Trey Huneycutt Spring '25 Archaeology Blog

 The subject of this weeks lesson was Historical Archaeology , the study of sites and cultures that post date the arrival of the Europeans in the New World after 1492.  This focuses on the impact that colonialism had on Indigenous populations as well as other peoples that migrated to the Americas.  There are three main themes to Historical Archaeology : Hidden History: Seeks to rectify an injustice by documenting the experiences of minority or subjugated populations whose lack of access to literacy often left their voices out of traditional historical texts. Correcting Inaccuracies: Seeks to set historical records of events straight in cases where the records may be biased. Reexamining History: Seeks to determine whether our explanations of the past, or whether national “stories” of how a nation came to be, are accurate or whether the story masks the processes that led to and propagate inequalities. We discussed the Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island, the only r...

 Our discussion and lesson for week nine was Florida Archaeology.  Humans have lived in Florida for over 14,500 years but the only record of the indigenous people were the tribes that were present when Europeans arrived around 1513.  Nothing is know about the preceding tribes, and most of the tribes the Europeans contacted died of either disease or social change.  One of the current indigenous people  of Florida are the Seminole , but they descendants of the Lower Creek people of Georgia and Alabama that fled to Florida during the 1810's.  They are also the only federally recognized tribe to never have signed a peace treaty with the government.  We also discussed Dr. John Goggin who founded both the Department of Anthropology at UF and the Florida Anthropological society. He conducted research in Florida, New Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean and his focus was the interaction between colonists and natives.  We have found many artifacts from...

For week eight's lesson we discussed Bioarchaeological Approaches to the Past. I was looking forward to this discussion since I have always had a fascination with forensic science.  Bioarchaeology is the study of the human biological component evident in the archaeological record.   We discussed how King Richard III (not the Lion Heart) were discovered under a Leicester parking lot in England.  Through an analysis of the bones and comparing skeletal injuries with known deformities and cause of death, along with DNA verification scientists were able to positively identify the remains. We discussed Osteology which is the study of bone.  We discussed how the human pelvis can be used to identify the sex of the individual due to the shape of the Sciatic Notch , which is wider in females due to child birth.  We also discussed how the femur is the best bone for computing stature, and weight can be calculated because dry weight is about 25-30% of live weight.  W...

 For week 7 in ANT2100 we discussed People, Plants and Animals in the Past.  The discussion began with defining Faunal Assemblage , the animal remains recovered from an archaeological site.  The example of this used were the butchered dogs located in Jamestown possible from the "Starving Time" winter of 1609-1610 where 3/4 of the colonists perished.  Zooarchaeology is the study of these animal remains excavated from an archaeological site. The goal of zooarchaeology is to understand the relationship between humans and their environment, especially humans and other animal populations. The example used was the Mesoamerican civilizations using the Jaguar in many important religious practices.   Faunal Analysis is the identification and interpretation of animal remain and a Comparative Collection is a skeletal collection used to make identification of archaeofaua.  We discussed the Oakland Hotel that was popular in the early 20th Century, and the properties ...

 For week 6 in ANT2100 we discussed The Archaeology of Pottery .  The first step was identifying the difference between Pottery and Ceramics.   Pottery is prehistoric, low-fired at less than 1200C, non-vitrified, coarse/porous and mostly unglazed.  Ceramics on the other hand are modern, fired at 1200C or more, vitrified, and are usually glazed.  Pottery can give us insights to cultural history, population size, site function, subsistence, migration/trade/exchange, and ideology.  We discussed the methodology of cataloging pottery to include sorting and counting sherds, recording thickness/wight/paste type/surface treatment, recording body/base/or rim, creating vessel lots, and comparing sherd count to MVC.  We also discussed how to estimate rim diameter and vessel form as well as identifying shapes/features and Basal (or base) Features .  We learned that The Venus of Dolni Vestonice , from the Czech Republic, may be the oldest clay-fired objects...

 Week five in Archaeology 2100 we covered the topics of Taphonomy, Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology.  Taphonomy is the study of how natural processes contribute to the formation of archaeological sites. An example used was the growth of strangling fig trees in the Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia and how their massive roots have actually altered the structure over the years.  Experimental Archaeology refers to experiments designed to determine the archaeological correlates of human behavior.  An example of this was the modern recreation of a seashell decorated grave marker used in old African American cemeteries in Florida. Finally, Ethnoarchaeology is the study of contemporary peoples to determine how human behavior is translated into the archaeological record.  The example used was Lewis Binford's study of the modern Inuit and how their use of tools correspond to prehistoric Europeans.  I found this example interesting because I actually had t...