In 1981 and 1982 a 160 m2 block was opened into the Early Archaic deposits at the Rucker's Bottom site in northeast Georgia along the upper Savannah River. An assemblage dominated by Palmer points, expedient flake tools, and debitage was recovered, and is compared to Early Archaic assemblages from elsewhere on the southeastern Atlantic slope. While there is considerable variability in the quantity of material recovered from individual sites over the region (something interpreted here as due in large measure to reoccupation), the composition, or content of Early Archaic assemblages is surprisingly uniform. Most assemblages are characterized by crude bifacial core/tools, expedient unifaces, and debitage. Other tool types, particularly hafted bifaces, formal unifaces, and cobble tools, are less common. Extralocal raw materials most commonly appear on sites along major river drainages, while raw material use in the interriverine area appears directed to local sources. A high degree of group mobility, particularly along major drainages, is suggested.
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