Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-04T10:46:36.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Subsistence in the Florida Archaic: The Stable-Isotope and Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Windover Site

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Noreen Tuross
Affiliation:
Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD 20746
Marilyn L. Fogel
Affiliation:
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015
Lee Newsom
Affiliation:
Center for Archaeological Investigations, Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901
Glen H. Doran
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306

Abstract

A paleodietary analysis of the mid-Holocene mortuary site, Windover (8BR246), based on carbon and nitrogen bone-collagen values and archaeobotanical information is consistent with a subsistence strategy that utilized river-dwelling fauna and a range of terrestrial flora, such as grapes and prickly pear. The isotopic analysis does not support the extensive human dietary use of either marine mammals or classic terrestrial fauna such as deer or rabbit. Seasonal (late summer/early fall) use of the site is indicated by the range of flora found in association with the burials.

Resumen

Resumen

El análisis paleodietético de un sitio mortuorio proveniente del Holoceno medio, identificado como sitio Windover (8BR246), basado en contenidos de carbón y nitrógeno de colágeno de hueso y en información arqueobotánica, es consistente con una estrategia de subsistencia que incluye fauna riverina y estuarina, y plantas terrestres tales como uvas y tunas. El análisis de isótopos no apoya el uso extensivo de mamíferos marinos ni tampoco de fauna terrestre tal como el venado o el conejo. La ocupación estacional del sitio (a fines del verano/principios del otoño) se evidencia en el amplio rango de vegetación encontrada en asociación con los enterramientos.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Ambrose, S. H. 1986 Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis of Human and Animal Diet in Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 15 : 707731.Google Scholar
Ambrose, S. H. 1991 Effects of Diet, Climate and Physiology on Nitrogen Isotope Abundances in Terrestrial Foodwebs. Journal of Archaeological Science 18 : 293318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ambrose, S. H., and DeNiro, M. J. 1986 Reconstruction of African Human Diet Using Bone Collagen and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios. Nature 319 : 321324.Google Scholar
Angier, B. 1980 A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Bender, M. M., Baerreis, D. A., and Steventon, R. L. 1981 Further Light on Carbon Isotopes and Hopewell Culture. American Antiquity 46 : 346353.Google Scholar
Beriault, J., Carr, R., Stipp, J., Johnson, R., and Meeder, J. 1981 The Archaeological Salvage of the Bay West Site, Collier County, Florida. The Florida Anthropologist 34 : 3958.Google Scholar
Chapman, J., and Shea, S. 1981 The Archaeobotanical Record : Early Archaic Period to Contact in the Lower Little Tennessee River Valley. Tennessee Anthropologist 6 : 6184.Google Scholar
Chisholm, B. S., Nelson, D. E., and Schwarcz, H. P. 1982 Stable-Carbon Isotope Ratios as a Measure of Marine Versus Terrestrial Protein in Ancient Diets. Science 216 : 11311132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cifuentes, L. A., Sharp, J. H., and Fogel, M. L. 1989 Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Biogeochemisty in the Delaware Estuary. Limnology and Oceanography 35 : 11021115.Google Scholar
Clausen, C. J., Brooks, H. K., and Weslowsky, A. B. 1975 The Early Man Site at Warm Mineral Springs, Florida. Journal of Field Archaeology 2 : 191213.Google Scholar
Clausen, C. J., Cohen, A. D., Emiliani, C., Homan, J. A., and Stipp, J. J. 1975 Florida Spring Confirmed as 10, 000 Year Old Early Man Site. Florida Anthropological Society Publications No. 7. The Florida Anthropologist 28(3), pt. 2.Google Scholar
Clausen, C. J., Cohen, A. D., Emiliani, C., Homan, J. A., and Stipp, J. J. 1979 Little Salt Spring, Florida : A Unique Underwater site. Science 203 : 609614.Google Scholar
Cooperative Holocene Mapping Project (COHMAP) 1989 Climatic Changes of the Last 18, 000 Years : Observations and Model Simulations. Science 241 : 10431052.Google Scholar
Coles, B. J., Rouillard, S. E., and Backway, C. 1989 The 1984 Excavations at Meare. Somerset Levels Papers 12 : 4043.Google Scholar
