This book brings together recent archaeological research in Florida that provides detailed and nuanced interpretations of the pre-Columbian past. The contributions to this volume cover much of the Florida panhandle and peninsula and consider time periods between 7,500 and 500 years ago. While the archaeology of Florida has been the focus of several widely cited syntheses, these broad treatments entrenched certain notions that are no longer tenable. In particular, data from fieldwork, the use of new techniques, and reconsideration of work by earlier preeminent archaeologists has revealed consid ... More

This book brings together recent archaeological research in Florida that provides detailed and nuanced interpretations of the pre-Columbian past. The contributions to this volume cover much of the Florida panhandle and peninsula and consider time periods between 7,500 and 500 years ago. While the archaeology of Florida has been the focus of several widely cited syntheses, these broad treatments entrenched certain notions that are no longer tenable. In particular, data from fieldwork, the use of new techniques, and reconsideration of work by earlier preeminent archaeologists has revealed considerable variation in how societies were organized across the state that was unanticipated and is often at odds with previous models that emphasize long-term continuities, environmental determinism, and localized social interaction. Recent work in Florida features significant contributions to several overarching anthropological themes that include the construction of monuments and meaningful places, the dynamics of how humans interacted with the environment, and how ritual is constituted through materiality. The archaeological record of Florida offers unsurpassed opportunities for investigating these questions, but long-standing taxonomies, chronologies, and concepts have often hindered realization of this potential.