UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE EARLY MIDDLE ARCHAIC PLACEMAKING: A FAUNAL ANALYSIS OF THREE PIT DEPOSITS FROM SILVER GLEN SPRINGS (8LA1), FLORIDA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By NICOLE GRACE CERIMELE Norman, Oklahoma 2017 EARLY MIDDLE ARCHAIC PLACEMAKING: A FAUNAL ANALYSIS OF THREE PIT DEPOSITS FROM SILVER GLEN SPRINGS (8LA1), FLORIDA A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY BY _______________________________ Dr. Asa Randall, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Leland Bement ______________________________ Dr. Patrick Livingood © Copyright by NICOLE GRACE CERIMELE 2017 All Rights Reserved. DEDICATION To my husband, Josh, for welcoming me to the United States. Without his love and support this thesis would not have been possible. Also, to our son, expected December 2017. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to give many thanks to my thesis committee, Dr. Asa Randall, Dr. Leland Bement, and Dr. Patrick Livingood, for their extensive guidance during the past two and a half years. I would also like to thank Department of Anthropology for allowing the opportunity to receive both the Morris E. Opler Memorial Scholarship and the Pat Gilman and Paul Minnis Scholarship, which allowed me to go to Florida to access the zooarchaeological collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History. I would especially like to thank Dr. Katherine Emery for providing access to the FMNH collections and Meggan Blessing, Nicole Cannarozzi, and Dr. Joshua Goodwin for their patience and time in educating me on the finer details of St. Johns riverine zooarchaeology. I would also like to thank both Dr. Kenneth Sassaman and the Laboratory of Southeastern Archaeology for their support during the 2016 field season at Silver Glen Springs. Finally, I want to thank my cohort at the University of Oklahoma, who helped me keep my sanity during the two and a half years of preparing this thesis. This thesis would not have been possible without the support of all these people, and I am indebted to their help. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………..…………………………iv LIST OF TABLES …..……………………………………………………………ix LIST OF FIGURES …..……………………………………………………………xi ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………..xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ……………..…………………………………………1 2 AQUATIC EXPLOITATIONS AND PLACEMAKING DURING THE SOUTHEASTERN ARCHAIC ………………………..………………6 Hunter-Gatherer Studies ………………………………………………..7 Effects of Research in the Southeastern United States …………..……9 Effects of Research in the St. Johns River Region ………………………..13 Implications ………………………………………………………………..21 3 CURRENT RESEARCH ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ST. JOHNS RIVER REGION ………………………………………..23 Paleoindian Period ……………………………………………………..…24 Archaic Period ……………………………………………………..…26 The Early Archaic (11,700–8900 cal BP) ……………………..…26 The Middle Archaic (8900–5800 cal BP) ………………………..27 The early Middle Archaic (8900–7400 cal BP) ..………27 The Mt. Taylor Period (7400–4600 cal BP) ………………..30 Post Mt. Taylor: The Late Archaic Period ………………………..34 v The Orange Period (4600–3500 cal BP) ……………..…34 4 ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE ST. JOHNS RIVER …..……36 Present-Day St. Johns River Environment ………..………………………36 Geology and Hydromorphology …………………………..…....36 Climate ………………………………………………………..38 St. Johns River Ecology ……………………..………………....38 The Spring ………………………………………………..39 The Spring-Run Stream ………………………………..40 Lake George ………………………………………………..41 Terrestrial Habitat ………………………………………..41 Migratory Species ………………………………………..42 Modern Ecological Changes ………………………………..43 Current Research on St. Johns River Paleoenvironment ………..……....45 Paleoclimate ………………………………………………………..45 Sea Levels and Springs ………………………………………..46 Paleoecology ………………………………………………………..47 Conclusions ………………………………………………………..48 5 SILVER GLEN SPRINGS SITE AND SAMPLED CONTEXTS ………..49 Context Analyzed for this Thesis ………………………………………..52 Slot Trench 2 ……………………………………………...………...54 Feature 205 ………………………………………………………..56 Feature 201 ………………………………………………………..57 Feature 200 ………………………………………………………..59 vi 6 METHODS ………………………………………………………………..60 Recovery Methods ………………………………………………………..60 Analysis Methods ………………………………………………………..61 7 FAUNAL ANALYSIS RESULTS ………………………………………..65 Feature 205 ………………………………………………………………..65 Faunal Inventory ………………………………………………..65 Weathering ………………………………………………………..69 Cultural Modification ………………………………………………..70 Feature 201 ………………………………………………………………..72 Faunal Inventory ………………………………………………..72 Weathering ………………………………………………………..75 Cultural Modification ………………………………………………..75 Feature 200 ………………………………………………………………..77 Faunal Inventory ………………………………………………..77 Weathering ………………………………………………………..80 Cultural Modification ………………………………………………..80 Slot Trench 2 ………………………………………………………………..82 Faunal Inventory ………………………………………………..83 Weathering ………………………………………………………..86 