Exploring settlement distribution and demographic change in the early through late Holocene Southeast

Human settlement and the extent of archaeological research across the southeastern United States encompassing the Paleoindian through the Early Woodland periods are examined using state site file, palynological, and radiocarbon data. Major shifts in settlement in the past, and areas where archaeological fieldwork has occurred in the modern era, are reflected in the numbers and locations of sites and radiocarbon determinations. Site concentrations and voids, perhaps reflecting settlement cores and hunting areas/buffer zones, respectively, suggest that a complex social landscape was present, similar to that in later periods. Regional pollen data also indicate that past land use was shaped to some extent by the location of hardwood forests producing nut mast. Extensive use of the interior during the Paleoindian through Middle Archaic continues in the Late Archaic, but with extensive use of many coastal areas for the first time, followed by an apparent population decline or reorganization across much of the region in the Early Woodland. The compilation and standardization of site and collections data, improved sequence definition, and more high-precision absolute dating are needed to refine and better understand these patterns.