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.
Video
At Spanish Mount, a shell midden near Fig Island, archaeologists investigate the footways of ancient indigenous Americans.
Video
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...
Video
Rising seas and coastal storms threaten to erase the evidence of some important chapters in South Carolina’s history.
Video
Archaeologists discuss how these rings may have been used and why they were abandoned.
Video
The Big Dig. Archaeologists investigate Pockoy Island with a large team of scientists, field school students and volunteers.
Video
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.
Video
Scientists discover the tools, pottery and decorative items left behind forty centuries ago.
Video
The center of these shell rings, called plazas, hold important clues to how these rings were used.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Our mission is to serve as the principal advocate for and steward of South Carolina’s natural resources.
