Oyster Paleobiology along the South Atlantic Coast of the United States

This dataset includes morphometric data collected from 37,805 oyster shells (Crassostrea virginica) from 15 Late Archaic (ca. 4500-3500 cal. BP) through Mississippian (ca. 1150 – 370 cal. BP) period archaeological sites situated along the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Variations in oyster size is an important proxy for paleoenvironment and human population pressures. These data are part of a larger project examining oyster ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting practices over the last 5,000 years. Oyster measurements were collected by many undergraduate and graduate students from multiple universities. Carey Garland added to and cleaned the data sheet between August 2018 and May 2019. The dataset was structured to include the Island, site name, time period, and provenience (e.g., unit, level, etc.) associated with each oyster measured. The original oyster database contains sensitive information, such as the specific location of archaeological sites. If a professional archaeologist needs site location information, they can contact the Georgia Archaeological Site File.