Natural Setting
Southeastern U.S.
The eastern and southern margins of the southeastern United States are
bounded by the Continental Margin and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces.
The Allegheny Plateaus, Appalachian Ranges, and Piedmont Plateaus physiographic
provinces cut diagonally in a northeast direction across the southern states
from their southwestern borders along the interior of the Gulf Coastal
Plain (Thornbury 1965:1-13).
The geological history of the Southeast is quite complex and not completely
understood. The waterways draining the interior of the region played a
major role in both prehistoric and historic times, with rivers and streams
providing easy and efficient transportation for trade and commerce, as
well as sustenance in the form of fish, shellfish, and the migratory waterfowl
that pass through two times a year. These watersheds improved the land
for agriculture with periodic deposits of fresh sediments. They also provided
the energy to drive the mills of the Industrial Revolution when it later
spread across the area.
Throughout the prehistoric periods, both localized and widespread deposits
of cryptocrystalline rocks provided Native American groups with the raw
material for piercing cutting, scraping, and boring tools. Likewise, deposits
(some localized) of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks were sources for
ground and polished tools, ornaments, and containers. In areas such as
the coastal plain and coast, where stone was rare or absent, they traded
for these materials or substituted shell, wood, and bone as raw material
to fashion tools and other implements.
The ecological zonation of the region is a product of its climate, geology,
and geomorphology. The Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome in the southern
and lowland region of the United States is characterized by three concentric
forest zones: the oak-hickory forest of the interior, pine lands in the
middle, and the magnolia-maritime forest along the coast. Within each of
the major forest zones a variety of microenvironments, created by the interaction
of local soil, landscape relief, drainage, and climate over time, are present
(Shelford 1963:1-119). The major fauna, such as deer and large fowl, were
present throughout these zones. These animals were important to the first
Americans, as well as to later arrivals such as the European immigrants
and the African slaves. To be sure, some important species of shellfish
had restricted distributions, but where these were absent, other resources
were handily exploited.
The continental Southeast is generally characterized by a temperate
climate with the exception of the Everglades, a small subtropical zone
of southern Florida. Plant, animal, and mineral resources were abundantly
distributed across the region so that no human society had to endure a
particularly hostile natural environment. The abundance of this natural
world is seen archeologically by the recognition that, throughout the human
history of the area, culture continued to evolve in complexity over time.
The Caribbean
The Caribbean is composed of two distinctive chains of islands: the
Lesser and Greater Antilles. The Lesser Antilles are a line of mainly volcanic
islands sweeping northward from the island of Trinidad, near the mouth
of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. This island chain continues northward
to the three American Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix),
where they meet the Greater Antilles.
The Greater Antilles consist of four large islands: Puerto Rico, Hispaniola
(containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, and Jamaica. While
there is evidence of volcanism in the Greater Antilles, they are, for the
most part, a submerged mountain range jutting westward into the Caribbean
for over a thousand miles. To the north of Cuba and Hispaniola are the
low-lying Bahamian Islands. All of this area, and usually the eastern coast
of Venezuela, is collectively called the Caribbean Cultural Area.
Rouse (1992) states that most of the islands are within sight of each
other, facilitating inter-island travel. He also states that the ocean
currents flow south to north and east to west. The trade winds blowing
from the northeast bring heavy rain. When an island is mountainous, the
rain is dumped on the north and east side of the mountain leaving the other
side dry. The rainforest-to-semiarid environment affected the overall settlement
patterns on the islands. In general, the climate and vegetation are tropical.
Rouse also states that the "forest contained an abundance of wild fruit
and vegetables" and "saltwater fish, shellfish, and waterfowl were available
along the shore" (1992:4). Other animals found include turtles and manatees.
The variation of food resources on each island prompted the development
of trade networks.
to
Outline of Prehistory and History