Small, undocumented historic archaeological sites are a common phenomenon in South Carolina. Because heavy rice and, later, cotton monoculture supported the Lowcountry economy (Coastal Plain province) from the late 17th through the early 20th centuries, modern land development is coming into increasing contact with the structural and non-structural remnants of the plantation period, both antebellum and postbellum. The Spiers Landing site (38BK160) is located in Berkeley County, South Carolina, and was investigated under the cultural resources management mandates associated with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (P. L. 89-665 as amended). The goals of the historical and archaeological research were to recover the maximum amount of available data from a small, poorly documented, early 19th century tenant site, so as to test expected archaeological patterns derived from study of previously investigated Euro- and Afro-American sites. Examination of behavioral patterns through spatial analysis, artifact class patterns, soil chemical analysis, food remains analysis, and ceramic analysis support the working hypothesis that this site reflects low socioeconomic status Black habitation of Fountainhead Plantation
