The excavations of an Early Woodland period site in northwest Georgia are described in detail. The Rush site (9FI164) dates to about 500 B.C. and is situated along the Etowah River, near Rome, Georgia. The excavations were sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation prior to the construction of the East Rome By- Pass. A large volume of ceramic and lithic artifacts was recovered from hand-excavated blocks, machine-stripped areas, and a broad-scale shovel testing program. Analysis was directed at understanding the relationships between two similar pottery types found on the site - Long Branch and Dunlap Fabric Marked. The lithic tool assemblage consisted of over 6000 specimens, which are categorized into many formal and expedient types. The report concludes that two or more Early Woodland societies existed along portions of the Coosa/Etowah River system. Ile co-occurrence of two types of fabric-marked pottery types on the Rush site is suggested to have resulted from local and regional exchange networks operating between northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
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