Cumberland Island National Seashore Archeological Overview and Assessment

As a unit of the Southeast Region, Cumberland Island National Seashore is included in the Southeast Archeological Center’s Regionwide Archeological Survey Program (RASP) (Keel et al. 1996). This program is a subset of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (SAIP), under which systematic research to locate, evaluate, and document archeological resources on National Park System lands is conducted, eligible properties for the National Register of Historic Places are nominated, and strategies for conservation, protection, preservation in situ, management, and interpretation are recommended. One of the goals of RASP is to prepare an Archeological Overview and Assessment (O & A) for each park. This document will serve as a summary of current knowledge regarding the archeological content, resources, and potential of the park, and provide referential data for future archeological research designs and investigations, as well as archeological interpretation, and preservation in the park.

Cumberland Island National Seashore was established by P.L. 92-536 on Oct 23, 1972 to provide recreational opportunities for park visitors and protect the islands natural and cultural resources, which encompass an area of almost 37,000 acres. Since its establishment as a national seashore, Park Service archeologists have conducted preliminary surveys across the island to record many of the island’s archeological sites. The following O&A provides a temporal and environmental framework for understanding the cultural history of sites located within the park in Chapters 1 and 2. It also contains a detailed overview of previous archeological research conducted in the park (Chapter 4), identifies any gaps or weaknesses in the previous research (Chapter 5), points out potential research questions or topics in need of further archeological study, and makes recommendations on addressing various issues related to the effective management of the park’s cultural resources (Chapters 7-9).

Chapter 6 also provides information on various collections and associated accession numbers associated with previous investigations related to Cumberland Island National Seashore. Finally, a brief description of sites currently listed in the Archeological Sites Management Information System (ASMIS) database is also provided in Appendix 3.