The Native Americans who occupied the Lowcountry of South Carolina during the period of European expansion have fallen victim to historical and anthropological assumptions regarding cultural decline and acculturation. These assumptions have been used by scholars to explain the `disappearance' of these Indians following the Yamasee War. Archaeologists believe the pottery produced by these people during this period is indicative of `cultural decline' and heralds the demise of the coastal tribes through the effects of European expansion. I assert that this is a subjective assumption, and that other, more complex processes account for the appearance of their pottery. The goals of this thesis are to expand our understanding of the Coastal Indian tribes through an analysis of Lowcountry Indian pottery, to explain through a temporal comparison of Coastal Indian ceramics how the Lowcountry Indians were maintaining a degree of craft standardization despite the consequences of European expansion, and to describe how the Native Americans persisted through the Colonial Period by transitioning into new economic roles as provisioners to the colonists. In conclusion I assert that the pottery produced by these Native people was the result of complex cultural accommodation, and the desire to maintain their unique ethnic boundaries and ties to their history during a period of uncertainty.
","abstract_html":"<p>The Native Americans who occupied the Lowcountry of South Carolina during the period of European expansion have fallen victim to historical and anthropological assumptions regarding cultural decline and acculturation. These assumptions have been used by scholars to explain the `disappearance' of these Indians following the Yamasee War. Archaeologists believe the pottery produced by these people during this period is indicative of `cultural decline' and heralds the demise of the coastal tribes through the effects of European expansion. I assert that this is a subjective assumption, and that other, more complex processes account for the appearance of their pottery. The goals of this thesis are to expand our understanding of the Coastal Indian tribes through an analysis of Lowcountry Indian pottery, to explain through a temporal comparison of Coastal Indian ceramics how the Lowcountry Indians were maintaining a degree of craft standardization despite the consequences of European expansion, and to describe how the Native Americans persisted through the Colonial Period by transitioning into new economic roles as provisioners to the colonists. In conclusion I assert that the pottery produced by these Native people was the result of complex cultural accommodation, and the desire to maintain their unique ethnic boundaries and ties to their history during a period of uncertainty.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nyman, James Allan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Campus Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Charles R. Cobb"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:34Z","subjects":["Anthropology","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2011, James Allan Nyman"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1974","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Charles R. Cobb"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nyman, James Allan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Anthropology","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2011, James Allan Nyman"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1974"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Native Americans who occupied the Lowcountry of South Carolina during the period of European expansion have fallen victim to historical and anthropological assumptions regarding cultural decline and acculturation. These assumptions have been used by scholars to explain the `disappearance' of these Indians following the Yamasee War. Archaeologists believe the pottery produced by these people during this period is indicative of `cultural decline' and heralds the demise of the coastal tribes through the effects of European expansion. I assert that this is a subjective assumption, and that other, more complex processes account for the appearance of their pottery. The goals of this thesis are to expand our understanding of the Coastal Indian tribes through an analysis of Lowcountry Indian pottery, to explain through a temporal comparison of Coastal Indian ceramics how the Lowcountry Indians were maintaining a degree of craft standardization despite the consequences of European expansion, and to describe how the Native Americans persisted through the Colonial Period by transitioning into new economic roles as provisioners to the colonists. In conclusion I assert that the pottery produced by these Native people was the result of complex cultural accommodation, and the desire to maintain their unique ethnic boundaries and ties to their history during a period of uncertainty.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Ashley Series as Native American Persistence: Lowcountry Indians in the Period of European Expansion"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Charles R. Cobb"],"dc:creator":["Nyman, James Allan"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Native Americans who occupied the Lowcountry of South Carolina during the period of European expansion have fallen victim to historical and anthropological assumptions regarding cultural decline and acculturation. These assumptions have been used by scholars to explain the `disappearance' of these Indians following the Yamasee War. Archaeologists believe the pottery produced by these people during this period is indicative of `cultural decline' and heralds the demise of the coastal tribes through the effects of European expansion. I assert that this is a subjective assumption, and that other, more complex processes account for the appearance of their pottery. The goals of this thesis are to expand our understanding of the Coastal Indian tribes through an analysis of Lowcountry Indian pottery, to explain through a temporal comparison of Coastal Indian ceramics how the Lowcountry Indians were maintaining a degree of craft standardization despite the consequences of European expansion, and to describe how the Native Americans persisted through the Colonial Period by transitioning into new economic roles as provisioners to the colonists. In conclusion I assert that the pottery produced by these Native people was the result of complex cultural accommodation, and the desire to maintain their unique ethnic boundaries and ties to their history during a period of uncertainty.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1974"],"dc:rights":["© 2011, James Allan Nyman"],"dc:subject":["Anthropology","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"dc:title":["The Ashley Series as Native American Persistence: Lowcountry Indians in the Period of European Expansion"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:34Z"}