Coon, N. 1974 The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press, Rodale, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Critchfield, H. J. 1974 General Climatology. 3rd ed. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Davis, J. H. Jr. 1943 The Natural Features of Southern Florida, Especially the Vegetation and the Everglades. Geological Bulletin No. 25. Florida Geological Survey, Tallahassee.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M. J., and Epstein, S. 1978 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42 : 495506.Google Scholar
DePratter, C. B., and Howard, J. D. 1981 Evidence for a Sea Level Lowstand Between 4500 and 2400 Years B. P. on the Southwest Coast of the United States. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 51 : 12871295.Google Scholar
Doran, G. H., and Dickel, D. N. 1988a Multidisciplinary Investigations at the Windover Site. In Wet Site Archaeology, edited by Purdy, B. A., pp. 263289. Telford Press, Caldwell, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Doran, G. H., and Dickel, D. N. 1988b Radiometric Chronology of the Archaic Windover Archaeological Site (8Br246). The Florida Anthropologist 41 : 365380.Google Scholar
Doran, G. H., Dickel, D. N., and Newsom, L. A. 1990 A 7, 290-Year-old Bottle Gourd from the Windover Site, Florida. American Antiquity 55 : 354360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doran, G. H., Dickel, D. N., Ballinger, W. E. Jr., Agee, O. F., Laipis, P. J., and Hauswirth, W. W. 1986 Anatomical, Cellular and Molecular Analysis of 8, 000-Yr-Old Human Brain Tissue from the Windover Archaeological Site. Nature 323 : 803806.Google Scholar
Elliott, D. B. 1976 Roots : An Underground Botany and Forager's Guide. The Chatham Press, Old Greenwich, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Emery, K. O., and Merrill, A. S. 1979 Relict Oysters on the United States Atlantic Continental Shelf : A Reconsideration of Their Usefulness in Understanding Late Quaternary Sea-Level History : Discussion and Reply. Geological Society of America Bulletin 90 : 689694.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emery, K. O., and Milliman, J. D. 1970 Quaternary Sediments of the Atlantic Continental Shelf of the United States. Quaternaria 12 : 3-18 Google Scholar
Fry, B., Jeng, W. L., Scanlan, R. S., Parker, P. L., and Baccus, J. 1978 l3C Food Web Analysis of a Texas Sand Dune Community. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42 : 1299-1302.Google Scholar
Greig, J. 1989 Archaeobotany. Handbook for Archaeologists No. 4. European Science Foundation, Strasbourg.Google Scholar
Hare, P. E., Fogel, M. L., Stafford, T. W. Jr., Mitchell, A. D., and Hoering, T. C. 1991 The Isotopic Composition of Carbon and Nitrogen in Individual Amino Acids Isolated from Modern and Fossil Proteins. Journal of Archaeological Science 18 : 277292.Google Scholar
Heaton, T. H. E., Vogel, J. C., von la Chevallerie, G., and Collett, G. 1986 Climatic Influence on the Isotopic Composition of Bone Nitrogen. Nature 322 : 822823.Google Scholar
Hudson, C. F. 1976 The Southeastern Indians. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Jones, B. C, and Carr, R. 1981 Florida Anthropologist Interview with Calvin Jones (Part II) : Excavations of an Archaic Cemetery in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The Florida Anthropologist 34 : 8186.Google Scholar
Landers, J. L., and Johnson, A. S. 1976 Bobwhite and Quail Food Habits in the Southeastern United States with a Seed Key to Important Foods. Miscellaneous Publication No. 4. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee.Google Scholar
Lawlor, D. A., Dickel, C. D., Hauswirth, W. W., and Parham, P. 1991 Ancient HLA Genes from 7, 500-Year-Old Archaeological Remains. Nature 349 : 785788.Google Scholar
Lewis, T. M. N., and Lewis, M. K. 1961 Eva, an Archaic Site. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Lighty, R. G., Macintyre, I. G., and Stuckenrath, R. 1983 Acroporta Palmata Reef Framework : A Reliable Indicator of Sea Level in the Western Atlantic of the Past 10, 000 Years. Coral Reefs 1 : 125130.Google Scholar
Little, E. L. Jr. 1978 Atlas of United States Trees, Volume 5 : Florida. Miscellaneous Publications No. 1361. USDA Forest Service, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Long, R. W. 1974 The Vegetation of Southern Florida. Florida Scientist 37 : 3345.Google Scholar
