The southeastern United States has one of the richest records of early human settlement of any area of North America. This book provides the first state-by-state summary of Paleoindian and Early Archaic research from the region, together with an appraisal of models developed to interpret the data. It summarizes what we know of the peoples who lived in the Southeast more than 8,000 years ago—when giant ice sheets covered the northern part of the continent, and such mammals as elephants, saber-toothed tigers, and ground sloths roamed the landscape. Extensively illustrated, this benchmark collection of essays on the state of Paleoindian and Early Archaic research in the Southeast will guide future studies on the subject of the region's first inhabitants for years to come.

Divided in three parts, the volume includes:

Part I: Modeling Paleoindian and Early Archaic Lifeways in the Southeast

Environmental and Chronological Considerations, David G. Anderson, Lisa D. O'Steen, and Kenneth E. Sassaman

Modeling Paleoindian and Early Archaic Settlement in the Southeast: A Historical Perspective, David G. Anderson and Kenneth E. Sassaman

Models of Paleoindian and Early Archaic Settlement in the Lower Southeast, David G. Anderson

Early Archaic Settlement in the South Carolina Coastal Plain, Kenneth E. Sassaman

Raw Material Availability and Early Archaic Settlement in the Southeast, I. Randolph Daniel Jr.

Paleoindian and Early Archaic Settlement along the Oconee Drainage, Lisa D. O'Steen

Haw River Revisited: Implications for Modeling Terminal Late Glacial and Early Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems in the Southeast, John S. Cable

Early Archiac Settlement and Technology: Lessons from Tellico, Larry R. Kimball

Paleoindians Near the Edge: A Virginia Perspective, Michael F. Johnson

Part II: The Regional Record

The Need for a Regional Perspective, Kenneth E. Sassaman and David G. Anderson

Paleoindian and Early Archaic Research in the South Carolina Area, David G. Anderson and Kenneth E. Sassaman

The Taylor Site: An Early Occupation in Central South Carolina, James L. Michie

Paleoindian and Early Archaic Research in Tennessee, John B. Boster and Mark R. Norton

A Synopsis of Paleoindian and Early Archaic Research in Alabama, Eugene M. Futato

Statified Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Deposits at Dust Cave, Northwestern Alabama, Boyce N. Driskell

Bone and Ivory Tools from Submerged Paleoindian Sites in Florida, James S. Dunbar and S. David Webb

Paleoindian and Early Archaic Data from Mississippi, Samuel O. McGahey

Early and Middle Paleoindian Sites in the Northeastern Arkansas Region, J. Christopher Gillam

Part III: Commentary

A Framework for the Paleoindian/Early Archaic Transition, Joel Gunn

Modeling Communities and Other Thankless Tasks, Dena F. Dincauze

An Arkansas View, Dan F. Morse

Comments, Henry T. Wright