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THE ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM of the Florida Museum of Natural History

The Environmental Archaeology Program (EAP) of the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, is a research and teaching laboratory devoted to the reconstruction of the ancient environments of Southeastern North America and the circum-Caribbean, encompassing Mexico, Central America (including the SE USA, and northern South America). Our aim is to understand the deep-time history of the relationship between humans and their environments.

History of the Environmental Archaeology Program at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Dr. Elizabeth Wing, early in her career

The Environmental Archaeology Program (EA Program) of the Florida Museum of Natural History was initiated in 1961 by Elizabeth S. Wing as an NSF-funded research project in zooarchaeology within the Florida Museum Department of Natural Sciences. The project, which focused on the identification of vertebrate animal remains from archaeological sites, continued with outside support until 1969. In that year state-funded lines for an assistant curator and a technician (collection manager) of Zooarchaeology were established within the Florida Museum. In 1990, the Zooarchaeology program was transferred to the Florida Museum Department of Anthropology. In 1997 the Zooarchaeology Program was renamed as the Environmental Archaeology Program to reflect its increasing focus on the broader aspects of this science. The Environmental Archaeology Program then joined the Museum's newly created Department of Natural History which combined anthropology and the natural sciences and emphasized the important link between the disciplines.

The three components that are now the focus of the Environmental Archaeology Program--animal remains (zooarchaeology), plant remains (archaeobotany), and soils (archaeopedology, one part of geoarchaeology)--combine to provide evidence for past human uses of natural resources and the consequences of such use. This information allows us to better understand past ways of life as people adapted to their changing environments. Wing refined and encouraged the Environmental Archaeology Program until her retirement in 2001 when Kitty F. Emery took over as Assistant Curator. Wing continues her research as Curator Emeritus. Wing has recently been selected as a member of the National Academy of Science (2007).

The history of this program has been one of steady expansion aimed to encompass a broader perspective on ancient environments rather than strictly the identification of animal remains from archaeological sites. At its inception, vertebrate remains were the focus of study. That focus expanded to include invertebrate-especially molluscan-remains. Irv Quitmyer (Collection Manager) has been instrumental in developing techniques that integrate the invertebrate taxa of shell middens with the vertebrate component in the broader zooarchaeological analyses. His integrative approach encompasses the study of maritime people (pre-Columbian and Historic) of the southeastern U.S., Caribbean and Central America.

The important botanical component was added with the work and guidance of Lee Newsom, now of Pennsylvania State University. Donna Ruhl is carrying this work forward with research on and curation of the EA Program's comparative seed collection and the waterlogged and terrestrial archaeobotanical remains. Ruhl's archaeobotany research examines such topics as Florida's prehistoric peoples' plant husbandry practices and paleoclimatic impacts, and Colonial landscape changes and transculturation.

Sylvia Scudder sampling soils in the EAP laboratory

In 1993, past collections manager, Sylvia Scudder (now retired), received her MS degree in Soil Science and initiated analyses of anthropogenic soils (archaeopedology). These studies aid in locating and interpreting intra-site cultural features, delineating site boundaries and settlement patterns, and reconstructing past landscapes. Scudder has recently retired but the EA Program continues with archaeopedological work through Emery's research.

Emery, UF PhD student Erin Thornton, and Irv Quitmyer collecting samples from ceramic feasting vessels

Emery's focus on integrated research on animal, plant, and geologic remains in Central America ties these elements together to create a holistic approach to the description and understanding of ancient environments. Her research examines the impact of human activity on the ancient landscapes of Mesoamerica and the cultural and historical factors that influenced ancient resource-management decision-making among the complex social groups of the region.

The Environmental Archaeology Program Collections

The Environmental Archaeology Program collections include modern comparative and archaeological specimens of zoological, botanical, and pedological materials. Our modern comparative collection represents over 13,000 individual specimens and forms the foundation of our research as well as for biological and ecological studies. The EA Program's collections are strongest in zoological comparative and zooarchaeological specimens, while our archaeobotanical/macrobotanical comparative, archaeopedological and modern soils holdings are growing. Our Environmental Archaeology collections are integrated, combining both comparative and archaeological materials, and are one of only a few such collections in the United States or the world. Our osteological fish comparative collection is one of the largest in North America. The region of our greatest strength is in southeastern North America and the Caribbean. We also have excellent comparative collections from northwestern South America and Mesoamerica and these have shown considerable growth in recent years.

