It's oyster season in South Carolina, which means it's time to stock up on saltine crackers, cocktail sauce, lemons, and hot sauce in preparation for a classic Lowcountry roast. More than a simple meal, the oyster roast represents a relationship that stretches back thousands of years – and the key to its future might be sitting on your table.
The first oyster eaters
"We all love mysteries," says Karen Y. Smith, an archaeologist with the Heritage Trust Program of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). Smith studies
Pottery sherds excavated from the Spanish Mount site in December 2022. Photo courtesy of Meg Gaillard, SCDNR.
precontact shell rings, unique structures about as old as Stonehenge that give us a glimpse into how people might have feasted 5,000 to 3,500 years ago.
"There's evidence for sure that they were cooking, making fires. We have evidence of oyster pits. We know that they had vessels."
The exact function of the oyster shell rings, shell mounds, and shell middens within precontact society is still debated, as is the number of sites that may have originally existed. Nevertheless, with 25 shell rings along the South Carolina coast identified so far, a picture of prehistoric life has emerged.
"They are all located in estuarine environments, on lands adjacent to or sometimes surrounded by, tidal marshes and streams," says Smith. "Their lifeway was very much a salt life. They would have been intimately familiar with the tides and would have traveled to and from the rings primarily by canoe up and down the tidal creeks and rivers."
"We are increasingly thinking of these sites as the earliest villages, where settled life began," posits Smith. "So, the rings function to bound that life, in a world that was otherwise boundless."
Same shell, different story
The shell rings show that their builders dined exclusively on the products of the natural environment. Along with seafood, deer provided protein. But agriculture had not yet arrived in the region, says Smith, so corn, beans, and squash weren't on the prehistoric menu.
Today, oyster roasts take the past and blend it with newer traditions. The barrier island residents we polled listed side dishes such as corn muffins, chili, clam chowder, coleslaw, red rice, brownies, and even hot dogs as acceptable additions to the party. Not up for debate: Hot sauce, cocktail sauce, and crackers are must-haves at a modern gathering. Oh, and beer.
As much as Lowcountry life has transformed over the years, some realities persist. Oysters, clams, and fish are still local favorites. Knowledge of rivers and tides is still a requirement for those who would navigate local waters.
People still gather together with family and friends to eat oysters. But where some might see trash when the shells pile up on newspaper-covered picnic tables, others see treasure.
"There's an intentionality to the shell rings," says Heritage Trust archeologist Meg Gaillard. "I think the key word is intentionality."
Smith concurs. "They had a very clear idea about what to do with their shells, where it belongs on the landscape."
Intentionality persists, but the rules have changed. Turns out, the most important item you should provide at an oyster roast isn't hot sauce or beer – it's an oyster-shell recycling bin.
The modern shell mound
"Imagine a massive pile of oyster shell," says Holly Sommers, SCDNR's oyster shell recycling and planting program manager. She's describing the facility in North Charleston where shells are quarantined for six months before they can be recycled into new reefs. When completed, these sites not only support future generations of oysters, they also prevent erosion, support marsh regrowth, and support a wide variety of species.
Oyster shell recycling. SCDNR staff image.
"We will take loads of shell and spread it as thin as we can," Sommers explains. "Volunteers
Volunteers build new oyster reefs. SCDNR staff image
come and pick trash; we separate any recycling."
Much like the historic shell mounds provide a glimpse into the past, this pile offers a snapshot of the now: "Saltine wrappers, plastic utensils, plastic ramekins, individual-size hot sauces" are common finds.
Trash and recyclables separated from shells at an oyster recycling facility. SCDNR staff image.
Naturally, Sommers recommends that people try to make their roasts more sustainable by using less plastic and opting for bulk sizes of sauces and crackers. Make it fun by putting favorites to a taste test, she suggests. "Bring your own hot sauce and share."
But the easiest way to make a big difference without much fuss is for hosts to place a clearly marked oyster-shell recycling bin next to the garbage can so that guests can sort their own trash from the valuable shells. "Make an announcement," she says. "Tell people."
The SCDNR's SCORE program relies upon shells from individuals, restaurants, caterers, and other partners for its habitat restoration projects. If they don't collect enough to meet their goals, the department must purchase oyster shells, sometimes from out-of-state shucking houses. "The less shell we have to purchase, the more shell we have to plant," she says. "We need you to recycle it."
Sometimes convincing individuals to recycle is just a matter of increasing awareness and "understanding how valuable those oyster shells [are], even by the dollar," Sommers explains.
Separating and recycling the shells doesn't seem like a chore when Sommers explains the almost magical transformation that happens when volunteers and staff build a new reef or restore an eroded habitat. "If people could see – it's remarkable."
A new generation takes hold
After the quarantine and cleaning stage, volunteers take shell-filled mesh bags to deposit at carefully chosen replanting sites. Once they're in place, nature works quickly. Larval oysters, called "spat," quickly begin to attach to the new substrate. "They'll settle on anything hard, but they really prefer oyster shell," says Sommers. "It looks like little specks of pepper."
"You come back two weeks later, there's already sediment that's starting to deposit." explains Sommers. "Oysters tend to grow an inch a year." In two or three years, the sites will have grown into fully established reefs. The process of rejuvenation is surprisingly swift, yet the impacts are great.
Oysters are known as a "keystone species." The state of these bivalve mollusks is linked to the health of the entire intertidal environment. Oyster reefs improve water quality, control erosion, support marsh regrowth, and provide habitat.
"They're considered ecosystem engineers," says Sommers. "By just living and surviving and thriving, they support and provide habitat for 120 different species."
The plot twist
There's no doubt that oysters have fed the people of the Lowcountry for years, and with programs in place to monitor and cultivate this natural resource, there's good reason to hope that future generations of South Carolinians will be able to enjoy oyster roasts for years to come. "Over 34,000 bushels were planted this year, which is equivalent to 3 acres," Sommers confirms.
It is also possible that shell recycling might be more than a key to the preservation of oysters in South Carolina. It might actually be a return to an older way of life.
A recent study of ancient shell mounds around the globe suggests that sustainable oyster management practices were common in the past and that some Indigenous groups may have used reef-building techniques similar to the ones employed by the SCDNR's SCORE Program today.
Meg Gaillard
SCDNR archaeologist Katie Gray sifts for artifacts during the September 2021 excavation of the Pockoy Island Shell Ring Complex. Photo courtesy of Meg Gaillard, SCDNR.
"I’d say sure, it’s possible," Smith says of the study's findings. "I believe the people who built the shell rings would have had a great appreciation for the plants and animals that provided life and sustenance, and we know people are more thoughtful with life that they value and respect."
It's a conversation that will surely continue – at archaeological sites, at new reef builds, and at the dinner table.
"The histories of these places are so complex, and we are learning new things every day," adds Gaillard. "We will know more years from now as new technology becomes available. The story of the past is never a closed book, it's always a working draft."
