Abstract
This paper presents an overview of archaeological investigations conducted at Darien Bluff, McIntosh County, Georgia, over the past 75 years. The discovery of lost artifacts, missing excavation records, and several draft reports provided an opportunity to obtain a comprehensive overview of Spanish Mission period activity at the site of Mission Santo Domingo de Talaje, a primarily seventeenth-century mission that once stood on the banks of the Altamaha River. Included are archaeological and historical perspectives of the researchers who excavated the site and new interpretations by the authors that draw on recently relocated artifacts and excavation records.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 204-231 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Southeastern Archaeology |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018, © Southeastern Archaeological Conference 2018.
Funding
This project was supported in part by funds provided by the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. Writing this paper was made possible through the cooperation and assistance of many people and agencies. First and foremost, none of this would have been possible without the diligent efforts of Joseph and Sheila Caldwell. More recently, the staff of the Fort King George visitors’ center provided access to their artifact collections and records stored at their facility and assisted in relocating the Caldwells’ excavations. The staff of The University of West Georgia’s Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory provided copies of some of Sheila Caldwell’s excavation records, her artifact catalog, and other relevant documents curated in their collections. Photographs of the coin and sword parts were provided by the Archaeology Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Dr. John Worth, University of West Florida, and Dr. Christopher R. Moore, University of Indianapolis, provided valuable comments and suggestions. The ongoing support of our Mission period research by the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is greatly appreciated. In some cases, the authors had to make decisions concerning conflicting information contained in the original field notes and subsequent draft reports. We have evaluated these conflicts and selected what we consider to be the correct or most plausible explanation or interpretation. This project was supported in part by funds provided by the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| University of Kentucky Graduate School, College of Arts and Sciences | |
| University of Kentucky |
Keywords
- Georgia archaeology
- Spanish missions
- contact period
- history of archaeology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology