Searching for Ancient Seascapes: Preliminary Results of Ongoing Geoarchaeological Investigations in Tampa Bay Estuary Abstract: Like all estuaries, Tampa Bay is an exceptionally dynamic environment where the encroaching sea has transformed once-terrestrial landscapes into littoral ecosystems conditioned by patterns in salinity, surf, and tide. This history of near-constant change makes it difficult for archaeologists to…
Forgotten Ecologies: Recent Vegetation Transformations Reveal Past Human Influence Christopher A. Kiahtipes, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar, Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment, University of South Florida Humans leave lasting environmental legacies on the landscapes they occupy. From the fire-stick to the farm, human interventions in ecological process have important ramifications for future…
Gulf Coast Archaeology: Examining Society and Climate through Material Culture Trevor Duke, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Florida Lindsey Parsons, M.A. Student, Geology Department, University of Georgia Two winners of the 2019 and 2020 Alliance for Weedon Island Archaeological Research and Education (AWIARE) and Levett Foundation Grant discuss their winning research along the Gulf…
Once There Was A Mound . . . Robert Austin, Ph.D., Alliance for Weedon Island Archaeological Research and Education, Inc. During the third week of July 1950, bulldozers began chewing away at the sides of a large shell mound in downtown St. Petersburg, bringing to an end a once iconic landmark. During the city’s early…
Deep Sea Archaeology Dr. James Delgado, Maritime Archaeologist The deep ocean is one of the last unexplored frontiers in archaeology. Maritime archaeologist James Delgado takes us on a tour of the technology, expeditions and discoveries, including Titanic, lost World War II wrecks, and 19th century ships at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. These…
Investigations into the Archaeology of the Anclote River Region Phyllis E. Kolianos, AWIARE Within Central Peninsula Gulf Coast, the archaeology of the Anclote River is understudied and underreported relative to other population centers. In the late 1800s, S. T. Walker and F. H. Cushing noted the importance of the mounds and pre-Columbian sites on the…
Remembering Tocobaga: Recent Archaeology at the Safety Harbor Site in Philippe Park Dr. Thomas Pluckhahn is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida The Safety Harbor archaeology site (8PI2) in Philippe Park is widely assumed to represent the ruins of the Native town of Tocobaga, where the Spanish briefly…
Digital Storytelling and the Past, Present and Future of Egmont Key Laura Harrison, PhD, Director, Access 3D Lab, University of South Florida Egmont Key is a diminutive island located at the confluence of the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. Because of its strategic location, the island played a significant role in Florida’s history. It…
The First Floridians and the First Floods: How environmental changes have constrained Florida archaeology and how underwater archaeology promises to help Dr. Jessi Halligan, Florida State University The earliest known archaeological site in Florida, Page-Ladson, dates to approximately 14,550 years ago, but it is located on what was the edge of a small pond in…