Within the general structure-and-process theme of this compendium, the authors have focused on either intrasite problems (those dealing with the formation and structure of a site, type of site, or type of feature) or intersite problems (those dealing with behavioral organization and process as developed from comparative site data). These papers, from a broad range of specialists, present a comprehensive study of southeastern archaeology.

Surveys the archaeology of North Carolina's three major regions--the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Mountains. Discusses the history of archaeological research in the state and suggests future directions of study. Contributors include archaeologists Joffre L. Coe, David S. Phelps, Burton L. Purrington, and H. Trawick Ward.

This volume explores political change in chiefdoms, specifically how complex chiefdoms emerge and collapse, and how this process—called cycling—can be examined using archaeological, ethnohistoric, paleoclimatic, paleosubsistence, and physical anthropological data. The focus for the research is the prehistoric and initial contact-era Mississippian chiefdoms of the Southeastern United States, specifically the societies occupying the Savannah River basin from ca. A.D. 1000 to 1600. This regional focus and the multidisciplinary nature of the investigation provide a solid introduction to the Southeastern Mississippian archaeological record and the study of cultural evolution in general.

This study concerns the aboriginal occupation of North Carolina. In 1934, the prehistory of the Piedmont lay in the ground, and the archaeology of the Southeastern U.S. was in its infancy. Since that time, remarkable progress has been made in archaeological research, and the basic patterns of cultural development for the ceramic communities are now well known. Contents: (1): The Doerschuk Site, Mg22: The natural setting; Excavations; Analysis of artifacts; (2): The Hardaway Site, St4: The natural setting; Excavations; Analysis of artifacts; (3): The Gaston Site, Hx7: The natural setting; Excavations; Analysis of artifacts; Subsistence; Paleo-Indian considerations; Beginning of the Archaic; The Later Archaic; and The Woodland Tradition. Illustrations.

Describes the state's prehistory and archaeological discoveries