Living in the Low Country: Modeling Archaeological Site Location in the Francis Marion National Forest, South Carolina

The Francis Marion National Forest, located in the Lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina, has a rich archaeological record generated from years of compliance-based research. Much of the cultural resource management activity in the Forest has been guided by a probabilistic model of archaeological site location. This model is an invaluable tool for Forest Service personnel conducting land-use planning and resource management, but it has seen only limited testing. This study examined the spatial location and environmental associations of the entire sample of archaeological sites in the Francis Marion National Forest to evaluate the extant probabilistic model and develop an improved model of archaeological site location. In addition, temporal and cultural variation in site location was examined to search for deviations from the larger patterns. This was accomplished by compiling a database of the artifacts recovered in the Forest, and using diagnostic materials to extract temporally and culturally specific site subsets. These analyses indicated that the extant model is only marginally effective, warranting the development of a new model. Based on the environmental associations, an improved model was developed using soil drainage class, proximity to wetlands, proximity to roads, and proximity to soil drainage ecotones. Further, several patterns were noted between the site subsets that have implications for both local and regional archaeological questions.