Testing the (Disappearing) Waters: A Preliminary Assessment of the Sedimentary Record of Lake Jackson, Florida

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent coring at the Lake Jackson Aquatic Preserve in Northwest Florida investigated the current sediment and stratigraphic integrity in order to assess the research potential of the area for exploring associated cultural events from the Mississippian Period (AD 1050 - 1500). The lake is a unique karst formation with sinkholes that cause dramatic drydown events, and on its southern shore rests the largest Mississippian mound site in the region—8Le1, or Okeeheepkee. Once collected, the cores were subject to various physical and chemical sediment measures including density, grain size, clay content and carbon to nitrogen ratios. We also obtained AMS radiocarbon dates to derive chronological control. We currently do not have any paleolimnological data from the lake and are unaware if modern anthropogenic impacts (e.g., dredging) have left any stratigraphic resources intact. This poster presents results from these exploratory studies and their implications for further research into the relationships between Lake Jackson, regional paleoenvironmental conditions, and associated human occupations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26012