Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Tucker, Bryan D.
Author's Email Address	btucke2@lsu.edu
URN	etd-1113102-223702
Title	Culinary Confusion: Using Osteological and Stable Isotopic Evidence to Reconstruct Paleodiet for the Ocmulgee/Blackshear Cordmarked People of South Central Georgia
Degree	Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department	Geography and Anthropology
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Rebecca Saunders Committee Chair Miles Richardson Committee Member Paul Farnsworth Committee Member
Keywords	bioarchaeology cordmarked ceramics osteology Georgia archaeology stable isotopes
Date of Defense	2002-11-11
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The Ocmulgee Big Bend and Lake Blackshear regions of Georgia have diverse uplands and lowlands, rich in different types of food. Archaeological investigations have shown Late Woodland-style ceramics and artifacts extending up to the Middle Mississippian Period in these regions. Archaeologists have proposed the people of this region did not adopt maize agriculture or a Mississippian subsistence or cultural pattern during the Early Mississippian Period. This study tests this hypothesis with osteological and isotopic data from burials recovered from the Cannon site (9Cp52) and osteological data from the Telfair Mound site (9Tf2). Isotopic data demonstrate clearly that these people were not consuming maize, but were consuming some food high in carbohydrates. Potential sources of carbohydrates are discussed, as are possible models to explain the dental and isotopic data, including one based upon starchy seed agriculture. Finally, future lines of research, stemming from questions in this research, are outlined.
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