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"Multidisciplinary Investigation at West Williams. An Archaic Site in Hillsborough County"

by Archaeologist Robert J. Austin, Ph.D.

In 2001 and 2002, Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc. (SEARCH) conducted archaeological excavations at the West Williams site (8HI509) in northeastern Hillsborough County. The site is located on a hill next to Harney Flats, historically a large freshwater marsh. Over 240 square meters were excavated revealing a stratified Archaic site containing faunal remains (48,000+ specimens), lithic artifacts (150,000+), and over 130 features (post molds, pits, deposits, depressions). Major occupations occurred during the Late Archaic period, ca. 5000-4000 B.P., and the Kirk phase of the Early Archaic. A radiocarbon date of 6810 +/- 40 B.P. was obtained from this early component.

Although a few interior upland Archaic sites with preserved fauna and features are known, West Williams is the first to receive such extensive study. A team of archaeologists, zooarchaeologists, archaeobotanists, soil scientists, and palynologists worked at the site and the resulting studies provide in-depth analyses of interior upland subsistence, middle Holocene environment, and site formation processes. Our research has also enabled us to refine existing models of Archaic-period settlement and subsistence strategies, as well as construct data-based models of Late Archaic social organization based on the size and layout of the structures present at the site.

"Windover: Multidisciplinary Investigations of an Early Archaic Florida Cemetery"

Archaeologist Glen Doran, Ph.D.

Windover, a wet site, is in many ways unique and speakers to the impressive preservative powers of wet sites here and around the globe. Doran will provide an overview of Windover, current research and directions for the future. He will also talk about what kinds of wet sites in Florida are known and speculate about some kinds of sites that we should discover given what we know about wet sites around the world. His talk will also provide information on what we know about the biology of some of Florida's earliest inhabitants and where Windover and Florida sites fit within the effort to understand early human biology and colonization processes.

"Caloosahatchee Landscapes: An Architectural Analysis of Coastal

Mound Sites in Southwest Florida"

Archaeologist Corbett McP. Torrence, M.A.

Sixteenth century Spanish accounts describe the Calusa as the most the powerful chiefdom in all of south Florida, but little is known about how Calusa culture was played out on the landscape. Where were the seats of power and authority and how were they exhibited? How were their notions of architectural space similar to or different from other pre-Columbian peoples in eastern North America and when did they develop?

This presentation begins with an introduction to the theoretical principles of architecture providing cross-cultural examples of how architecture symbolizes political, social, and cosmological relationships inherent in society. The architectural design of over 50 Calusa mound sites reveals reoccurring spatial patterns. Intra-site patterns combined with archaeological data provide insights into mound construction techniques, residence patterns, and other cultural practices, while variations between sites reflect settlement hierarchies. Through architecture the landscape of the Calusa is reconstructed.

“Prehistoric and Historic Trails across the Big Hammock: Using Geographical

Information Systems (GIS) to Explore Pasco and Hernando Counties”

Archaeologist Lori D. Collins, M.A.

The Big Hammock region of Pasco, Hernando and Citrus County is an area of rich ecological and cultural value. The region currently faces increased pressure from development and growth, with impacts commonly occurring not only to environmental but archaeological and historical features. Using technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), new research in the region is developing models and forecasts to examine preservation value potential for cultural resources as a holistic part of the landscape. In this way, cultural resources are considered in relation to the environment, with preservation planning strategies and impact assessment undertaken at a regional scale.

"How the THPO and Archaeology Fit into the Mission of the Seminole Tribe of Florida"

Tina Marie Osceola, Executive Director, AH-TAH-THI-KI Museum

"The Cultural Resource Management of the Brighton and Big Cypress Seminole Reservations"

Jim Pepe, M.A., RPA, Deputy Tribal Historic Preservation Officer &

Anne McCudden, M.A., Curator of Collections, AH-TAH-THI-KI Museum

"Functions of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office"

W. S. "Bill" Steele, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

Conducting the daily business of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office has taught us one thing if nothing else. Few people understand the nature and scope of the functions of our office. For instance, on tribal lands we hold the same consulting and concurrence authority as the State Historic Preservation Office. We also conduct or oversee all of the cultural resource studies performed on the reservation lands. Off the reservations we are a consulting party in every federal 'undertaking' in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. This includes everything from replacing a stoplight in Waco, Texas to the construction of an officer's "head" on Parris Island (USMC).

This lecture will describe the archaeological research currently being conducted on the Big Cypress and Brighton Reservations, and will discuss the unique environments that separate these sites from the surrounding south Florida region. The second part of the talk will pertain to the role of the Seminole THPO in historic preservation activities across the southeastern United States.

“Spanish Colonial Presidios in West Florida: Holding Florida’s

Western Boarder in the 18^th Century”

Archaeologist Judith Bense, Ph.D.

Recent research in Spanish Florida west of the Apalachicola River has revealed surprising results that set it apart from Spanish East Florida. Three of the four presidios (fortified frontier settlements) were in Pensacola and have been studied intensively. This illustrated lecture will present the highlights of what we have learned from archaeology and history about the Pensacola presidios which existed between 1698 and 1763. From penal colonies to illegal trade with the French in nearby Mobile, the tenacious colonists found a way to survive, but at great cost. Their story is fascinating and new.