The Original Spaghetti Junction: Using Canoe Locations to Trace Routes of an Ancient Transportation Network in Florida

Summary

This paper presents results of spatial analysis on Florida’s 400 dugout canoes recorded in the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research’s canoe database. Patterned concentrations of canoes located at the edges of basins suggest that prehistoric people had a system of drop-off points, where canoes were left for later use. Such a system is consistent with ethnographically recorded canoe-use practices among indigenous peoples in Florida and beyond. Drop-off points represent important places on the riverine landscape, marking the interchanges that connected communities from neighboring regions. This model of specific canoe routes is testable and has the potential to be used as a guide to find and protect ancient canoes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Archaeology, Art, and Iconography of Florida’s Watery Landscapes

Keywords

Spatial Coverage