Indicator groups and effective seasons on the coast: Zooarchaeology of fish in the lower Suwannee region of Florida

Abstract

Recent assessments of subsistence procurement in coastal areas of the southeastern United States accentuate the continuity of fish resources through time. Seasonality and habitat inferences based on archaeological fish assemblages, however, are deemed ineffective measures due to the absence of fishes with marked seasonal or habitat characteristics. I argue that archaeological fish assemblages provide useful indications of procurement conditions when 1) present-day fish data provide a framework for analysis and 2) alternatives to conventional seasonal categories are considered.Fish species are arranged into indicator groups based on common characteristics, which allows for seasonal pattern recognition that may not be evident in analyses of individual taxa. Broad-scale astronomically based seasons do not encompass the variations of local environmental processes or human practices on archaeological fish assemblages. Further, localized seasons cannot be explored in absence of local habitats. The effective seasons, habitats, and indicator groups presented herein provide a localized framework by which to consider coastal fishing practices, sedentism, and mobility.Effective seasons and habitats are described that may have been relevant to coastal fishers of the lower Suwannee region of Florida. Indicator groups, derived from these categories, are used to examine fish assemblages with AMS assays between 2630 and 2290 BCE. Results suggest that past peoples incorporated both sedentary and mobile practices; people collected fish from multiple habitats throughout the year, which included traveling several kilometers to the coast to procure specific fish resources.