Our modern zoological comparative collections represent over 12,000 vertebrate and invertebrate skeletal specimens. For most of these, our database includes basic weights and measures of the living organism and its skeletal parts. These specimens were collected with the ultimate goal of complete coverage of the taxonomic diversity of our region of study, and include multiple specimens of some taxa varying by age, sex, and individual morphology. Our botanical comparative collection is comprised of macrobotanical specimens including 300+ seeds (carbonized and unmodified) and 50+ woods of tropical and temperate species. The modern comparative soil collection includes approximately 1,000 catalogued control samples. Every effort is made to include detailed collection data with all modern comparative specimens. Such data include, for example, information on locality, habitat, and season of collection. These data are accumulated for incorporation into historical databases on climate and environmental change. Additionally, detailed analytical data on specimens (including morphometrics, chemical analyses, etc.) are also collected in many cases.

The archaeological materials curated by the EA Program include 695 permanently accessioned zooarchaeological collections (by site) representing over three million catalogued specimens. We also house over 70 archaeobotanical collections (by site) which we are currently working toward adding to our permanent collections. Many of these site assemblages are part of our waterlogged plant remain collections and several have both a dry and wet component. Archaeopedological collections include several thousand catalogued soil samples from southeastern North America and Guatemala. Accessioned archaeological collections have extensive associated cultural documentation including site reports, analyses, and selected background literature. The EA Program also archives laboratory reference materials and the Elizabeth Wing book and reprint collection.

The modern zoological comparative collection and associated morphometric data, as well as approximately half of the zooarchaeological data, have been entered into the EA Program database. The soils and botanical collection data are entered on Excel spreadsheets, by site, and are being added to the master EA Program database in the near future.

Many of our comparative collection specimen data are available in an internet-accessible database.

Research in the Environmental Archaeology Program

A soil profile from Lake Munroe

The primary focus of the Environmental Archaeology Program is research into the ancient relationship between people and their environments, including all aspects of that relationship, from the biotic to the abiotic, and from the physical to the symbolic. The FLMNH EAP researchers specialize in the zooarchaeology of vertebrates and invertebrates, macrobotanical analysis particularly of charred and waterlogged plant remains and woods, and archaeopedology, the study of ancient soils from archaeological landscapes.

Drilled sharks teeth

We also study modern specimens for comparative and experimental data. When possible, our projects combine the three components of environmental archaeology to provide a holistic interpretation of ancient environments and cultures. Examples include Lake Munroe, Florida, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, and the Guatemalan site of Motul de San Jose.

Dr. Kitty Emery coring for agricultural soils at Motul de San Jose

The Environmental Archaeology Program faculty and staff conduct research primarily in the southeastern United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and northwestern South America. Our research is multidisciplinary and international in approach. We have a strong history of collaboration with scientists in natural history, archaeology, and environmental archaeology. Our work is funded by grants, contracts, and private donations. We strive to publish our results in peer review journals and leading technical and public formats. Student researchers gain valuable experience by working with us.

We ensure that our research is within the regional and chronological considerations of the Florida Museum and the Environmental Archaeology team and furthers the research goals of the EA Program either directly or through the accumulation of baseline data. Baseline data is used ensure complete regional coverage and to develop foundations for future research in new areas. In view of our collaborative, interdisciplinary, and integrative work, it is essential that we recognize the importance of acquisition of both data and physical objects. Our policies for EA Program intellectual property ownership and use are based on UF and Florida Museum policy, and on the specific requirements of EA Program research.

