Testing a Model to Investigate Calusa Salvage of 16Th- and Early-17Th-Century Spanish Shipwrecks

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Testing a Model to Investigate Calusa Salvage of 16Th- and Early-17Th-Century Spanish Shipwrecks THEY ARE RICH ONLY BY THE SEA: TESTING A MODEL TO INVESTIGATE CALUSA SALVAGE OF 16TH- AND EARLY-17TH-CENTURY SPANISH SHIPWRECKS by Kelsey Marie McGuire B.A., Mercyhurst University, 2007 A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities The University of West Florida In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2014 The thesis of Kelsey McGuire is approved: ____________________________________________ _________________ Amy Mitchell-Cook, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ Gregory Cook, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ Marie-Therese Champagne, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ John Worth, Ph.D., Committee Chair Date Accepted for the Department/Division: ____________________________________________ _________________ John R. Bratten, Ph.D., Chair Date Accepted for the University: ____________________________________________ _________________ Richard S. Podemski, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School Date ! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS If not for the financial, academic, and moral support of dozens of people and research institutions, I could not have seen this project to completion. I would not have taken the first steps without financial support from Dr. Elizabeth Benchley and the UWF Archaeology Institute, the UWF Student Government Association. In addition, this project was supported by a grant from the University of West Florida through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Their generous contributions afforded the opportunity to conduct my historical research in Spain. The trip was also possible through of the logistical support of Karen Mims. Her help at the Archaeology Institute was invaluable then and throughout my time at UWF. Thank you to my research companion, Danielle Dadiego. She was an organizational genius, who kept the trip in order when I lost myself in the documents. I also owe my gratitude to the patient staff at the Archivo General de Indias and the Archivo Genreal de Cámara de Comercio de Sevilla, where I fell in love with flipping though musty stacks of incorrigible scribble. I cannot express enough appreciation to Dr. John Worth, who introduced me to the art of paleography and to many other skills. He has provided guidance as a teacher and a mentor. I speak for countless students when I say his passion, intellect, and kindness are invaluable to a top-tier education in archaeology. I am personally grateful for his work as my thesis committee chair and for the guidance of my other committee members, Dr. Amy Mitchell-Cook, Dr. Greg Cook, and Dr. Marie Therese Champagne. Each member was instrumental to my development as a scholar, encouraging me to think harder and write better. iii Where I have reserved a final word for friends and family, I must first thank Norine Carroll. Her selflessness and flexibility made my UWF Collections assistantship a pleasure year after year. By the end of my time with Norine, I considered her as much a friend as a boss. Finally, thank you to my friends, especially Jackie Rodgers, Meghan Mumford, Jess Hendrix, Rylan Thomas, and Patty McMahon for giving me a place to bounce my ideas and to my family, Wells Bibo, Tom McGuire, Katie McGuire, Dylan McGuire, Brigid McGuire, Seamus McGuire, Liam McGuire, Kieran McGuire, and Moira McGuire for their support of my twenty-year stint as a professional student! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ ix ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER II. HISTORY .................................................................................................... 6 A. Prehistory of the Calusa .......................................................................... 7 1. “Calusa” as a Political Entity .................................................... 11 2. The Calusa Way of Life ............................................................ 16 B. Spanish Flags in the New World .......................................................... 22 1. Pedro Menéndez and Diplomacy by Deceit in La Florida ........ 30 2. The Carrera de Indias in the Late-16th and Early-17th Centuries .................................................................................... 38 4. Spanish Losses, Calusa Gains ................................................... 44 C. The Legacy of Contact in Southwest Florida ....................................... 47 CHAPTER III. THEORY .................................................................................................. 48 A. Historical Processualism and Contemporary Practice Theory ............. 49 B. Practice Theory in the Context of Spanish-Calusa Encounters ............ 51 1. Function and Meaning ............................................................... 53 2. The Plurality of Function and Meaning ..................................... 54 v C. Shipwreck and Salvage as Processes .................................................... 56 1. Disaster First, Opportunity Second ........................................... 57 2. Institutional Trade and Opportunistic Salvage as Processes of Obtaining Spanish Goods ...................................... 60 CHAPTER IV. METHODS .............................................................................................. 66 A. Building a Model for the Study of Salvage Behavior .......................... 66 1. The Model: Homology, Analogy, Innovation, and Novelty as Criteria for Evaluation ...................................... 69 2. Testing the Model ...................................................................... 72 B. Historical Methods ................................................................................ 73 C. Archaeological Methods ....................................................................... 74 CHAPTER V. EVALUATION OF ARTIFACTS AND DOCUMENTS ......................... 76 A. Evaluation of Trade and Gift Lists ....................................................... 76 B. Evaluation of Shipping Records ........................................................... 80 C. Synthesis of Traditional Calusa Material Culture ................................. 84 1. Traditional Ornamental Objects ................................................ 84 a. Beads ............................................................................ 86 b. Disks and Cones .......................................................... 88 c. Pendants ....................................................................... 89 d. Pins .............................................................................. 90 e. Tablets .......................................................................... 90 f. Effigies ......................................................................... 92 2. Summary of Traditional Ornamental Objects ........................... 93 3. Traditional Utilitarian Objects ................................................... 93 a. Cutters, Scrapers, and Drills ........................................ 93 b. Hammers and Pulverizers ............................................ 95 c. Subsistence Tools ........................................................ 96 vi d. Ceramics ...................................................................... 98 e. Miscellaneous Food-related Utensils ......................... 100 4. Summary of Traditional Utilitarian Objects ............................ 100 D. Evaluation of the Artifact Sample ...................................................... 100 1. Homologies ............................................................................... 106 a. Homologous Beads (n=72) ....................................... 106 b. Homologous Disks and Cones (n=6) ........................ 107 c. Homologous Pendants (n=4) .................................... 108 d. Homologous Tablets (n=4) ....................................... 108 2. Analogies ................................................................................. 109 a. Analogous Beads (n=6) ............................................ 109 b. Analogous Effigy (n=1) ............................................ 110 3. Innovations .............................................................................. 110 a. Slug Innovation (n=1) ............................................... 111 b. Unidentified Rectangular Innovation (n=1) ............. 111 4. Summary of Artifact Evaluation ............................................. 111 CHAPTER VI. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................. 113 A. The Salvage Process: is There Agency in Object Modification? ........................................................................... 113 B. Undetectable Modification ................................................................. 117 C. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................... 118 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................
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