Background For Luna: Archaeology At The University Of West Florida

Summary

Archaeology at UWF was started in 1980 primarily to study the rich prehistoric archaeological resources in Pensacola and northwest Florida.  The program has taken several unexpected and fruitful turns into public archaeology, urban archaeology, historical archaeology, and underwater archaeology.  The Early Spanish colonial resources, both documentary and archaeological, have been remarkable.  We initially focused on the 1698-1763 Spanish frontier presidios, but in 1992 the first 1559 Luna shipwreck was found by Roger Smith from the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Resources working with UWF.  The second Luna shipwreck was located by Greg Cook and John Bratten of UWF in 2006.  In October 2015, the remains of the Luna terrestrial settlement were identified by UWF's John Worth.  All the well-developed strengths of public, urban, prehistoric, historical, and underwater archaeology are now being applied to examine the settlement and wrecked ships of the Tristan de Luna 1559 colonization attempt in Pensacola.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017   •
• Symposium: The Tristan de Luna Shipwrecks and Settlement (1559-1561) in Pensacola, Florida

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 509