OUR MEETINGS
We meet the second Tuesday of the month (except June-August) at 7:00pm, currently via ZOOM. All meetings are open to the public.
FIELD TRIPS & EVENTS
We often take trips to regional historic or archaeological sites, as well as Florida museums, to learn and have fun. These trips may include bus rides or carpooling, sometimes walking and hiking, and usually a lunch or other snacks. Costs will vary, and most trips are open to the public.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We inform members when volunteer opportunities are available on professionally supervised excavations and encourage participation. We work with city and county governments on local preservation projects. Volunteer experience level can vary. It's a great way to learn archaeological techniques.
Tuesday, November 14, 2023: Dr. John Worth, Professor of Anthropology at University of West Florida
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT THE 1559-1561 TRISTÁN DE LUNA SETTLEMENT IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA
Dr. Worth will provide an overview of archaeological work by the University of West Florida at the site of the terrestrial settlement of the Tristán de Luna expedition on Pensacola Bay since its identification in 2015. The 32-acre site housed some 1,500 Spaniards, Aztec Indians, Africans, and other colonists originating from present-day Mexico, and represents the earliest multi-year European settlement in the continental United States, and is also the largest 16th-century European colonial site in the continental United States. The presentation will provide both historical background and archaeological finds including a robust assemblage of mid-16th-century artifacts as well as subsurface features such as postholes and trashpits providing evidence for activity areas across the site.
One of the foremost experts on Spanish colonial history, he is the principal site investigator for the archaeological site of the Tristán de Luna settlement – the oldest established multi-year European settlement in the United States – that was discovered in a developed neighborhood in Pensacola in 2015. Dr. John Worth, professor of anthropology, teaches historical archaeology, historical research methods, Southeastern Indians, and field and laboratory methods in archaeology. LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. WORTH
Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 896 0222 9117 | Passcode: 118234
Tuesday, October 10, 2023: Dr. Ryan Wheeler, Director of the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology
WHAT THE HECK IS THE ROBERT S. PEABODY INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO WITH FLORIDA?
The Peabody name is synonymous with outstanding museums, but has created confusion. There are, in fact, four “Peabody” museums. The larger institutions—like Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, or Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History—have long connections to Florida archaeology. Both Irving Rouse and John M. Goggin were affiliated with Yale’s Peabody, and Jeffries Wyman made some of the Harvard Peabody’s earliest collections in Florida. The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology is not part of either Yale or Harvard, but was founded in 1901 at Phillips Academy, a private high school in Andover, Massachusetts. Ripley and Adelaide Bullen began their archaeological careers here in the 1940s before moving to Florida. Clarence Bloomfield Moore, renowned in the Southeast for his antiquarian digging, made a large gift of Florida items early in the Peabody’s history, including many pottery vessels not illustrated in his publications. The Peabody houses other Florida collections, including those made by Fred Luce, Howard Torrey, and James Hardy Ropes. Today the Peabody is engaged in educational programming and repatriation, and recently completed inventory of its extensive collection, which spans much of the Americas and includes items, and photographic and archival materials of archaeologists like Alfred V. Kidder and Richard “Scotty” MacNeish.
At the Peabody, Dr. Wheeler has focused on collections, education, and repatriation. In 2017, Ryan co-founded the Journal of Archaeology & Education, the only academic journal devoted to the intersection of these fields. Prior to moving to Massachusetts, Ryan was Florida’s State Archaeologist and a past editor of The Florida Anthropologist. Happily, he has maintained a connection to Florida archaeology, recently co-editing "Iconography and Wetsite Archaeology of Florida’s Watery Realms".
Tuesday, September 12, 2023: Josh Goodman, Manager of Sarasota County Division of Historical Resources
THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA MULLET
At first blush, most folks would not think of mullet as a very interesting fish. Some may not even be aware that a mullet is a fish and not just a hairstyle! Kidding aside, this peculiar jumping fish has a fascinating history in Florida. From the days of the mighty Calusa Indians of Charlotte Harbor and Tocobaga of Tampa Bay, up through our own era, mullet resurface, again and again, to play a role in some of the most fascinating and unusual stories in our state's past. Join us at the September meeting for a REAL fishing story about this unique Florida mainstay, and there may be a recipe or two offered for any mullet lovers out there. Seriously, it's all true!
Dr. Goodman is a sixth generation Floridian from Taylor County, who recently wrote his first book, Forest Capital: A History of Taylor County, Florida, the first of many he has planned. Prior to coming to Sarasota County, Josh was an Archives Historian at the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, State Archives of Florida, Tallahassee (2018-2022). Dr. Goodman came to the Sarasota County Division of Libraries and Historical Resources in February 2022. He received his B.A. (2008) and M.A. (2010) in History from Florida State University and his Ph.D. from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (2017).