Paleoecology, Paleoclimate, and Paleoeconomy at the Turner River Mound Complex, Everglades National Park

Summary

The Turner River Mound Complex is an intensively modified landscape consisting of numerous shell mounds and other shell work features such as ridges, walkways, canals and ponds. Located in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Everglades National Park, a subtropical mangrove estuary, the complex is an unusual example of the prehistoric tradition of shell-built architecture in Southwest Florida. In this project we combine traditional zooarchaeological analyses, stable isotope sclerochronology, and direct dating of faunal remains to address two key questions: (1) What was the paleoenvironmental setting at the time settlement began, and when and why was it abandoned? And (2) is there evidence of sea-level or paleoclimatological change associated with site abandonment? Vertebrate and invertebrate faunal remains indicate a resilient resource base, consisting of animals that were well-suited to dynamic coastal environs, such as oysters and sea catfish. Preliminary data indicate that accumulation of domestic refuse began ca. AD 220–570 and ended ca. AD 690–1000, and that some vertical mixing has occurred within the 110-cm stratigraphic column. Oxygen isotope sclerochronology on modern and archaeological oysters indicate changes in climatological and hydrological conditions at the Turner River locale over time, potentially related to changes in sea level and/or precipitation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22200