Stratigraphy, palynology, and paleoecology of ancient freshwater wetlands, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, USA

St. Catherines Island is one of several barrier islands along the coast of Georgia, in the southeastern United States. Many of the islands are believed to have similar geological and biological histories. We know St. Catherines to be unique in having a very well documented prehistoric and historic human presence. Native Americans lived on the island for thousands of years due to two factors: there was a readily available artesian spring-fed freshwater supply, and it lay in proximity to a shallow water marine source of abundant food (oysters, clams, fish). While the abundance of surface freshwater on the island was documented by 18^th Century European explorers, there has been little in the written geological record to illustrate and confirm that history. We provide evidence that ancient freshwater wetlands in an area known as the Central Depression appeared long ago and left a nearly continuous history of freshwater conditions in areas now dominated by a dry pine-oak-palmetto floral assemblage.