New Directions in the Search for the First Floridians

Presenting the most current research and thinking on prehistoric archaeology in the Southeast, this volume reexamines some of Florida’s most important Paleoindian sites and discusses emerging technologies and methods essential for archaeologists working in the region today. Noting that many faunal remains in Florida were excavated before the availability of standardized methods or dating techniques, contributors offer fresh perspectives on sites including Old Vero, Guest Mammoth, Page-Ladson, and Ray Hole Spring. They discuss the role of hydrology—rivers, springs, and coastal plain drainages—in the history of Florida’s earliest inhabitants. They address both the research challenges and the unique preservation capacity of the state’s many underwater sites, suggesting solutions for analyzing corroded lithic artifacts and submerged midden deposits. Looking toward future research, contributors discuss strategies for finding additional pre-Clovis and Clovis-era sites offshore on the southeastern continental shelf. The search is important, these essays show, because Florida’s prehistoric sites hold critical data for the debate over the nature and timing of the first human colonization of the Western Hemisphere. Contributors: David Thulman | Ervan G. Garrison | Thaddesu G. Bissett | David Echeverry | Michael K. Faught | Eric Kansa | Sarah Whitcher Kansa | Jessica Cook Hale | Jessi Halligan | C. Andrew Hemmings | Margaret “Pegi” Jodry | Rochelle Marrinan | D. Shane Miller | Christopher R. Moore | Kelsey Noack Myers | Tanya M. Peres | Ashley M. Smallwood | Timothy S. de Smet | Morgan Smith | Joshua J. Wells | Andrew A. White | Stephen J. Yerka A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series