Early Middle Archaic Placemaking: A Faunal Analysis of Three Pit Deposits from Silver Glen Springs (8LA1), Florida

Abstract

In this thesis I examine the vertebrate faunal remains from three pit deposits dating between approximately 8500-7000 calibrated years BP, which were recovered from the site of Silver Glen Springs (8LA1) in northwestern Florida. All three of the deposits contain a variety of freshwater riverine fauna, including multiple species of fish, turtle, waterfowl, small mammal, and deer. I have provided a complete table of my faunal data in the appendix of this thesis. Using the faunal data from the pit deposits, I provide an environmental reconstruction between 8500-7000 cal BP for Silver Glen Springs. To strengthen my reconstruction, I summarize both the modern environmental conditions at Silver Glen Springs and the current knowledge regarding environmental conditions in Florida during the Middle Archaic period (8900-5800 cal BP). I also argue that repeated depositional activities which referenced earlier traditions were a form of placemaking that persisted throughout the Middle Archaic period and surrounded the onset of shell mound construction. To test my hypothesis, I examine similarities between the early Middle Archaic (8900-7400 cal BP) pit deposits analyzed in this thesis and subsequent Mt. Taylor period (7400-4600 cal BP) vertebrate faunal deposits from Silver Glen Springs. My comparison includes a diversity analysis using both the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index and the Simpson Diversity Index. My results show that the creation of specific, consistent types of deposits continued during both the early Middle Archaic and Mt. Taylor periods at Silver Glen Springs and at least at two locations along the St. Johns River during the early Middle Archaic period.