Shells and Shifting Shorelines: Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction in the Western Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Approaches to Submerged and Coastal Landscapes", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

A NOAA grant funded project was designed to create baseline characterizations of the now-submerged paleolandscape associated with the shoreline stand ca. 8,000 yrs BP that would have been available to early human populations in the northwestern portion of the Gulf of Mexico’s (GOM) northwestern outer continental shelf (OCS). Several locations were sampled via vibracore in spring 2020. Graduate students at the University of West Florida analyzed shell-rich core samples as part of high-impact educational practices aimed at offering training in basic analytical techniques. This paper outlines the methods used in this study and preliminary results. Sizes and conditions of Rangia identified in the sample may indicate a natural population (i.e., not a human created midden). While Rangia predominate the processed samples, other species present in the cores (including botanical and faunal remains) may point to specific environmental conditions at these locations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Approaches to Submerged and Coastal Landscapes

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow