This major summary of the current state of archaeological research on the Swift Creek culture is the first comprehensive collection ever published concerning the Swift Creek people.

The Swift Creek people, centered in Georgia and surrounding states from A.D. 100 to 700, are best known from their pottery, which was decorated before firing with beautiful paddle-stamped designs--some of the most intricate and fascinating in the world.

Comprehensive in scope, this volume details the discovery of this culture, summarizes what is known about it at the present time, and shows how continued improvements in the collection and analysis of archaeological data are advancing our knowledge of this extinct society.

Although they know nothing of Swift Creek language and little about its society, archaeologists have collected valuable information about the
economic strategies of Swift Creek inhabitants. What archaeologists know best, however, is that the Swift Creek people were some of the best wood carvers the world has seen, and their pottery will stand as their lasting legacy for all time. This book presents and preserves their legacy.

 

Mark Williams, senior academic professional in Anthropology at the University
of Georgia, specializes in Georgia archaeology and ethnohistory. He is
coauthor of Lamar Archaeology with Gary Shapiro, and A World Engraved with
Dan Elliott. He is also director of the UGA Laboratory of Archaeology.

"An important theme running through the volume is the examination of social interaction using analyses of the stamps used to decorate Swift Creek pots. These studies make us rethink our notions of social boundariesand interactions and the scope of individual movements in the Woodland period. . . . As a summary of current knowledge of the Swift Creek culture,A World Engraved has no rivals. It should have a well-deserved place on the shelves of every archaeologist working in the region."

—John Scarry, UNC-Chapel Hill

"This substantial edited volume of fifteen chapters makes major inroads toward exploring other variables underlying the Swift Creek phenomenon."

—Southeastern Archaeology