A Purposeful Unpatterning: A Spatial Approach to Maroon Settlement in Florida

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "African Diaspora in Florida" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

During the colonial era, Spanish Florida built a reputation as a refuge for self-liberated people escaping from slavery. However, following the Treaty of Paris, Florida’s governance was in turmoil and the Maroons’ freedom was under constant threat. Florida Maroons were constantly on the move. Consequently, a low density of materials, deficiency of known sites, and lack of contemporary Maroon presence plagues Maroon archaeology in Florida. Nonetheless, I argue that by placing Maroon sites within a comparative framework we can identify spatial relationships between Maroon sites and Euro-American and Native American sites, as well as recognize patterns in Maroon movement through the region; ultimately creating an opportunity to reinterpret the role played by self-liberated Africans in Florida’s history. In this paper, I particularly highlight the "purposeful unpatterning" evident across Maroon sites in Florida, and discuss the significance this pattern holds for interpretation of these sites and the people who settled them.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• African Diaspora in Florida   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 980