Current Ea Program Research Projects

UF MA student Elyse Anderson and UF PhD student Michelle LeFebvre working with Emery and Maya ritual practicioners, Guatemala

Zooarchaeologists study the full size range of skeletons of vertebrate and invertebrate animals including the very large (macrofauna) and the very small animals (microfauna). Some examples of our recent research include:

• Analysis of birds, fish, and shrimp from elite tombs at the Maya city of Copan to understand rituals associated with death and rebirth
  
  
• Ethnozooarchaeology of hunting caches in the highlands of Guatemala to understand ancient ritual deposits
  
  
• " Regional analyses of Central American archaeological animal remains to reveal ancient human impact on the Maya environments (using foraging ecology models and carbon isotopic ratios)

Donna Ruhl and Johanna Talcott, UF student, processing the St. Catherines Island Shell Ring samples

Archaeobotanists study preserved plant remains that are preserved at from archaeological sites. Such Remains include macroremains such as wood, seeds, nuts, etc. Because these are fragile, they are only preserved in special conditions (dessicated, charred, frozen, waterlogged, or preserved as impressions in baked clay or daub). Archaeobotanists also study microremains including pollen, phytoliths, and spores, often found in the soils and vessel residues. Some of our recent projects combine collection-based curation and research:

• Analyses from Spanish colonial sites in Florida: colonial foodways, economies, changing roles of plants, and interactions between Europeans and Native Americans
  
  
• Prehistoric research including analyses of plant remains from sites in the Everglades National Park: changing plant use through time and across microhabitats, analysis of Weeden Island period (@ A.D. 300-900) plant remains, and continued analysis of Florida's prehistoric dugout canoes.
  
  
• Rehabilitation curation and analysis of both wet and dry collections from St. Catherines Island, Georgia. These date to some of the earliest Native American sites on the southeastern Atlantic coast to the famous Spanish Mission site of Santa Catalina de Guale.

Emery's floor sampling at the site of Motul de San Jose and chemical contour mapping to show use areas

Geoarchaeologists study a wide range of data, such as global and regional climate change, regional distribution of geological resources, local geomorphology or topography, and the clues that soil can provide in studies of ancient land-use. Studies employ analyses of chemical and grain-size characteristics to answer questions about site configuration and settlement patterns, environmental changes such as sea level rise, and post-depositional alterations in site structure. Here are a few of our recent geoarchaeological studies:

• In the Maya world, mapping associations between settlements and ancient agricultural products using phosphates and soil isotopes.
  
  
• Determining the original shape of Archaic shell rings in NE Florida, the source of sand that buried an early coastal site in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and post-depositional changes in midden deposits on Water Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  
  
• Oxygen-18 isotope ratios from archaeological hard shelled clams and coquina shells in the SE USA and deer bones and teeth in Mesoamerica as indicators of climate change.

EA Program Collections-Based Research

The EA Program also emphasizes direct research on the modern and archaeological collections. These collections represent a valuable resource for understanding ancient and modern populations and communities, and are far more than a simple analytical tool. In particular, research by Wing over the past 40 years has emphasized gathering specific specimen and environmental data for all modern comparative specimens acquired by the EA Program. Zooarchaeological data on bone, meat, and body weights has allowed the development of formulae for correctly calculating meat contributions based on the archaeological recovery of bony elements. Likewise, Wing has emphasized the importance of allometry as a metric equivalency between element and body size that can be useful for zooarchaeologists. This study requires detailed osteometrics on specific skeletal elements for certain taxa. Standardized data collection methods and techniques have been developed to ensure that this important information is collected each time a specimen enters the collection.

A second type of EA Program collection-based research is more specifically directed at the development of excellence in basic analytical techniques and tests the efficacy of various archaeological sampling methods and recovery strategies. Fine-gauge sieving has become a standard requirement for zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses, and yet it is still not practiced by all archaeologists. Wing and Quitmyer began generating zooarchaeological data on the utility of this type of sampling years ago and all zooarchaeological analyses in the EA Program continue to gather that data to provide a compelling argument to the archaeologists. Emery and her students continue this research on Mesoamerican archaeological assemblages. As well, over the past decade, Ruhl has compiled archaeobotanical information to evaluate the efficacy of plant recovery strategies at Florida sites by comparing edaphic and other environmental conditions, sample volume, and processing methods with the plant data generated.

