Skull Creek

National Register Listing

Street Address:

Address Restricted (Beaufort County)

Alternate Name:

Hilton Head; 38BU8, 1 and 2

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817707006

Description and Narrative:

The Skull Creek shell rings, Nos. 1 and 2, are two of 20 or more prehistoric shell rings located from the central coast of South Carolina to the central coast of Georgia. All are believed to date early in the second millennium BC, and they contain some of the earliest pottery known in North America. The function of the ring shape is unknown, although the rings appear to be carefully planned and systematically deposited structures. As such, they also present one of the earliest records of sedentary life among people who must have lived entirely by foraging. The Skull Creek rings are the only known example of a later ring superimposed over an earlier one, although the precise relationship and reason for building this way have not been determined. The southernmost ring (No. 1), approximately 128 feet in diameter, stands about 7.5 feet at some points above a flat central area, but has suffered extensive removal of shell. Probably only 20 percent of the original volume of this ring remains. This ring contains primarily oyster shell with smaller amounts of other mollusks. The northernmost ring (No. 2), approximately 133 feet in diameter, is nearly plowed level. Listed in the National Register November 10, 1970.

Period of Significance:

before 1400;1635 BCE;1170 BCE;1968

Level of Significance:

National

Area of Significance:

Archeology: Prehistoric

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

November 10 1970

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