Weeden Island Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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Although a lot of undocumented archaeology has been undertaken in the Big Bend area in the past, the most significant early work (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) was carried out by three men: Clarence B. Moore, Elias H.... more

Although a lot of undocumented archaeology has been undertaken in the Big Bend area in the past, the most significant early work (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) was carried out by three men: Clarence B. Moore, Elias H. Sellards, and J. Clarence Simpson. These researchers brought some professionalism to the work, and made efforts to disseminate the results of their excavations and other studies. They also ensured that archaeological collections were deposited in museum collections where they would be curated and available for study by other researchers. None of them had professional training in archaeology, but they nevertheless made lasting contributions to our knowledge of the region.

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  • Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, North American (Archaeology), North American archaeology

Over the past decade, archaeology has expanded its analytical toolkit by utilizing organic residue techniques. This methodology has greatly increased our ability to determine the nature and origins of organic remains and, in turn, bolster... more

Over the past decade, archaeology has expanded its analytical toolkit by utilizing organic residue techniques. This methodology has greatly increased our ability to determine the nature and origins of organic remains and, in turn, bolster our understanding of prehistoric lifeways. As a subfield of biomolecular archaeology, organic residue analysis has advanced considerably, with improvements in spectroscopic and chromatographic instrumentation, along with associated methods of sample preparation. New developments in metabolomics complement these advances and increase the power of analysis and identification of organic compounds preserved due to past human activities. We at the Departments of Anthropology and Geological Sciences as well as Florida Museum of Natural History are seeking to further expand the efficacy of organic residue analyses by combining metabolomic approaches available at the Southeast Center for Integrated Metabolomics with other techniques of residue analysis of organic extracts derived from archaeological materials conventionally being done at the University of Florida. Hence, this poster presents the results of the metabolomic analysis using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry of organic residues on archaeological pottery from four different geographic areas, namely, Central America, South America, Southeastern United States, and Southeast Asia. These results demonstrate how metabolomics can be useful for the chemical analysis of organic residues on archaeological materials.

• • by Michelle Sotaridona Eusebio
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  • Andean Archaeology, Southeast Asia, Metabolomics, Southeast Asian Archaeology

This research presents a synthesis of the zooarchaeology and site seasonality data for the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Late Archaic through Woodland periods (ca. 5000 B.C. to A.D. 1100). Three questions are addressed: (1) Was the... more

This research presents a synthesis of the zooarchaeology and site seasonality data for the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Late Archaic through Woodland periods (ca. 5000 B.C. to A.D. 1100). Three questions are addressed: (1) Was the coast occupied on a seasonal basis? (2) Were there one or many coastal subsistence strategies? (3) Were coastal economies and ecosystems stable over the scale of millennia? Archaeological data suggest the coastal zone was not wholly abandoned during any season of the year, although sites varied throughout the year in terms of population density, intensity of site use, or intensity of fishing and shellfishing efforts. There were at least three patterns of animal exploitation on the Gulf Coast: specialized estuarine shellfishing, generalized estuarine fishing, and generalized marine shellfishing. Specialized estuarine shellfishing, a pattern focused on intensive exploitation of oysters, was an early and long-lived adaptation to highly productive salt marsh habitats. Subsistence strategies diversified during the Woodland period, shifting from intensive exploitation of salt marshes to extensive exploitation of an array of estuarine and marine habitats. Marked variability among contemporaneous sites over small geographic scales suggests that coastal dwellers had access to different resources by virtue of their proximity to habitats and resource patches.

• • by Carla S Hadden
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  • Prehistoric Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Archaeozoology

In southeastern North America, the Woodland period (ca. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1050) was arguably witness to the first early village societies, and Kolomoki—located in southwestern Georgia—is among the largest villages during this interval.... more

In southeastern North America, the Woodland period (ca. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1050) was arguably witness to the first early village societies, and Kolomoki—located in southwestern Georgia—is among the largest villages during this interval. Though archaeologists recognize these communities as seminal developments in the course of human history, little attention has been paid to how they develop and vary internally. This thesis seeks to address these issues by focusing on the development and social construction of the early village community at Kolomoki. The results of an excavation program carried out within Kolomoki’s South Village affords a clearer picture of this understudied area, and provides supplemental collections to previous work at the site. New radiocarbon dates suggest a dynamic developmental sequence of Kolomoki’s village, starting as a relatively compact village sometime around the second century A.D., and growing to a massive scale around the seventh or eighth century A.D. Comparisons of various classes of material cultural provide evidence for contrasts between occupation along Kolomoki’s northern and southern enclosures, interpreted as differing uses of space by an internally differentiated community.

