Ring People

Forty centuries ago, Native Americans left their mark on the landscape of coastal South Carolina. Today, archaeologists from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), a dozen universities and the National Park Service search for clues to our earliest-known coastal dwellers. The story takes viewers to remote sites as scientists discover the ancient South Carolinians who built monumental rings of shell.

Title:
The Ring People 1
The Ring People
Episode 1

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fig island is the largest most complex shell structure known. It’s a trio of rings constructed with oyster shell by American Indians some 4,000 years ago. Fig Island has National Landmark status. Now...
The Ring People 2
The Ring People
Episode 2

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

At Spanish Mount, a shell midden near Fig Island, archaeologists investigate the footways of ancient indigenous Americans.
The Ring People 3
The Ring People
Episode 3

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The center of these shell rings, called plazas, hold important clues to how these rings were used.
The Ring People 4
The Ring People
Episode 4

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12,000 years ago, the beach was 70 miles from Charleston. Visit the modern-day salt marsh - one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.
The Ring People 5
The Ring People
Episode 5

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Scientists discover the tools, pottery and decorative items left behind forty centuries ago.
The Ring People 6
The Ring People
Episode 6

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Rising seas and coastal storms threaten to erase the evidence of some important chapters in South Carolina’s history.
The Ring People 7
The Ring People
Episode 7

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Big Dig. Archaeologists investigate Pockoy Island with a large team of scientists, field school students and volunteers.
The Ring People 8
The Ring People
Episode 8

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Archaeologists discuss how these rings may have been used and why they were abandoned.

Partners