User:ShaniaS23/sandbox

Article Evaluation
For the Week 3 Assignment, I chose to read and evaluate the Wikipedia page on Ruins. This page gives a general overview of what ruins are along with the different types of ruins and where they may be found. I do feel that as a basic overview of what ruins are, this article does a good job of explaining different characteristics and causes of ruins, and it also does a nice job of putting in text links to other Wikipedia pages for further research on ancient ruins. With this being said, there is a warning box at the topic of the article that states, "The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject."

I feel that the page is set up nicely, and that the pictures do not distract from the article but rather enhance it, as the reader can see the photos as he/she is reading about the different locations and remains of ruins.

I feel that the voice used in this article is very factual and I hear any form of bias or attempted persuasion within the article. I do question where some of the information came from, though as there are large sections of quite specific information that do not have a cite next to them. It could be because I am a history major that I am in the habit of citing everything, but I would expect to see more citing in areas of this article.

I feel that the books used for this article are primarily credible sources, however I do question several of the online sources. The first reference, is from Travel News India, and is like a travel website which details popular tourist locations around India. Although the information may be accurate, I do not think that this is necessarily an academic source, and so it would not be something that I would use when editing an article.

I have also found under the Talk page of this article that this article is part of two Wikipedia Projects, including the WikiProject Architecture and WikiProject Archaeology. For these two projects, the article has been rated as "Start-Class" and is looking to be improved to assist in the coverage of both Archaeology and Architecture on Wikipedia. Other than these two WikiProjects, not much conversation is occurring about this article, and the most recent changes to the article have been simple spelling or image insert changes.

This is a very general article overall and may be used as a starting off point for someone researching about Ruins, but those individuals would be better locating more specific articles or choosing a place of ancient ruins to research.

Week 5: What Can I add to my Article/ Beginning Bibliography
For my topic of the Green's Shell Enclosure in South Carolina, there is very limited information given on the existing Wikipedia page. I feel that there is a lot of information that could be added to this page, however as I am trying to locate sources, I am finding that there is very little published material on the topic. I am going to try to add a bit more information about the geographical location of the site as well as how this site is related to other shell enclosures near the southeastern coast. I am going to try to find any contextual information about the site, to add that as well, although thus far I have not been able to locate anything.

For my bibliography, I have found a few resources on line through Worldcat, I also have requested three books through ILL and there are several books that I have yet to check out from the library, but I will be looking at them for information. This is a very early draft of my bibliography because I am still unsure of what will be useful to me.

Online Resources

South Carolina Department of Archives and History. “Green’s Shell Enclosure, Beaufort County”. Images. http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/beaufort/S10817707018/index.htm

South Carolina Department of Archives and History, State Historic Preservation Office. “Native American Time Periods for South Carolina”. State of South Carolina, 2018. http://shpo.sc.gov/res/native/Pages/naperiods.aspx

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. “Green’s Shell Enclosure Heritage Preserve”. 2016. https://www2.dnr.sc.gov/ManagedLands/ManagedLand/ManagedLand/36

National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. “Green’s Shell Enclosure”. August 7, 1974. http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/beaufort/S10817707018/S10817707018.pdf

Books

Anderson, David G., Kenneth E. Sassaman. The Paleoindian and Early Archaic Southeast. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1996.

Kennedy, Rodger G. Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization. New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1994.

Wesson, Cameron B. Historical Dictionary of Early North America. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005.

International Congress of Americanists. Indian Tribes of Aboriginal America; Selected Papers. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1967.

Schobinger, Juan. The Ancient Americans: A Reference Guide to the Art, Culture and History of Pre-Columbian North and South America. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2001.

Requested through ILL Lawrences, David R, Sandy D. Singletary, Hilda L. Wrightson. Studies of Southeastern United States Aboriginal Shell Rings. Columbia, South Carolina: Department of Geological Sciences, 1989.

Trinkley, Michael. Archaeological Survey of Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina: Chicora Foundation, 1987.

Sassaman, Kenneth E., David G. Anderson. Archaeology of the Mid-Holocene Southeast. Gainesville: University of Press Florida, 1996.

Shell Rings
Shell rings are man-made constructions created from shellfish and oyster remains and may also include other ceramic pieces and artifacts. Some of these shell rings found in the Southeastern United States enclose a full central region, while others do not complete a full ring. The artifacts found at these sites date them sometime between the Late Archaic to Late Woodland Period.

Work at Green’s Shell Enclosure
Green’s Shell Enclosure was first documented by Alan Calmes in 1967 (site number 38BU63). Calmes founded that the shell ring was constructed of oyster shells and was created in a relatively short period of time, suggesting that the peoples whom constructed it did not live within or around the shell ring. The pattern of the arrangement of the oyster shells, which were loosely packed rather than in strategic bands gives the evidence of the fast building process. The other evidence suggesting that the ring was built relatively quickly was because nearly all of the pottery and stone remains were of Irene types. The Irene phase was a period between approximately A.D. 1200 and A.D. 1550. The artifacts found at Green’s Shell Enclosure were created near this time period, which is also suggested from the radiocarbon-14 date of A.D. 1335, of the charcoal and Irene sherd samples from six to eight inches below the surface.

Green’s Shell Enclosure was revisited in 1987 by Michael Trinkley. Trinkley suggests that the Green Shell Enclosure may have been occupied in the South Carolina Late Woodland Period (ca. A.D. 1000 to 1650). Trinkley suggests this because during this time, outside of the Carolinas, there was a period of widespread cultural change including the progressive practices of agriculture, however it appears that the peoples in the Carolinas continued a mobile lifestyle pattern with short-term occupation of sites. This supports Calmes original theory that Green’s Shell Enclosure was built in a short period of time, because the people creating it were still living a partially nomadic lifestyle.

Native Occupation
Documented by Calmes, “The Indians believed to be associated with the site can be identified by documentary evidence as Orista, Escumacu, or Cusabo Indians, all of the same group.” Trinkely suggests that the possibility of the Orista or Escumacu within South Carolina were chiefdoms of the Georgia Guale Indians. There is evidence to suggest the occupation of the Escumacu Indians within Beaufort County, however it is also known that many of the coastal tribes of the Carolinas were wiped out by war, slavery and European expansion before any documentation of them was ever taken.