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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.

Resource Type
The Ring People 1

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
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  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 1
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

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
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  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 2
At Spanish Mount, a shell midden near Fig Island, archaeologists investigate the footways of ancient indigenous Americans.
The Ring People 3

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
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  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 3
The center of these shell rings, called plazas, hold important clues to how these rings were used.
The Ring People 4

Video

Grades

  • 6
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  • 8
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  • 10
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  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 4
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

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 5
Scientists discover the tools, pottery and decorative items left behind forty centuries ago.
The Ring People 6

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 6
Rising seas and coastal storms threaten to erase the evidence of some important chapters in South Carolina’s history.
The Ring People 7

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 7
The Big Dig. Archaeologists investigate Pockoy Island with a large team of scientists, field school students and volunteers.
The Ring People 8

Video

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Ring People
Episode 8
Archaeologists discuss how these rings may have been used and why they were abandoned.