Shell middens and human technologies as a historical baseline for the Chesapeake Bay, USA

Abstract

The Chesapeake Bay has an archaeological record that dates from the Paleoindian period to the early 20th century. In this paper, the research and analysis of artifact technologies recovered from six radiocarbon (14C) dated shell middens located at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland is provided. This paper demonstrates the ways in which the use of artifact analysis and 14C dating can provide information on human use of coastal resources, settlement-subsistence patterns, and serve as a tool to document sites threatened by coastal processes. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the ways in which the analysis of technologies from shell midden sites can be used to help guide contemporary oyster and other fisheries and natural resources management, restoration, conservation, and sustainability issues in the Chesapeake and other coastal areas.