Human-Animal Interactions at the start of the Middle Holocene: New Evidence from Pit Deposits in Northeast Florida

Summary

Northern Florida has provided some of the oldest evidence of riverine subsistence in the lower southeastern United States, redefining our understanding of how these communities interacted with animals. Previously, these data were restricted to bioarchaeological analyses of mortuary pond assemblages, such as the Windover site. Recent testing at Silver Glen Springs, along the St. Johns River, has uncovered direct evidence of animal exploitation that increases our knowledge of subsistence patterns in the early Middle Archaic. Specifically, excavations below a mined-out shell mound encountered numerous freshwater shell-bearing pits containing remarkably preserved faunal material. Radiocarbon dating has placed this material between 8900-7000 cal BP, and coeval with an apparent increase in surface water availability. This poster presents the results of a zooarchaeological analysis of pit contents, including a determination of species composition, diversity, and depositional treatment. This analysis reveals a heavy reliance on aquatic species, making it among some of the earliest recorded evidence for riverine-centered faunal exploitation in the region.

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): 16180