Paleo-Indian to Spanish Occupation around Choctawhatchee Bay, Northwest Florida, as Documented in a Private Artifact Collection

This project documents and analyzes a substantial private collection of artifacts from archaeological sites around Choctawhatchee Bay, northwest Florida. The goals are to determine what the materials can contribute to the archaeological record, how they enhance our knowledge of the people who lived there over the past 2000 years, and how this information can be used to expand or contradict models of prehistoric lifeways in this region. This is done by comparing artifact assemblages, looking at site distribution patterns, and using pXRF trace-element analysis to compare Late Archaic clay objects with those from elsewhere along the Gulf. Examination of the assemblage and the results of the pXRF trace-element analysis show that both materials and finished products were imported into this region from as far away as Poverty Point, Louisiana, especially during Late Archaic times. In addition to the movement of artifacts, site distribution patterns around Choctawhatchee Bay show that people also moved into and away from the area during periods of low and high sea levels