Patterns of Resource Distribution and Archaeological Settlement Patterns in the Piedmont Uplands of the Middle Atlantic Region

Abstract

Varied patterns of subsistence resource distributions are found in the Piedmont Uplands throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Settlement patterns correlate with these resource distribution patterns through time. Paleo-Indian through Middle Archaic patterns are small scattered procurement sites that are part of a supra-local logistical system. Late Archaic through Middle Woodland patterns include large base camps in low relief settings forming the focal points for foraging systems, or a tethered nomadism. Late Woodland patterns are dependent upon intensive collecting and agriculture rather than specific subsistence resource distribution patterns.