Recently completed assessment excavations at one portion of 9McI41, a large, multicomponent site at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge (Mcintosh County, Georgia) have yielded evidence of aboriginal occupation during the terminal period of Indian presence on the Guale coast of South Carolina and Georgia. During this period of intensive colonial competition between England and Spain, Muskoghean speaking Indian groups alternately fled and rebelled against the external pressures. A radiocarbon date derived from a San Marcos series feature at 9Mcl41 places remnant aboriginal occupation along the northeastern Georgia coast as late as the early 18th century. The ceramic traditions of these remnant groups show no discernable break with earlier Irene/Pine Harbor series and suggest a continuous tradition of coastal adaptation during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. The effects of coastal erosional processes and modern land development on aboriginal archaeological sites has played a large role in shaping the present character of shell midden sites in this area.
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