Some 5,000 years ago groups of hunter-gatherers abandoned their nomadic lifestyle for a more settled way of life in the middle part of the Savannah River Valley in Georgia and South Carolina. Permanent settlements were established on the banks of the river and on some of the larger islands, the most prominent being Stallings Island, an Archaeological Conservancy preserve near Augusta. It was here that perhaps the first pottery in the Americas was produced.
Ken Sassaman, an archaeologist at the University of Florida, has spent the last 12 years studying the Stallings culture. People of the Shoals summarizes his findings as well as the discoveries of the researchers who came before him. This is a book for laymen as well as scholars—well illustrated, readable, and concise. He goes beyond strict scientific findings to speculate as to how the Stallings people lived, prospered, and eventually collapsed. He also tells the story of archaeologists at work, seeking important information in the face of obstacles like dam-builders and looters. It is a fascinating account of a fascinating American culture.
