Final answer:
Before the Civil War, Georgia's plantations primarily used enslaved labor for growing crops such as cotton, tobacco, and rice, with the plantation system resembling pre-capitalist labor systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
The major type of labor used on Georgia's plantations before the Civil War was enslaved labor. Enslaved individuals were forced to work on various plantations, growing crops such as cotton, tobacco, and rice. The work was arduous and often dangerous, with individuals working long hours under harsh conditions. The task of rice cultivation and processing frequently fell to women, and skilled work such as blacksmithing and cooperage was usually carried out by men. The plantation system was a pre-capitalist labor system where enslaved people did not receive any earnings for their labor.
During the antebellum era, cotton emerged as the major commercial crop, especially after the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney. The cotton gin significantly reduced the labor required to separate seeds from the cotton fiber, leading to a boom in cotton production and solidifying the reliance on slave labor in the South.