8SL17: Natural Site - Formation Processes of a Multiple - Component Underwater Site in Florida: Submerged Cultural Resources Special Report

Author(s): Larry E. Murphy

Year: 1990

Summary

In the 1960s, commercial treasure salvors of 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet shipwrecks off the east coast of Florida encountered prehistoric artifacts and extinct animal fossils. At first the salvors believed the material to be wreck-related, but later examination by archeologists indicated it was not associated with the wreck. In 1976 Florida archeologists considered the possibility that the shipwreck might lie over an inundated terrestrial site. In 1978 fieldwork was conducted to determine the nature of the terrestrial site and the site-formation processes that allowed its preservation. Although the fieldwork was done within the confines of commercial treasure salvage,sufficient controls were exercised to make some observations regarding the site-formation processes of both sites. The results of the research are discussed here, focusing on the terrestrial site and its relevance to understanding processes of inundation and preservation, and extrapolating to locate other continental shelf sites, The report conclusions present two newly derived principles of site formation processes relevant to historical and marineinundated terrestrial sites.

Cite this Record

8SL17: Natural Site - Formation Processes of a Multiple - Component Underwater Site in Florida: Submerged Cultural Resources Special Report. Larry E. Murphy. Professional Papers ,1. Santa Fe, NM: Southwest Cultural Resources Center. 1990 ( tDAR id: 148809) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8S1811K

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Chinese Porcelain • Spanish Coins • Spanish Plate Fleet Shipwrecks

Material
Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Fauna • Shell

Site Type
Shipwreck • Water-Related

Investigation Types
Site Evaluation / Testing

General
Cultural Resource • Delftware • Douglass Beach Site • Geochemical Analysis • Palynology Analysis Included • Prehistory • Radiometric Dating • Terrestrial Site • Underwater Archaeology • Underwater Archeology

Geographic Keywords
12111 (Fips Code) • Florida (State / Territory) • Hutchinson Island • North America (Continent) • St. Lucie (County) • United States of America (Country)

Temporal Keywords
1715

Spatial Coverage

min long: -80.68; min lat: 27.206 ; max long: -80.138; max lat: 27.56 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Sponsor(s): State, County, and Local Government

Record Identifiers

NADB document id number(s): 550865

NADB citation id number(s): 000000068350

File Information

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