Isotopic Investigations of Archaic Period Subsistence and Settlement in the St
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ISOTOPIC INVESTIGATIONS OF ARCHAIC PERIOD SUBSISTENCE AND SETTLEMENT IN THE ST. JOHNS RIVER DRAINAGE, FLORIDA By BRYAN DUANE TUCKER A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Bryan Duane Tucker 2 To my family and friends 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’d like to thank my committee for the guidance they have provided. John Krigbaum and Ken Sassaman provided invaluable assistance in the course of this research. This work would not have been possible without the technical wizardry of Jason Curtis, and I appreciate his willingness to get data to me on short notice. Paul Thacker and Rebecca Saunders have each read drafts of various parts of this research and their ongoing support throughout this process is greatly appreciated. I thank John Bloch and Ross Secord, for allowing me the freedom to finish this research while still maintaining financial stability. My wife Megan has been patient and supporting through this process and my daughter Eavan has reminded me to stop and have some fun on the way. Last, I would like to acknowledge the late Bob Blakely, for helping to develop the field of bioarchaeology and for introducing me to it. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................8 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................9 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................14 Archaeological Models of Mobility........................................................................................19 Dissertation Outline................................................................................................................25 Variation in Burial Treatment .........................................................................................26 Variation in Diet..............................................................................................................27 Variation in Stable Isotope Ratios Recorded in Human Tooth Enamel..........................29 Variation in Diet by Season at Harris Creek and Windover ...........................................30 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................31 2 ISOTOPIC INVESTIGATIONS OF MIDDLE ARCHAIC MORTUARY PRACTICES AT THE HARRIS CREEK SITE, TICK ISLAND, FLORIDA.............................................34 Introduction.............................................................................................................................34 Mortuary Theory in Archaeology...........................................................................................35 Status or Rank..................................................................................................................35 Group Mobility, Settlement Patterns and Mortuary Practices.........................................36 Beyond Saxe-Binford ......................................................................................................38 Harris Creek Burial Mound ....................................................................................................38 Previous Investigations at the Site...................................................................................39 Burial Form .....................................................................................................................40 Body Positioning .............................................................................................................40 Stable Isotope Analysis...........................................................................................................41 Carbon Isotopes...............................................................................................................41 Oxygen Isotopes ..............................................................................................................42 Nitrogen Isotopes.............................................................................................................43 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................43 Results.....................................................................................................................................45 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Dates ............................................................................45 Stable Isotopic Values of Faunal Bone Apatite and Local Water...................................46 Stable Isotopic Values of Tooth Enamel .........................................................................47 Discussion...............................................................................................................................48 Rank and Status ...............................................................................................................48 Settlement and Mobility ..................................................................................................49 5 Function of Mounds ........................................................................................................51 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................52 3 DIETARY CONTINUITY AND CHANGE DURING THE FLORIDA ARCHAIC ...........63 Introduction.............................................................................................................................63 Background.............................................................................................................................65 Stable Isotopes and Dietary Reconstruction....................................................................65 Apatite to Collagen Spacing and Diet .............................................................................66 Previous Isotopic Studies of Harris Creek and Windover...............................................67 Site Descriptions..............................................................................................................68 The Windover site (8BR246) ...................................................................................68 The Harris Creek/Tick Island site (8VO24).............................................................69 Materials .................................................................................................................................70 Methods ..................................................................................................................................70 Results.....................................................................................................................................71 Discussion...............................................................................................................................72 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................77 4 EVALUATING A SERIAL SAMPLING METHODOLOGY..............................................83 Introduction.............................................................................................................................83 Environmental Buffering and Isotopic Attenuation ...............................................................84 Tooth and Enamel Development ............................................................................................86 Maturation and Mineralization Waves ............................................................................86 Carbonate Substitutions in Enamel .................................................................................87 Striae of Retzius and Perikymata and Crown Formation Times .....................................90 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................91 Sample selection..............................................................................................................91 Site Descriptions..............................................................................................................91 External Sampling—Dental Drill....................................................................................92 Internal Sampling—Micromill ........................................................................................92 Pretreatment.....................................................................................................................93 Results.....................................................................................................................................93 Discussion...............................................................................................................................94 Effects of Secondary Mineralization...............................................................................94