Archaeological Testing of the John King Site (9CAM182) and the Cedar Bluff Site (9CAM186)

During the winter of 1983, archaeological testing took place at the John King and Cedar Bluff sites on the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, Camden County, Georgia. One by two meter units were placed evenly across the area which the site survey had identified as containing representative artifacts from the Late Archaic through early historic settlement. This thesis details the results of this investigation.

Research objectives for the Cedar Bluff Site included an investigation of shifting prehistoric cultural boundaries through time and an investigation of spatial differentiation of settlement throughout the Late Archaic occupation and other cultural phases at this and an adjacent site. Research objectives for the John King Site included an investigation of domestic life of the early settlers in the Kings Bay area through archaeological and documentary research and an investigation into the socio-economic status of the occupant of this site through the analysis and comparison of ceramics recovered from here.

Investigations at this and other sites in the Kings Bay area show that the prehistoric cultural boundary, traditionally drawn at the Florida/Georgia border, had been repeatedly crossed by prehistoric groups. Several ceramic types previously identified only in the north Florida or the Savannah River area were identified at Kings Bay and were present at the Cedar Bluff Site. An investigation of spatial differentiation of settlement at the Cedar Bluff Site revealed no conclusive evidence of variation in this area.

The John King Site was the earliest historic site identified at Kings Bay. A mean ceramic date of 1794.02 was derived using ceramics recovered during testing. Comparison of ceramics from the John King Site with ceramics from the Cannon's Point Plantation (Otto 1975 and 1977) showed a unique pattern of ceramic types indicating a socio-economic status for the occupant of the John King Site at a level between that of a planter and an overseer or slave on a large coastal plantation.

Other historic components identified in the area of Cedar Bluff were investigated. One of these was a possible peripheral secondary midden related to the John King Site. Another was a late-19th- or early-20th-century house site. The last was a modern concrete foundation.