In addition to spatial variability resulting from vegetational patchiness on the landscape, Occaneechi Town inhabitants had to cope with temporal variability. For purposes of scheduling subsistence activity, the more-or-less predictable seasonality component of temporal variability was probably of utmost importance. Unfortunately, most archaeological deposits at the Fredricks site contain remains of plants that ripen in the late summer and early fall. The storage of some of these foods (e.g., corn and nuts) complicates any attempt to determine season of deposition for particular deposits. However, a general outline of the Occaneechi's "seasonal round" for plant foods can be proposed on the basis of the general plant remains assemblage from the Fredricks site, botanical evidence of fruiting seasons for the species involved (Radford et al. 1968), and historical information from Lawson's account (Lefler 1967).
Mid-Summer to Early Fall
This was undoubtedly the season during which most crop harvesting took place. Perhaps most importantly, the chief crop, corn, would be ripe in late summer to early fall, as would common bean and cucurbit. If more than one corn crop was sown in a given year, a summer harvest, perhaps of "green corn," might have taken place as well. Fleshy fruits also become ripe during this broad time period, among them grape (August to October), hawthorn (August to October), elderberry (July to August), maypops (July to October), peach (June to July), persimmon (September to October), and blueberry (June to October). Summer and early fall would thus have been busy times for harvesting crops (including tree crops such as the peach) as well as collecting fruits growing mainly in old fields and other disturbed areas. Lawson reported (Lefler 1967:217) that fruits were dried and pounded into cakes for winter storage. Processing and storage of corn was also a fall activity.
Early Fall to Early Winter
The most important nut resources for the Occaneechi, acorn and hickory, would have been available for collection roughly from September to November. The best time for collecting acorns and hickory nuts may have overlapped somewhat with the time of crop harvesting. After collection, acorns probably were processed to make acorn oil and hickory nuts prepared for storage (Lefler 1967:51, 105).
Mid-Winter to Early Spring
This part of the year is something of a terra incognita for the paleoethnobotanist seeking archaeological evidence of seasonal plant use. Most plants are dormant in the winter, and except for late nut crops, few or no fresh plant foods would have been available. It is during this part of the year that foods stored in the fall would have been consumed. This also may have been a time for hunting forays (possibly to obtain deerskins for trade as well as meat for food), as was reported by Lawson (Lefler 1967:217).
Spring to Late Summer
Spring may well have been the leanest time of year for the Occaneechi. Most plant species resume growth in the spring, and some flower during this time, but fruiting generally does not occur until later in the year. Fresh greens would, however, have been available. Stores of crops, nuts, and fruits from the previous fall would be nearly depleted by this time. Perhaps animal foods dominated the diet in the spring; in fact, Lawson (Lefler 1967:217) noted the use of weirs to take herring coming upstream to spawn in March and April. Even further inland, the Occaneechi may have turned to the nearby Eno River in springtime for fish (catfish bones are abundant in Fredricks site deposits, as reported by Holm [1985]). Another important spring activity was planting corn and other crops, which, like the harvest, was probably accompanied by rituals. Perhaps trade with Europeans became more active in the spring.