Archaeological Investigations Proposed Wildlife Openings Hannahatchee WMA, Stewart County

The Game Management Section of the Wildlife Resources Division of Georgia Department of Natural Resources plans to convert several log loading areas within Hannahatchee Wildlife Management Area into game openings. DNR will mechanically clear the areas of limbs prior to seeding. Ronnie Rogers, Staff Archaeologist with the Office of the State Archaeologist, housed in the Historic Preservation Division of GDNR conducted a survey of the area on March 25, 2004, accompanied by Mr. Ellis Wynn. The land use history of Hannahatchee WMA includes farming and logging. Part of the property belonged to a timber company for several years prior to DNR acquisition, and timber has been harvested and replanted more than once. While current logging operations are less destructive to archaeological sites than older logging technologies, the loading areas tend to become disturbed due to concentration of activities of trucks and other heavy equipment. Log loading areas are of particular concern to archaeologists because they tend to be located on relatively flat areas, such as knolls, benches, and ridge crests, all of which were areas favored by prehistoric and historic residents for locating camps, houses and other structures, and activity areas. Logging and farming can be very destructive to the near-surface soil layer but deeper soils may remain undisturbed and may contain intact archaeological features, including post holes, storage or refuse pits, and even burials. If present, deep features often provide important information for interpreting and dating sites. Nine sites had been previously recorded within the boundaries of the WMA. Some of the known sites appeared to lie close to the proposed project areas. Known site types include artifact scatters, camps, and house sites. Known temporal components range from the Middle Archaic through the 20th Century, covering a period of some 6500 years. Sites with earlier components probably also occur on the property.