Conch, Whelk, or Clam: Comparing Southern Florida’s Indigenous Shellfish Collection Patterns

Summary

The populations of southern Florida are an exemplary case of indigenous groups who organized into large political entities without the advantages of agriculture. This is due to the populations’ close proximity to vast amounts of marine resources. Among these resources, many shellfish (both gastropods and bivalves) were used not only for nutritional sustenance, but also made up an important proportion of the tool industry, and as trade goods between these local populations and those at a distance. This work discusses and explores shell-midden artifacts to reconstruct the collection practices of two large populations, the Calusa and the Tequesta, as well as another smaller group inhabiting the Florida Keys, the Matecumbe. Results indicate significant variations in collection practices, despite the three groups sharing territory in the southern area of the Florida peninsula and having access to similar marine resource habitats. This methodology holds great potential to better understand the relative importance of different marine resources among the populations of southern Florida.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22372