Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Social Sciences
Committee Chair/Advisor
Katherine Weisensee
Committee Member
Justin Patrick Williams
Committee Member
Jessica Jenkins
Abstract
This paper examines lithic artifacts from the Fort Rutledge archaeology site in Pickens County, South Carolina, a region of the state that is lacking in archaeological research, to investigate Woodland Period site usage and duration. Fort Rutledge, a multicomponent site now on Clemson University’s main campus, has undergone multiple cultural site transitions. These include Cherokee settlement, the Revolutionary War, the construction of a Daughters of the American Revolution monument, the damming of Lake Hartwell, and disturbances from the local community that have disrupted the stratigraphy and complicated artifact dating. Previous excavations (2020 - 2023) recovered Revolutionary War era artifacts alongside Indigenous ceramics and lithics, primarily made of quartz. This study applies multiple lithic analytic techniques, including minimum analytical nodule analysis, and morphological and functional analyses. Preliminary evidence suggests long-term sedentary patterns at the site. This study is the first attempt to apply these methods to lithics made of quartz and aims to clarify the Woodland period sedentary patterns at Fort Rutledge site.
Recommended Citation
Dorn, Kathryn, "Examining the Degree of Sedentism at a Disturbed Woodland Period Site in Pickens County, South Carolina" (2026). All Theses. 4693.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4693