A third category of collection-based research carried out in the EA Program lab augments the archaeological studies and also provides data to other disciplines. Scudder's analyzed midden soils have provided archaeologically dated, high-phosphorus samples to soil scientists working on the synthesis and survival of phosphorus compounds in natural soils. On-going research by Quitmyer on invertebrate seasonality through annual collection, sectioning, and isotopic testing of modern marine bivalves (sclerochronology) provides important climatological data. Quitmyer's work (with Franz) on gopher tortoises of the southeastern US added the Holocene gopher tortoise record to that available from the paleontological record, allowing allometric modeling of ancient gopher tortoise body size. Emery's work on regional distributions of tropical fauna of the Maya forest traces the impact of hunting pressure and habitat change over 4000 years and provides baseline data to conservation biologists working in the area.

Teaching and the Florida Museum Environmental Archaeology Program

The Florida Museum is a research college within the University of Florida, and its faculty teaches within the various UF departments as a service to the University. Our mission is to interpret our natural and cultural heritage include disseminating that knowledge to the undergraduates and graduate students of UF and other institutions. The Environmental Archaeology Program faculty and staff teach both University of Florida and other students in a variety of ways. We provide a variety of formal courses primarily through the Anthropology Department of the UF. Zooarchaeology has been taught in the past by Wing, Walker (South Florida Collection Manager and EA Program Affiliate Scientist), and deFrance (Affiliate Associate Curator, EA Program and Associate Professor, UF) and continues to be taught by deFrance (Introduction and Advanced Zooarchaeology) and Emery (Maya and Central American Zooarchaeology). Emery also teaches Environmental Archaeology (a methods course) and Lessons from Ancient Environments (a discussion course) on environmental archaeology.

Dr. Emery also accepts graduate students from various UF departments, guides them in their research and incorporates them into ongoing research, and acts as committee chair or member. She also works with graduate students from other institutions, guides them in their research, and acts on their committees if requested. Learn more about our current graduate students and their research.

Both undergraduates and graduate students are also welcomed into the EA Program as interns taking independent study classes Emery and EA staff or in paid positions as Federal College Work Study employees or student employees. Any interested student or non-student is welcomed as a volunteer. These are valuable research opportunities contribute to a broad educational experience.

PUBLIC EDUCATION, EXHIBITS, AND THE FLORIDA MUSEUM ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM

Education is not limited to college students and our role as educators is not bounded by the UF campus. Ancient environments can provide important lessons on appropriate strategies for sustainable living, and part of our role is the dissemination of these lessons to the public. As part of this role we show the collections to visitors and reporters, and participate in high school education through, for example, the future Scientist Program (Center for Precollegiate Education and Training). We also assist in the development of exhibits and programs at the Powell Hall Exhibit Center and elsewhere on campus, maintain an active webpage that incorporates information about environmental archaeology, the EA Program research, and the Florida Museum programs, and provide public lectures to local schools and various professional and avocational organizations.

SERVICE AND THE FLORIDA MUSEUM ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM

The Environmental Archaeology Program provides a variety of services to the Florida Museum, University of Florida, as well as State, National, and International organizations and research institutions of all types. The primary service categories for our work include Contract services (for governmental research and private organizations and companies), and professional activities (including service to the Museum, academic professional organizations, and non-academic professional organizations).

Research contracts are particularly valuable for Environmental Archaeology Program research and as a source of funding to support the needs of the laboratory, and educate the next generation of scientist. The EAP provides identification and analysis of archaeological animals, plants, and soils through contracts to private consulting firms, and county, state, and federal agencies involved in environmental and archaeological impact assessment, as well as to educational, avocational, and private organizations.

The EA Program faculty and staff donate considerable time and effort to various academic professional organizations. Wing organized several conferences and acted in important roles in ICAZ, the Society for Ethnobiology and other environmental archaeology societies. Emery continues this tradition with committee activity with the SAA (Conference Organizing Committee, Archaeoinformatics Advisory Board, and the Dienje Kenyon Granting Committee), editorship for the Journal of Ethnobiology (2006 to present), Quaternary International (2007), and Archaeozoology (2004). Staff members also provide academic service.