Grand Shell Ring

The Grand site (8DU1) on Big Talbot Island (northeast of Jacksonville, Florida) is a mound complex containing a Mississippian period shell ring and an overlying sand burial mound. The shell ring dates almost exclusively to the St. Johns II period (ca. A.D. 900-1250) and is the subject of this study. I examine site seasonality and resource scheduling with a focus on the exploitation of Mercenaria mercenaria, also known as northern quahog clams or hard clams. Incremental growth techniques revealed that occupants collected clams primarily during the spring and during the latter half of the winter as well. Feature 1, which was located beneath the ring deposit, demonstrated a slightly different collection pattern: occupants collected clams equally throughout the winter and spring. Vertebrate faunal analysis indicated that the site was used throughout the year, yet occupants collected clams only during the winter and spring. I explore several reasons for this seasonal pattern of collection, and I conclude that occupants gathered clams on a seasonal schedule at times when their biomass and nutrition were highest.