Submitted by Heather Mauldin ([email protected])

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New South Associates, Inc., recently performed excavations at the Berry Creek site (9MO487) in Monroe County, Georgia, for Georgia Power Company. Many of the ceramics in the artifact assemblage were identified as representative of the Swift Creek culture, and several ground- and chipped-stone tools were recovered. One artifact of note, identified as a plummet stone, is an oblong ground granite object with one grooved end. Jack Hranicky (2004) suggests that plummets may be pendants, net weights, bolas, or status symbols. He also references Warren Moorehead’s 1917 work, which lists up to 22 possibilities ranging from handheld tool applications to ceremonial or decorative purposes.

If anyone has further information on similar artifacts in the central Georgia region, please contact Scott Morris ([email protected]).

Posted online on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008