Journal Articles & Book Chapters by Lee Newsom
A suite of scientific approaches are applied to four pre-
Columbian wood sculptures from east-cen... more A suite of scientific approaches are applied to four pre-
Columbian wood sculptures from east-central Florida, comprising new
radiocarbon determinations, wood identification and strontium isotope
analysis. The dates for three large zoomorphic carvings recovered from
the St. Johns River at Hontoon Island place them between ca. AD 1300 and
1600, suggesting that they belonged to a tradition of erecting largescale
pine carvings spanning at least some centuries. Two of the carvings
have strontium isotope signals consistent with the immediate vicinity of
the site, while the third differs significantly. Baseline data for
biologically available strontium from sampled modern trees indicates
considerable isotopic variability over short distances, making it
difficult to determine the source of the wood used for this third
carving. The only anthropomorphic sculpture, recovered from the vicinity
of Tomoka State Park, dates to a similar time period, ca. AD 1440-1620.
Our study confirms the wood's previous identification as belonging to the
genus Peltophorum, a tropical hardwood thought not to be native to
Florida. Its strontium isotope value is consistent with its find
location, but equally may be found over much of southern Florida, where
perhaps the species grew in the past. The results clarify the chronology
for a stylistically distinctive carving tradition, as well as raising
questions concerning the exchange of organic materials over varying
distances.
Highlights
• 14C results for four east-central Florida carvings (Hontoon Island; Tomoka State Park) range ca. AD 1300-1600, spanning the proto-historic/historic periods
• 87Sr/86Sr results for two of the three Hontoon carvings are consistent with the immediate locale, while the third suggests a different provenance
• Pinus sp. was used at Hontoon, while Peltophorum sp., currently not native to Florida, was used at Tomoka
American Antiquity, 1996
Page 1. Tropical j. Archaeobotany Applications and new developments Edited by Jon G. Hather 0 XE ... more Page 1. Tropical j. Archaeobotany Applications and new developments Edited by Jon G. Hather 0 XE \\©RLD VRCHAEOLOGl Page 2. Page 3. TROPlCAL ARCHAEOBOTANY Applications and new developments 'Th± s One PZUK-U8A-CU4T Page 4. ...
Environmental Earth Sciences, 2014
ABSTRACT St. Catherines Island consists of a complex association of Pleistocene and Holocene sedi... more ABSTRACT St. Catherines Island consists of a complex association of Pleistocene and Holocene sediments. The geographic location of the island at the center of Georgia Bight, a prominent re-entrant in the coastline of the southeastern USA, has resulted in the development of a very complex depositional and erosional history. For over 40,000 years the island has experienced a variety of physical, biological, and anthropological changes brought about by climatic, biotic, depositional, and anthropogenic events. Sedimentary deposits have been studied using diverse research tracks including palynology, dendrology, sedimentology, geophysics, and radiocarbon chronology, as well as archaeological techniques. This research focused on the interpretation of environments of deposition of strata that are exposed within the present surf zone, yet which bear the distinct signatures of upland/inland environments of deposition. Data derived from Late Pleistocene and Holocene accumulations of peat and mollusc- and wood-bearing muddy strata of certain on-shore and near-shore origins reveal diverse events relating to shoreline dynamics, plant community changes, and net shoreward migration of this island during the Late Holocene.
The south Florida Calusa are noted for their complex social organization coupled with their forag... more The south Florida Calusa are noted for their complex social organization coupled with their forager-fisher subsistence strategy. Social and political complexity have often been attributed to a reliable resource base, most frequently agricultural products such as maize (Zea mays), and surplus stored foods. Recent reconsiderations of complexity for coastal populations, however, have questioned the stability of coastal resources citing ample evidence of periods of fluctuating instability. They have in turn emphasized the importance of other cultural mechanisms, such as resource exchange, in fulfilling subsistence needs during times of uncertainty. In this paper, we consider the complex food web of the central and south Florida Gulf Coast. We combine data on the zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical remains from the archaeological sites with those from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of archaeological human bone, and modern and archaeological plants and animals. These multiple lines of evidence confirm that marine-based protein and terrestrial C 3 plants provided a large and reliable portion of the diet in southwestern Florida as early as 4000 years ago and up to European contact.
American Antiquity, 1990
A bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) recovered from a burial context at the Windover site (8 BR24... more A bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) recovered from a burial context at the Windover site (8 BR246) in east-central Florida has been dated directly to 7,290 ± 120 radiocarbon years B.P. This provides the earliest documentation of bottle gourds north of Mexico and demonstrates approximate contemporaneity with other eastern United States Cucurbitacae. Investigations of wet sites such as Windover, while requiring substantially greater consideration of conservation than in typical dry sites, greatly expands the recovery of organic materials enabling broader insights to prehistoric processes.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011
Mound Key was once the capital of the Calusa Kingdom, a large Pre-Hispanic polity that controlled... more Mound Key was once the capital of the Calusa Kingdom, a large Pre-Hispanic polity that controlled much of southern Florida. Mound Key, like other archaeological sites along the southwest Gulf Coast, is a large expanse of shell and other anthropogenic sediments. The challenges that these sites pose are largely due to the size and areal extent of the deposits, some of which begin up to a meter below and exceed nine meters above modern sea levels. Additionally, the complex depositional sequences at these sites present difficulties in determining their chronology. Here, we examine the development of Mound Key as an anthropo-genic island through systematic coring of the deposits, excavations, and intensive radiocarbon dating. The resulting data, which include the reversals of radiocarbon dates from cores and dates from mound-top features, lend insight into the temporality of site formation. We use these insights to discuss the nature and scale of human activities that worked to form this large island in the context of its dynamic, environmental setting. We present the case that deposits within Mound Key's central area accumulated through complex processes that represent a diversity of human action including midden accumulation and the redeposition of older sediments as mound fill.
