COASTAL MIGRATIONS AND INTERREGIONAL EXCHANGE: COONTIE ISLAND AND THE ORIGINS OF THE THORNHILL LAKE PHASE
Dr. Jon Endonino
Analysis of Archaic chipped and groundstone artifacts from Coontie Island has enhanced our understanding of interregional exchange between Florida and the greater southeastern coastal plain. Beads, bannerstones, and bifaces signal connections between Atlantic coastal Thornhill Lake phase groups and their contemporaries in north and central Florida, bead-makers in Mississippi, and bannerstone crafting communities in the Savannah River Valley. Non-local ground and polished stone objects were an important element of Thornhill Lake phase rituals and mound construction. Similarities between mound-building communities in Mississippi and northeast Florida warrant a reassessment of the role of interregional connections and migration in the development of the Thornhill Lake phase.
Jon Endonino is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Eastern Kentucky University. His primary research interests are social and ecological conditions associated with mortuary monument construction by Thornhill Lake phase groups of the late Mount Taylor culture who inhabited the middle St. Johns River Valley and Atlantic coast of northeast Florida. In addition, Dr. Endonino also has long-standing research interests in lithic technology and determining the sources of stone used in tool production in Florida. When not teaching or conducting research, Jon can be found restoring his turn-of-the-century Victorian home, collecting records, working in his yard and garden, and kayaking.
November meeting link HERE
ID: 875 9116 9750 Passcode: 049553