Early Mississippian in Middle Georgia: The Data Recoveries of Two Vinings Phase Sites, 9BL290 and 9BL299, Baldwin County, Georgia

Data recovery was conducted on Squawking Hawk Ridge (9BL290) and Turkey Ridge (9BL299), located to the southwest of Milledgeville in central Baldwin County, Georgia. The sites were previously tested and determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The sites are situated on fairly broad upland ridges, approximately 550- 600 meters (respectively) northwest of Camp Creek. These sites are to be impacted by ground disturbing activities associated with the proposed development of the Sibley- Smith Tract by The Development Authority of the City of Milledgeville and Baldwin County. This project is part of the Development Authority's effort to comply with the Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) Certification. According a concept map for development of the Sibley- Smith Tract, the entirety of both sites will be severely impacted by the construction of various industrial pads and grading. As a result, data recovery efforts focused on exposing sub-plowzone soils at both sites by means of shovel tests, excavation units, and backhoe trenches. The intensive occupations at both sites are attributed to the Emergent Mississippian Vinings phase. The most significant feature associated with these occupations is a sheet midden identified at 9BL299. Data recovery produced extensive information regarding Vinings ceramics and lithics, and makes an important contribution to our knowledge of a poorly understood time,

and the archaeology of the area. The excavation of the Emergent Mississippian sheet midden at Turkey Ridge provided significant information to our understanding of pre-contact Middle Georgia. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from this feature has provided one of the few absolute dates for the Vinings phase, placing it within the AD 950- 1150 range established by Elliott and Wynn (1991). Additionally, this feature produced an archaeobotanical sample containing Eastern Agricultural Complex cultigens. Both sites produced extensive collections of Vinings phase ceramics and lithics, suggesting interactions with Mississippian societies in the surrounding area.