The Under-Represented Mullet in SW Florida’s Archaeological Assemblages

Summary

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

Mullets (Mugil spp.), especially the striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), because of their predictable mass-schooling behavior, are obvious candidates as having been surplus food for the socio-politically complex, Calusa fisher-gatherer-hunters. Moreover, López de Velasco, writing in about 1570, stated that there was in southwest Florida waters a "great fishery of mullet [licias], which [the Indians] catch in nets as in Spain." And yet, mullet remains have not been recorded as particularly abundant in the region’s analyzed archaeological faunal assemblages. Reasons for this situation are explored through a re-examination of Pineland, Mound Key, and other curated assemblages with an eye toward skeletal and/or preservation bias, sampling bias, analyst limitations, and temporal patterning. Results indicate that all of these contribute to a general under-representation of archaeological mullet. Also indicated is that assemblages dating to the height of Calusa complexity have higher numbers of mullet remains, compared to earlier time periods. This suggests possible intensification in terms of fishing techniques, improved storage and processing, or both.

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): 24215