Book Chapters by Lee Newsom
Charcoal is produced by the pyrolysis.........................
... 3 12,385 +/ 100 Test F 91 Unit AA-008760 AMS Carya (hickory) 91.21 ... In terms of the bulk ... more ... 3 12,385 +/ 100 Test F 91 Unit AA-008760 AMS Carya (hickory) 91.21 ... In terms of the bulk samples, the divers recov-ered approximately 13 l of sediment, sealing ... The samples, therefore, were kept continuously moist during all stages of handling, processing and analysis to ...
SSSA Book Series, 2002
ABSTRACT Charcoal is produced by the pyrolysis.........................
in BERARD B. (dir), 2013, Martinique, terre amérindienne : une approche pluridisciplinaire, Sidestone Press, Leiden, 2013, pp. 235-245
This paper present a review of paleo-ethnobotanic researches in the West-Indies with a focus on t... more This paper present a review of paleo-ethnobotanic researches in the West-Indies with a focus on the first paleo-botanic data about Martinique pre-Columbian occupation
Papers by Lee Newsom
The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, Dec 15, 2017
2014 AGU Fall Meeting, Dec 18, 2014
... Page 5. Summer 1988 IOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 39 ... 2.-Width hy length plot olthe archaeologic... more ... Page 5. Summer 1988 IOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 39 ... 2.-Width hy length plot olthe archaeological cucurbit seeds from the 1982 Columo at Hontoon Island. Numbers and letters indicate the level in which a seed was found (letters A·E represent Levels 10·14, respectively). ...
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Journal Articles & Book Chapters by Lee Newsom
Columbian wood sculptures from east-central Florida, comprising new
radiocarbon determinations, wood identification and strontium isotope
analysis. The dates for three large zoomorphic carvings recovered from
the St. Johns River at Hontoon Island place them between ca. AD 1300 and
1600, suggesting that they belonged to a tradition of erecting largescale
pine carvings spanning at least some centuries. Two of the carvings
have strontium isotope signals consistent with the immediate vicinity of
the site, while the third differs significantly. Baseline data for
biologically available strontium from sampled modern trees indicates
considerable isotopic variability over short distances, making it
difficult to determine the source of the wood used for this third
carving. The only anthropomorphic sculpture, recovered from the vicinity
of Tomoka State Park, dates to a similar time period, ca. AD 1440-1620.
Our study confirms the wood's previous identification as belonging to the
genus Peltophorum, a tropical hardwood thought not to be native to
Florida. Its strontium isotope value is consistent with its find
location, but equally may be found over much of southern Florida, where
perhaps the species grew in the past. The results clarify the chronology
for a stylistically distinctive carving tradition, as well as raising
questions concerning the exchange of organic materials over varying
distances.
Highlights
• 14C results for four east-central Florida carvings (Hontoon Island; Tomoka State Park) range ca. AD 1300-1600, spanning the proto-historic/historic periods
• 87Sr/86Sr results for two of the three Hontoon carvings are consistent with the immediate locale, while the third suggests a different provenance
• Pinus sp. was used at Hontoon, while Peltophorum sp., currently not native to Florida, was used at Tomoka
Book Chapters by Lee Newsom
Papers by Lee Newsom
Columbian wood sculptures from east-central Florida, comprising new
radiocarbon determinations, wood identification and strontium isotope
analysis. The dates for three large zoomorphic carvings recovered from
the St. Johns River at Hontoon Island place them between ca. AD 1300 and
1600, suggesting that they belonged to a tradition of erecting largescale
pine carvings spanning at least some centuries. Two of the carvings
have strontium isotope signals consistent with the immediate vicinity of
the site, while the third differs significantly. Baseline data for
biologically available strontium from sampled modern trees indicates
considerable isotopic variability over short distances, making it
difficult to determine the source of the wood used for this third
carving. The only anthropomorphic sculpture, recovered from the vicinity
of Tomoka State Park, dates to a similar time period, ca. AD 1440-1620.
Our study confirms the wood's previous identification as belonging to the
genus Peltophorum, a tropical hardwood thought not to be native to
Florida. Its strontium isotope value is consistent with its find
location, but equally may be found over much of southern Florida, where
perhaps the species grew in the past. The results clarify the chronology
for a stylistically distinctive carving tradition, as well as raising
questions concerning the exchange of organic materials over varying
distances.
Highlights
• 14C results for four east-central Florida carvings (Hontoon Island; Tomoka State Park) range ca. AD 1300-1600, spanning the proto-historic/historic periods
• 87Sr/86Sr results for two of the three Hontoon carvings are consistent with the immediate locale, while the third suggests a different provenance
• Pinus sp. was used at Hontoon, while Peltophorum sp., currently not native to Florida, was used at Tomoka