OSL Dating and Chronology in Pensacola, Florida’s Contact Period

Summary

New research on the history of the Pensacola Bay region from the late Mississippian to the Protohistoric period is clarifying previous understandings of cultural sequences. Two recently discovered sites have created opportunities to apply new dating technologies to culture historical questions. The first site is in an incredibly dynamic area of sand dune formations on a barrier island. The second site is associated with the Luna Settlement of 1559-1561 and survives partially intact despite considerable development over the centuries. A relatively new chronometric dating technique known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) has been applied to pottery sherds from both sites to explore the sequence of Pensacola’s Native inhabitants immediately before and after Spanish contact. Results from these contrasting sites are compared in order to evaluate the applicability of OSL dating in the Pensacola region. Further applications of this data include teasing out the archaeological cultures and identities of some of the native groups living here during the sixteenth century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17028