Traces of Our Past Lectures

September 16 Coping with Rising Water in Florida for 12,000 Years
Kenneth E. Sassaman, University of Florida

To view a video of this lecture, click here.

As debate continues over the causes of global warming, the consequences of rising water levels are very real.  By the end of this century, if current rates of change continue, much of the modern coastline will be inundated and near-shore aquifers infiltrated by seawater.  Flooding in river basins will intensify as channels become chocked with sediment from diminished stream gradients.  Communities of aquatic species will be displaced, some extirpated.  Many other unforeseen and indirect changes will ensue.

These sorts of challenges for humans and the resource on which they depend are nothing new to Floridians.  Since the end of the Ice Age, more than 12,000 year ago, rising water has shaped the contours of culture change for hundreds of generations of Native American ancestors.  As water levels rose, places of dwelling were inundated and ancient Floridians were forced to find new places to settle and new ways to subsist.   But what became of their belief systems and the ritual practices that rationalized their place in the world? Archaeological evidence for the ceremonial practices of ancient Floridians suggests that the ritual practices of native people, like the practices of everyday living, were responsive to changes in ecology and geography.  At the same time, sacred beliefs about water and watery creatures seem to have remained intact.  This pattern of “persistence through change” is illustrated in the archaeological record of the pond cemeteries and shellmounds of northeast Florida.   Encased in this record of ancient ritual experience are lessons that may help us cope with our own environmental challenges.

November 18

Archaeology in the Archives: The Seminole Indian Photographs of Julian Dimock, 1905-1910
Jerry Milanich, Florida Museum of Natural History

Archaeologists in Florida don’t always dig in the dirt. We also uncover information in libraries, museums and archives that can inform and enhance archaeological discoveries and our understanding of the past. Such is the case with nearly 2000 glass negatives found in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Taken by former New York stock broker Julian Dimock, the collection of fascinating Florida images includes more than 200 of Seminole Indians taken between 1905-1910. Dimock’s detailed catalogue, along with other documents, allows us to establish the date of each photograph, where it was taken, and who and what is portrayed. The images of Seminole people, camps, stores, everyday items, the site of a Green Corn ceremony, gardens, trading posts, canoe trails through the Everglades, and even older archaeological sites, are a window into Florida a century ago, one that will enlighten future archaeological inquiries.

January 20

Archaeology of the Unconquered People
Brent Weisman, University of South Florida

Florida's Seminole and Miccosukee Indians have been in the public eye in recent years as their economic success with  casino gaming continues to make the news. Many people are aware that the Seminoles and Miccosukees lived in Florida before the modern day, but the richness of their history and culture and their connection to the land are not widely known and appreciated.  Although these native people are mentioned in numerous historical documents, the archaeology of their ancient camps, villages, farmsteads, and battlefields has its own story to tell.  The work of archaeologists tells us much about how these native Floridians survived, succeeded, and ultimately triumphed through the years of war with the U.S., to emerge as Florida's "Unconquered People."