Members of the Friends of Randell Research Center are invited to join us in the classroom of the Calusa Heritage Trail on Friday, January 17^th at 11am to hear Dr. Ginessa Mahar speak about, “Ancient Aquaculture & Fishing Practices: Insights from the North Florida Gulf Coast.”   

Registration is required.  Members, please email RRC-RSVP@Florida Museum.ufl.edu to register.

 

Indigenous communities have thrived along the Florida coast for millennia, gathering fish, shellfish, and other marine resources from the rich nearshore and estuarine environments. Like today, they also employed aquaculture and mass-capture fishing techniques to facilitate large feasts.

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that people traveled from across the region to participate in large communal feasts timed with celestial events. This presentation will explore one such site on the Florida Gulf Coast, highlighting the archaeological findings that shed light on the role of aquaculture and mass-capture fishing practices in facilitating these bountiful gatherings. Dr. Mahar will discuss key archaeological methods and technologies offering insights on how we know what we know from the archaeological data and how these ancient feasts were provisioned.