Settlement, Economy and Cultural Change at the End of the European Iron Age: Excavations at Kelheim in Bavaria, 1987-1991

Abstract

Creeks at the turn of the 18th century had the opportunity to leave a genetic legacy behind them, if not among the Cherokees and Creeks (and hence today perhaps among the Seminoles) then in the form of mestizo children in Georgia, the Carolinas, and in the Caribbean (hence today perhaps even among newly-arrived Cuban or Haitian immigrants). Much fascinating historical and archaeological research lies ahead to trace that history. In the 18th century the Apalachee people not only still existed as several distinct bands in Spanish Florida and French Louisiana, they also petitioned for and received land grants in Texas from the United States in the 19th century. In sum, it is simply not the case that Florida's original inhabitants were all annihilated by European colonization, as the lay reader might easily assume after reading this book. A second problem, admittedly less controversial to most archaeologists, is the book's casual treatment of historical sources. Milanich rightly points out that however good the archaeological record may prove to be, we are inevitably dependent upon the historical record for completing the picture during the post-contact period. If the historical record is that important, however, it would be advisable to make just as significant a distinction between primary and secondary documentary sources as we make between archaeological materials recovered from undisturbed stratified excavation and those collected from a reworked sur-