EARLY SPANISH CONTACT IN THE NEW WORLD
On October 8, we welcome Florida Museum of Natural History Curator and Professor, Dr. Charles Cobb, who will present a program on one of his research projects titled, “The Remains of the Fray: Native American Re-purposing of Spanish Expedition Objects”. He will discuss an unusually large assemblage of 16th-century metal artifacts recently recovered in northern Mississippi. These likely derive from a major battle between Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and Native Americans in 1541. Their number, variety, and degree of refashioning have no parallels from contemporary sites in the Southeastern US.
Charles Cobb is the James E. Lockwood, Jr. Professor of Archaeology. His primary interest lie in the archaeology of the colonial era in the Southeastern US. This work has focused on how Native American societies contested and accommodated the arrival of Europeans, particularly in frontier zones. His project have included the establishment of 17th- and 18th-century Indian towns on the Savannah River, the French and Chickasaw wars in northern Mississippi, and his recent research on the archaeology of the De Soto Expedition.