Cultural Modification ………………………………………………..86 8 RESULTS OF SECONDARY ANALYSES ………………………………..89 Species Habitats at the Start of the Middle Holocene (8900–7400 cal BP) ..89 Human Selection and Seasonality ………………………………………..94 vii Comparison to Faunal Assemblages from Contemporaneous Sites ………..96 Comparison to Faunal Assemblages from Subsequent Periods ………..98 Richness, Diversity, and Equitability ………………………………………..103 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………..108 9 CONCLUSIONS: PLACEMAKING IN THE EARLY MIDDLE ARCHAIC AND MT. TAYLOR PERIODS ………………………………………..109 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………..114 APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………..125 Appendix 1. Modern Fish Species Identified at Silver Glen Springs ..125 Appendix 2. Modern Non-Fish Species Identified at Silver Glen ………..127 Appendix 3. Windover Column Sample Results, 8000-7300 years BP ………..129 Appendix 4. 8MR123 Column Sample Results, 5620-4320 cal BP ………..131 Appendix 5. 8MR123 Feature 1 Results, 6780-4620 cal BP ………………….133 Appendix 6. Faunal Data from 8LA1-West Locus A from Features 205, 201, 200, and Slot Trench 2 ...………………………………………………135 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 5-1 Corrected and Calibrated BP Date Ranges for Analyzed Pit Deposits ...53 6-1 Features, Sections, and Size Grades selected for analysis ………….……..61 7-1 Class NISP and MNI total for Feature 205 (Burnt and Unburnt) .………..66 7-2 Absolute and Relative Frequencies of all Vertebrate Fauna for Feature 205 of the Pre-Mt. Taylor Component of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1-West) ...68 7-3 Weathered Specimens in Feature 205 ………………………………...70 7-4 Class NISP total for Burnt Specimens in Feature 205 ………………...70 7-5 Absolute Frequencies of Burnt Vertebrate Fauna for Feature 205 of the Pre-Mt. Taylor Component of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1-West) ...71 7-6 Class NISP and MNI total for Feature 201 (Burnt and Unburnt) ………...73 7-7 Absolute and Relative Frequencies of all Vertebrate Fauna for Feature 201 of the Pre-Mt. Taylor Component of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1-West) ...74 7-8 Weathered Specimens in Feature 201 ………………………………………...75 7-9 Class NISP total for Burnt Specimens in Feature 201 ………………...76 7-10 Absolute Frequencies of Burnt Vertebrate Fauna for Feature 201 of the Pre-Mt. Taylor Component of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1-West) ………...76 7-11 Class NISP and MNI total for Feature 200 (Burnt and Unburnt) ………...78 7-12 Absolute and Relative Frequencies of all Vertebrate Fauna for Feature 200 of the Mt. Taylor Component of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1-West) ………...79 7-13 Weathered Specimens in Feature 200 ………………………………...80 7-14 Class NISP total for Burnt Specimens in Feature 200 ………………...81 ix 7-15 Absolute Frequencies of Burnt Vertebrate Fauna for Feature 200 of the Mt. Taylor Component of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1-West) ………………...81 7-16 Class NISP and MNI total for Slot Trench 2 (Burnt and Unburnt) ………...83 7-17 Absolute and Relative Frequencies of all Vertebrate Fauna for Slot Trench 2 (8LA1-West) ………………………………………………………...85 7-18 Weathered Specimens in Slot Trench 2 ………………………………...86 7-19 Class NISP total for Burnt Specimens in Slot Trench 2 ………………...86 7-20 Absolute Frequencies of Burnt Vertebrate Fauna for Slot Trench 2 (8LA1-West) ………………………………………………………………...87 8-1 Sum of Class MNI for Features 205, 201, 200, and Windover Column Samples ………………………………………………………...97 8-2 Sum of Class MNI for Features 205, 201, 200, and 8MR123 samples ...100 8-3 Sum of Class NISP for Features 205, 201, 200 and 8MR123 samples ...101 8-4 Richness, Diversity, and Equitability values for Features 205, 201, 200, Blessing (2011), Stanton (1995), and Windover Column Samples (Nabergall-Luis 1990) ………………………………………………...107 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1 Location of Silver Glen Springs along the St. Johns River, Florida …………4 2-1 Chronology of the Archaic Period for the St. Johns River Region …………23 5-1 Reconstruction of Silver Glen Springs …………………....…………….50 5-2 Location of Sites found at Silver Glen Springs ……………………………..…51 5-3 Extent of Shell Mound and Early Phase Pit Distribution at Locus A ………….51 5-4 Location of Test Unit 96 at Locus A with Modern Topography ….………52 5-5 Plan map of TU96 at 40 cmbs, showing slot trenches and excavation areas ………………………………………………………………………….55 5-6 East and West Profiles of Slot Trench 2 ………………………………….56 5-7 North Profile of Test Unit 96 showing Features 200 and 205 ………….57 5-8 Slot Trench 1 North Profile with Feature 201 highlighted ………………….58 7-1 Specimen #113.1, Anterior View ………………………………………….82 7-2 Comparison of Class MNI Proportions in Features 205, 201, and 200 ….88 8-1 Comparison of Class MNI Proportions between all the Silver Glen Springs Deposits Analyzed in this Thesis ………………………………………...102 xi ABSTRACT In