• • by Shaun West
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  • Middle Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Southeastern Archaeology (Archaeology in North America), Weeden Island

Bayshore Homes (8PI41) is a large mound and midden complex on Florida’s west central Gulf coast that was investigated originally by William Sears in the 1950s. From 1999 to 2009, the authors conducted survey, test excavations, and soil... more

Bayshore Homes (8PI41) is a large mound and midden complex on Florida’s west central Gulf coast that was investigated originally by William Sears in the 1950s. From 1999 to 2009, the authors conducted survey, test excavations, and soil coring to address questions regarding site formation, chronology, and cultural affiliation. Radiocarbon dates and ceramic analysis indicate two separate occupations during the Woodland and Mississippi periods: cal A.D. 140-565 and cal A.D. 890-1390. The earlier occupation is associated with the Manasota archaeological culture, sand-tempered plain pottery, and burials in midden deposits, and interments in a sand mound accompanied by Weeden Island-related mortuary ceramics. The later occupation is associated with Weeden Island-related decorated and Pinellas Plain ceramics in midden deposits and represents the transition from terminal Weeden Island to the Englewood Phase of early Safety Harbor. A large burial mound and a platform mound are associated with this period of site use. Our results also indicate that the unusual ceramic sequence identified by Sears in the site’s large shoreline shell midden is the result of redeposition which occurred sometime after cal A.D. 1220. Possible explanations for the redeposition event include monumental mound construction or the elevation of the midden ridge to serve as a foundation for structures to protect them from rising sea levels or storm surges.

• • by Robert J . Austin and +1
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  • North American archaeology, Southeastern Archaeology (Archaeology in North America), Florida Archaeology, Florida prehistory and early history
• • by Domenique Sorresso and +1
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  • Ceramics (Archaeology), Florida Archaeology, Weeden Island, Effigies

Low-gradient coastlines are susceptible to inundation by rising water, but they also promote marsh aggradation that has the potential to keep pace with sea-level rise. Synergies among hydrodynamics, coastal geomorphology, and marsh... more

Low-gradient coastlines are susceptible to inundation by rising water, but they also promote marsh aggradation that has the potential to keep pace with sea-level rise. Synergies among hydrodynamics, coastal geomorphology, and marsh ecology preclude a simple linear relationship between higher water and shoreline transgression. As an archive of human use of low-gradient coastlines, archaeological data introduce additional mitigating factors, such as landscape alteration, resource extraction, and the cultural value of place. The Lower Suwannee Archaeological Survey (LSAS) is an ongoing effort to document the history of coastal dwelling since the mid-Holocene, when the rate and magnitude of sea-level rise diminished and the northern Gulf coast of Florida transitioned into an aggradational regime. Results of the first six years of the LSAS suggest that multicentury periods of relative stability were punctuated by site abandonment and relocation. Subsistence economies involving the exploitation of oyster and fish, however, were largely unaffected as communities redistributed themselves with changes in shoreline position and estuarine ecology. After A.D. 200, civic-ceremonial centers were established at several locations along the northern Gulf coast, fixing in place not only the infrastructure of daily living (villages), but also that of religious practice, notably cemeteries and ceremonial mounds. Intensified use of coastal resources at this time can be traced to a ritual economy involving large gatherings of people, terraforming, feasting, and the circulation of socially-valued goods. To the extent that religious practices buffered the risks of coastal living, large civic-ceremonial centers, like aggrading marshes, afforded opportunities to “outpace” sea-level rise. On the other hand, centers introduced a permanence to coastal land-use that proved unsustainable in the long term.

• • by Kenneth Sassaman and +7
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  • Coastal Geomorphology, Coastal and Island Archaeology, Sea Level, Southeastern Archaic (Archaeology in North America)

This paper presents the results of an analysis of a large sample of siliceous (chert, silicified coral) and non-siliceous (limestone, sandstone, fossil bone) lithic materials recovered during profiling, excavation, and salvage at Big... more

This paper presents the results of an analysis of a large sample of siliceous (chert, silicified coral) and non-siliceous (limestone, sandstone, fossil bone) lithic materials recovered during profiling, excavation, and salvage at Big Mound Key (8CH10) from 2007 to 2010. The sample also includes stone artifacts collected during excavations and salvage in 1982 and 1985. The siliceous stone assemblage, though small, provides information on acquisition and use of non-local chert sources, while the non-siliceous stone demonstrates acquisition and use of local raw materials for a variety of uses for which chert, shell, and bone were unsuitable.

• • by Robert J . Austin
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  • Coastal and Island Archaeology, Lithics, Florida Archaeology, Woodland Archaeology
• • by Carla S Hadden
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  • Geography, Prehistoric Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Landscape Archaeology

Conceptions of Middle Woodland ceremonial centers focus on monumentality as an act of communal ritual, though interpretations of the meanings of such ritual practices are often neglected. In contrast, we regard the monumental landscape of... more

• • by Shaun West and +1
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  • Archaeology, Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Middle Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America)