Longin, R. 1970 New Method of Collagen Extraction for Radiocarbon Dating. Nature 230 : 241242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowe, E. F. 1986 The Relationship Between Hydrology and Vegetational Pattern Within a Floodplain Marsh of a Subtropical Florida Lake. Florida Scientist 49 : 213233.Google Scholar
Maclntyre, I. G., Pilkey, O. H., and Stuckenrath, R. 1978 Relict Oysters on the United States Atlantic Continental Shelf : A Reconsideration of Their Usefulness in Understanding Late Quaternary Sea-Level History. Geological Society of America Bulletin 89 : 277282.Google Scholar
Martin, A. C, and Barkley, W. D. 1961 Seed Identification Manual. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G., and Chisholm, B. 1991 Basketmaker II Subsistence : Carbon Isotopes and Other Dietary Indicators for Cedar Mesa, Utah. American Antiquity 56 : 444459.Google Scholar
Milanich, J. T., and Fairbanks, C. H. 1980 Florida Archaeology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Milliman, J. D., and Emery, K. O. 1968 Sea Levels During the Past 35, 000 Years. Science 162 : 11211123.Google Scholar
Minagawa, M., and Wada, E. 1984 Step-wise Enrichment of 15N Along Food Chains : Further Evidence for and the Relationship Between 5‘N and Animal Age. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48 : 11351140.Google Scholar
Moerman, B. E. 1986 Medicinal Plants of Native America. Technical Reports No. 19, Research Reports of Ethnobotany, Contribution No. 2. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Morton, J. F. 1982 Wild Plants for Survival in South Florida. Southeastern Printing Company, Stuart, Florida.Google Scholar
Newsom, L. A. 1985 Analysis of Wood Charcoal. In Archaeological Site Types, Distribution and Preservation Within the Upper St. Johns River Basin, Florida, edited by Siegler-Eisenberg, B., pp. 140155. Miscellaneous Project and Report Series No. 27. Florida State Museum, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Newsom, L. A. 1987 Analysis of Botanical Remains from Hontoon Island (8VO202), Horida : 1980-1985 Excavations. The Florida Anthropologist 40 : 4784.Google Scholar
Newsom, L. A. 1988a Report on the Macrobotanical Remains from a Waterlogged Deposit in Florida : The National Geographic Page-Ladson (8Je591) Archaeological/Paleontological Project, 1982-1987 Field Seasons. Manuscript on file, Ethnobiology Laboratory, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Newsom, L. A. 1988b The Paleoethnobotany of Windover (8BR246) : An Archaic Period Mortuary Site in Florida. Paper presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Phoenix.Google Scholar
Nieuwolt, S. 1977 Tropical Climatology. John Wiley and Sons, London.Google Scholar
Owens, N. J. P. 1987 Natural Variation in 15N in the Marine Environment. Advances in Marine Biology 24 : 389451.Google Scholar
Peterson, L. A. 1977 A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Miflin, Boston.Google Scholar
Pielou, E. C. 1991 After the Ice Age, The Return of Life to Glaciated North America. University of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Pierson, W. H. 1956 The Coastal Climates of Lower Peninsular Florida. Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 19 : 4551.Google Scholar
Ruppe, R. J. 1980 The Archaeology of Drowned Terrestrial Sites : A Preliminary Report. Bulletin No. 6. Bureau of Historic Sites and Properties, Division of Archives, History, and Records Management, Florida Department of State, Tallahassee.Google Scholar
Russo, M. H. 1986 The Coevolution of Environment and Human Exploitation ofFaunal Resources in the Upper St. Johns River Basin. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M. J., and DeNiro, M. J. 1984 Nitrogen and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Bone Collagen from Marine and Terrestrial Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48 : 625639.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M. J., DeNiro, M. J., and Tauber, H. 1983 Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Bone Collagen Reflect Marine and Terrestrial Components of Prehistoric Human Diet. Science 220 : 11311133.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, H. P., Melbye, F., Katzenberg, M. A., and Knyf, M. 1985 Stable Isotopes in Human Skeletons of Southern Ontario : Reconstructing Paleodiet. Journal of Archaeological Science 12 : 187206.Google Scholar
