Harvesting the Bay: Subsistence at Weedon Island, Florida

Harvesting the Bay: Subsistence at Weedon Island, Florida

Session: 
Poster Session
Author(s): 
Brown, Christopher - University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Sharlene O'Donnell - University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Elizabeth Southard - University of South Florida St. Petersburg
John Arthur, PhD - University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Weeden Island (8PI1) is the type-site for the Weeden Island culture (AD 200-900) located adjacent to Tampa Bay. Although excavations have been conducted since the 1920s, there have not been any systematic studies on the Indigenous practices of shellfish subsistence. The purpose of this research is to examine the morphology, calorie content, and the frequency of shellfish taxa from the Weeden Island period to the present. The samples come from the Weedon Island midden deposits and modern-day collections made in Tampa Bay. Thus, this research uses both archaeological and experimental analysis to address subsistence and ecological changes.