The Deptford culture was characterized by the appearance of elaborate ceremonial complexes, increasing social and opolitical complexity, mound burial

Tumulus

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

, permanent settlements, population growth, and an increasing reliance on cultigen

Cultigen

A cultigen is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection. These "man-made" or anthropogenic plants are, for the most part, plants of commerce that are used in horticulture, agriculture and forestry...

s.

Origins

Deptford is named for the Deptford area of south Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. Origins of the Deptford culture are not established though most archaeologists argue for stationary (situ) development. Views differ on the chronological divisions for Deptford but most concur with three phases of Early Deptford, Middle Deptford, and Late Deptford (W.H. Sears, 1962)

Population sites

The Deptford sites can be found from eastern North Carolina along the east coast to Florida.

• Tar River, North Carolina
• Brewton Hill site, eastern Savannah, Georgia
  Savannah, Georgia
  Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
  
  
• Dulany site, eastern Savannah
• Irene site, northwest of Savannah
• Refuse site, north of Savannah
• Meldrim site, southeast of Savannah
• Haven Home site, southwest of Savannah
• The Block-Sterns site, Lake Lafayette, Tallahassee, Florida
  Tallahassee, Florida
  Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
  
  
• Site 8LE484 on the northern shore of Lake Miccosukee
  Lake Miccosukee
  Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, USA, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County.-Characteristics:...
  
  , Leon County, Florida
  Leon County, Florida
  Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487. The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major...
  
  .

Both Florida locations represent significant inland Deptford period sites.

Artifacts

Early Deptford ceramics appear to have been developed in Georgia around 2,600 years ago out of the Early Woodland

Woodland period

The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...

 Refuge phase (near Savannah) some 3,200 to 2,600 BCE years ago, and spread north into South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 and south into Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Deptford ceramics continued to be made and found on Middle Woodland

Woodland period

The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...

 sites in the southeastern U.S. until about 600 BCE. Occupation for the Atlantic coastal plain

Atlantic Coastal Plain

The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...

 of Georgia and the Carolinas seems to have followed a seasonal pattern of winter shellfish

Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

 camps on the coast, then inland occupation during the spring and summer for deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 hunting, and fall for nut

Nut (fruit)

A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...

 gathering.

From the Early through the Middle Woodland periods, the extensive, low-lying coastal environment of the South Atlantic coast, stretching from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 to northern Florida, was used by numerous Deptford hunter-gatherer bands who lived seasonally within a variety of ecosystems and took advantage of seasonally available foods.

Along the Gulf Coast, the Deptford culture continued the seasonal existence throughout the Middle Woodland. Settlements in this geographical area lacked permanence of occupation, although the cultures here participated in the Hopewellian trading network to a limited extent and constructed numerous low sand burial mounds. These sand burial mounds along coastal Georgia and Florida (noted at Canaveral National Seashore

Canaveral National Seashore

The Canaveral National Seashore is a National Seashore located between New Smyrna Beach and Titusville, Florida, in Volusia County and Brevard County, United States. The park, located on a barrier island, is home to more than 1,000 plant species and 310 bird species. CANA occupies 58,000 acres ...

 and Cumberland Island National Seashore

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Cumberland Island National Seashore preserves most of Cumberland Island in Camden County, Georgia, the largest of Georgia's Golden Isles. The seashore features beaches and dunes, marshes, and freshwater lakes...

, for instance), as well as in the Carolinas, are believed to represent local lineage burial grounds rather than the resting place of an elite individual.

In northwestern Florida, the Early Woodland Deptford culture evolved in place to become the Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture

Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture

The Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture was characterized by the appearance of elaborate ceremonial complexes, increasing social and political complexity, mound burial, permanent settlements, population growth, and an increasing reliance on cultigens. "Santa Rosa" is associated with the archeological...

. Trade items recovered from burial mounds include copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 panpipes, ear ornaments, stone plummet

Plummet

Plummet is a American trance duo from Orlando, Florida. The act consists of producer/remixer Eric B. Muniz and female vocalist Cheramy Burgess....

s, and stone gorget

Gorget

A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...

s. These show this area's incorporation within the Hopewellian Interaction Sphere by about 1,900 years ago.