southeast Archeological Center (National Park Service)SEAC South East Asia Command (Allies WWII), 2035 E. Paul Dirac, Tallahassee FL 32310, USA.mike_russo@nps.gov greg_heide@nps.gov