October Lecture
Kendy Altizer – University of North Georgia, Dahlonega
October 8, 2026 @ 7:30pm via zoom – Register Here
Title: Peach Pits, Peanut Shells, Shoe Soles, and Cypress Shingles: The Material Culture of Slave Labor Settlements in the Santee Delta, South Carolina.
Abstract: For the last three years, University of North Georgia archaeology field school students, under the direction of Dr. Kendy Altizer and colleagues, have conducted shovel test surveys in three areas between the North and South Santee River branches in Georgetown County. In consultation with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Santee Coastal Reserve, this work is the first of its kind between the rivers in the Santee Delta and is part of The Santee Delta Project, which aims to systematically survey and document the cultural resources of the Santee Delta before it is lost to rising waters. Dr. Altizer will present the results of three years of field work with her students, showing what they found, and didn’t find, between the rivers.
Bio: I am an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Georgia, Dahlonega Campus where I teach courses in Anthropology and Archaeology. My research concentration is historical archaeology with a focus in plantation archaeology, Southeastern archaeology, cultural landscapes, African enslaved lifeways, the effects of colonialism, rice culture, climate change, and geospatial analysis. My field work is located in the South Carolina Lowcountry where I focus predominantly on plantation landscapes. I utilize a multi-disciplinary approach to my research, combining archival evidence, archaeology, remote sensing, and geospatial techniques to understand how plantations evolve over time. I currently collaborate with other scholars interested in systematically documenting the Santee Delta before we lose its sensitive cultural resources to the effects of rising water. I invite students to contribute to this research through my courses as well as an annual field school that I also teach at UNG.
When I am not in the field or teaching on campus, I enjoy spending time renovating my 1970s ranch house in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my partner Mike.
