Maroon Ritual Belongings Excavated on Gulf Coast Florida

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Seeking Freedom in the Borderlands: Archaeological Perspectives on Maroon Societies in Florida" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Nearly erased from history, the early nineteenth-century marronage of Angola on the Manatee River is now established as part of the Network to Freedom in Florida. Recent excavations provide a view of daily life for the freedom-seeking people. Allied with British filibusters, connected to Seminole peoples in the Florida interior and Cuban fishing ranchos along the Gulf Coast, and building a haven of freedom, Angola may have included more than 700 people. The Manatee River marronage was part of the struggle against slavery that stretched from Prospect Bluff to Andros Island during the early nineteenth century. Material remains support situating the maroons in the crosscurrents of the Atlantic world. Among the findings from 2020 excavations by the Manatee Mineral Spring, two small objects buried in separate small pits are interpreted as ritual belongings. This paper provides an overview of the decade-long community-based research, the excavations and an overview of its findings, and an assessment of the objects. The research has been collaborative, working with descendants and local communities to connect past and present as heritage.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Seeking Freedom in the Borderlands: Archaeological Perspectives on Maroon Societies in Florida   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36071.0