Sealy, J. C, and Merwe, N. J. van der 1986 Isotope Assessment of the Seasonal Mobility Hypothesis in the Southwestern Cape, South Africa. Current Anthropology 27 : 135150.Google Scholar
Sealy, J. C, van der Merwe, N. J., Lee Thorp, J. A., and Lanham, J. L. 1987 Nitrogen Isotopic Ecology in Southern Africa : Implications for Environmental and Dietary Tracing. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 51 : 27072717.Google Scholar
Sillen, A., Sealy, J. C., and Merwe, N. van der 1989 Chemistry and Paleodietary Research : No More Easy Answers. American Antiquity 54 : 504512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B. D. 1986 The Archaeology of the Southeastern United States : From Dalton to DeSoto, 10, 500-500 B. P. Advances in World Archaeology 5 : 192.Google Scholar
Stone, T. T., Dickel, D. N., and Doran, G. H. 1990 The Preservation and Conservation of Waterlogged Bone from the Windover Site Florida : A Comparison of Methods. Journal of Field Archaeology 17 : 177186.Google Scholar
Tieszen, L. L., and Boutton, T. W. 1986 Stable Carbon Isotopes in Terrestrial Ecosystem Research. In Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research, edited by Rundel, P. W., Ehleringer, J. R., and Nagy, K. A., pp. 167195. Springer Verlag, New York.Google Scholar
Tieszen, L. L., Boutton, T. W., Tesdahl, K. G., and Slade, N. A. 1983 Fractionation and Turnover of Stable Carbon Isotopes in Animal Tissues : Implications for b ’ 3C Analysis of Diet. Oecologia (Berlin) 57 : 3237.Google Scholar
Tuross, N., and Fogel, M. L. 1994a The Archaeological Conservation and Scientific Challenge of Exceptional Molecular Preservation in the Fossil Record. In Proceedings of the Archaeometry Conference, edited by Scott, D., Getty, Los Angeles, in press.Google Scholar
Tuross, N., and Fogel, M. L. 1994b Stable Isotope Analysis and Subsistence Patterns at the Sully Site, South Dakota. In The Skeletal Biology of the Plains, edited by Owsley, D. W. and Jantz, R.. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., in press.Google Scholar
Tuross, N., and Stathoplos, L. 1993 Ancient Proteins in Fossil Bones. In Methods in Enzymology, edited by Zimmer, E. A., White, T. J., Cann, R. L., and Wilson, A. C., pp. 121126. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Tuross, N., Fogel, M., and Hare, P. E. 1988 Variability in the Preservation of the Isotopic Composition of Collagen from Fossil Bone. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52 : 929935.Google Scholar
Uchupi, E. 1966 Map Showing Relationship of Land and Submarine Topography, DeSoto Canyon to Great Bahama Bank, Map 1-475, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
van der Merwe, N. J., and Vogel, J. C. 1978 3C Content of Human Collagen as a Measure of Prehistoric Diet in Woodland North America. Nature 276 : 815816.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. C, and Merwe, N. J. van der 1977 Isotopic Evidence of Early Maize Cultivation in New York State. American Antiquity 42 : 238242.Google Scholar
Wada, E. 1980 Nitrogen Isotope Fractionation and Its Significance in Biogeochemical Processes Occurring in Marine Environments. In Isotope Marine Chemistry, edited by Goldberg, E. D., Horibe, Y, and Saruhashi, K., pp 375-398. Uchida Rokakuho, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Walker, P. L., and DeNiro, M. J. 1986 Stable Nitrogen and Carbon Isotope Ratios in Bone Collagen as Indices of Prehistoric Dietary Dependence on Marine and Terrestrial Resources in Southern California. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 71 : 5161.Google Scholar
Watts, W. A. 1980 The Late Quaternary Vegetation History of the Southeastern United States. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11 : 387409.Google Scholar
Watts, W. A., and Hansen, B. S. C. 1988 Environments of Florida in the Late Wisconsin and Holocene. In Wet Site Archaeology, edited by Purdy, B. A., pp. 307323. Telford Press, Caldwell, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Wharton, B. R., Ballo, G. R., and Hope, M. E. 1981 The Republic Groves Site, Hardee County, Florida. The Florida Anthropologist 34 : 5980.Google Scholar
Widmer, R. J. 1988 The Evolution of the Calusa. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Yoshioka, T., Wada, E., and Saijo, Y. 1988 Analysis of Lacustrine Food Web with Natural Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios. Verhandlungen-Internationale Vereinigung fur theoreteische und angewandte Limnologie 23 : 573578.Google Scholar