Determining Datums & Considering Climate: The Relocation of Inundated Apalachee Bay Sites in the Modern Day

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago, sea level of the Apalachee Bay, Gulf of Mexico was roughly 20m lower than today, extending the paleoshoreline nearly 75km further south and providing significantly more habitable land for prehistoric populations (Faught, 2004). Although many submerged sites along the PaleoAucilla river channel have been surveyed, the reference datum used to identify their GPS coordinates was not recorded, making modern relocation efforts exceedingly difficult. By testing different reference datums for certain 1990’s points and comparing these to coordinates of sites that have recently been relocated, this project seeks to determine what datum was likely used by former excavations and obtain accurate coordinates for other sites. An additional focus of this project is to develop an understanding of what time of year is best to engage in fieldwork by considering recent local weather data, given that the times formerly ideal for fieldwork now heavily feature dangerous conditions for boating due to the shifting climate worldwide. Both effective use of available time in the field and precision of coordinates are critical for relocating sites, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of Southeast prehistory and the establishment of better submerged site protections in the Apalachee Bay.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39750.0