Hunter-Gatherer Settlement and Subsistence at Letchworth Mounds (8JE337)
Martin Menz, M.A., Doctoral Candidate, University of Michigan
The Letchworth site (8JE337) near Tallahassee is one of the largest Woodland period ceremonial centers in Florida. The site includes a 15-meter tall platform mound and several other low mounds, as well as a habitation area roughly 500-meters across. Despite its great size, Letchworth has received relatively little attention from archaeologists, in part due to the site’s low artifact density and poor preservation. In this presentation, I discuss the results from recent excavations in Letchworth’s habitation area, including evidence for domestic architecture and subsistence practices. I conclude by comparing the occupation at Letchworth with other hunter-gatherer ceremonial centers throughout the Eastern Woodlands.
Martin Menz is a University of Michigan graduate student studying domestic life at hunter-gatherer ceremonial centers during the Woodland period. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of South Florida and has worked at numerous sites throughout Florida and Georgia, including Crystal River, Kolomoki, and now Letchworth Mounds.
This monthly CGCAS Archaeology Lecture series is sponsored by the Alliance for Weedon Island Archaeological Research and Education (AWIARE).