Constructing Histories: Archaic Freshwater Shell Mounds and Social Landscapes of the St. Johns River, Florida

345 Pages·2015·5.78 MB·English

by  Asa R. Randall

Constructing Histories
Ripley P. Bullen Series
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Constructing
Histories
Archaic Freshwater Shell Mounds and Social
Landscapes of the St. Johns River, Florida
ASA R. RAndALL
University Press of Florida
Gainesville|Tallahassee | Tampa | Boca Raton
Pensacola | Orlando | Miami | Jacksonville | Ft. Myers | Sarasota
A Florida Quincentennial Book
Copyright 2015 by Asa R. Randall
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
20 19 18 17 16 15 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Randall, Asa R., author.
Constructing histories : archaic freshwater shell mounds and social landscapes of the St.
Johns River, Florida / Asa R. Randall.
pages cm. — (Florida museum of natural history: Ripley P. Bullen series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-6101-6
1. Kitchen-middens—Florida—Saint Johns River Valley. 2. Hunting and gathering
societies—Florida—Saint Johns River Valley. 3. Indians of North America—Florida—Saint
Johns River Valley—Antiquities. 4. Saint Johns River Valley (Fla.)—Antiquities. I. Title.
CC77.S5R36 2015
975.9'1—dc23 2015006578
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University
System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida
Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New
College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North
Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
www.upf.com
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables x
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Archaic Shell Mounds on the St. Johns River 1
1. Shell Mounds and Hunter-Gatherers in Prehistory 21
2. Hunter-Gatherers, Landscapes, and Histories 58
3. Ecological Histories in the Middle Holocene 83
4. The Traditions of Mount Taylor Communities 122
5. Mount Taylor Places in Time and Space 152
6. Histories Inscribed in Place 200
7. Mount Taylor Social Histories 241
Appendix. Mount Taylor– and select Orange-period radiocarbon
assays from shell sites on the middle St. Johns River 259
Notes 267
Bibliography 269
Index 317

Figures
I.1. Postcard of Lemon Bluff on the St. Johns River 2
I.2. Photograph of shell mound eroded by river action, 1893 3
I.3. Map of Mount Taylor shell sites and plans 8
1.1. Location of middle Holocene freshwater and marine shellfishing
traditions in the Southeast 27
1.2. Map of Mount Taylor–period shell sites on the middle St. Johns 34
1.3. Page from Jefferies Wyman’s journal 36
3.1. Map of Mount Taylor and contemporaneous shell sites in northeast
Florida 87
3.2. Map of Florida’s surface hydrology, karst areas, and chert quarry
clusters 91
3.3. Environmental processes in relation to cultural periods along the
middle St. Johns River 94
3.4. Environmental impacts to the St. Johns River region 98
3.5. Monthly rainfall and temperature averages (1971–2000) 100
3.6. Springs, lakes, and islands of the middle St. Johns River valley 105
3.7. Daily streamflow-duration hydrographs (2005–2007) 107
3.8. Monthly streamflow and stage-duration hydrographs 109
3.9. Channels and wetlands along the middle St. Johns River valley 113
4.1. Radiocarbon assay distribution and probability density from Mount
Taylor– and Orange-period contexts 130
4.2. Florida Archaic-Stemmed type hafted bifaces 138
4.3. Comparison of chert exploitation 141
4.4. Object and raw material source areas in relation to the Mount Taylor
region 143
5.1. Regional distribution of shell sites considered in chapter 5 159
5.2. Comparison of site plans for the Old Town/St. Francis Mound 160
5.3. Scatter plot of measured height compared against the product of
measured length and width for shell matrix site categories 166
5.4. Hillshade topographic maps of intact shell ridges, Hontoon Dead
Creek Mound and Live Oak Mound 169
5.5. Hillshade topographic maps of intact shell ridges, Bowyers Bluff-1 and
-2 and Blue Spring Oxbow 170
5.6. Comparison of shell ridge height and length:width ratio 171
5.7. LiDAR-derived cross-sections of ridges 172
5.8. Comparison of shell ridge height and distance to water 173
5.9. Hillshade topographic maps of multiple-mound complexes, Kimball
Island and Thornhill Lake 177
5.10. Hillshade topographic maps of multiple-mound complexes, Hontoon
Island North and Harris Creek 179
5.11. Hillshade topographic maps of the Bluffton multiple-mound complex
181
5.12. Hillshade topographic map of the Silver Glen Springs watershed 183
5.13. Topography of the Old Enterprise complex 186
5.14. Sites with documented or suspected Mount Taylor components on
Hontoon Island 188
5.15. Footprints of ridges and multi-mound complexes 190
5.16. Chronological distribution of select ridges, mound complexes, and
burial mounds in time 192
5.17. Normalized elevations of median calibrated age probabilities from
shell-bearing contexts 195
5.18. Hillshade elevation models of the Hontoon Dead Creek complex 197
6.1. Schematic representation of different modes and materials of
deposition 206
6.2. Hontoon Dead Creek Complex topographic base map 209
6.3. Shell node 2 stratigraphy and shell distribution 211
6.4. Hontoon Dead Creek Mound stratigraphy and radiocarbon assays
214
6.5. Composite photographs of Stage 4 deposits at Hontoon Dead Creek
Mound 217
6.6. Crow’s Bluff (Osceola) mound profile 221
6.7. Simplified profiles of the Harris Creek Mortuary 223
6.8. Comparison of residential and mortuary mound construction
sequence at Harris Creek 225
6.9. Topographic map of the mined remnants of the Locus A shell ridge at
Silver Glen Springs 229
viii Figures
6.10. Simplified composite profile of Test Units 5 and 8, the Locus A shell
ridge at Silver Glen Springs 230
6.11. Macro-stratigraphic units within the “Trench” at the Silver Glen
Spring Run Ridge 231
6.12. Bluffton Burial Mound cross-section and stratigraphy 235
Figures ix