Paleoindian societies of the coastal Southeast / James S. Dunbar.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

For more than 130 years, research aimed at understanding Paleoindian occupation of the coastal Southeast has progressed at a glacial pace. In this volume, James Dunbar suggests that the most important archaeological and paleontological resources in the Americas still remain undiscovered in Florida's karst river basins.

The late Pleistocene-early Holocene landscape hosted more species and greater numbers of them in the Southeast compared to any other region in North America at that time. Through extensive research, Dunbar demonstrates a masterful understanding of the lifeways of the region's people and the animals they hunted, showing that the geography and diversity of food sources was unique to that period. Building a case for the wealth of information yet to be unearthed, he provides a fresh perspective on the distant past and an original way of thinking about early life on the land mass we call Florida.

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CHOICE Review

Establishing that there were Paleoindians in the coastal southeastern US faces many challenges. Dunbar (Florida Bureau of Archeological Research, retired) contends that a holistic approach based on fieldwork contexts, not "armchair abstractions," is needed. This synthesis demonstrates the method. The author categorizes and synthesizes myriad detailed studies according to stratigraphy, chronology, paleoclimate, merged considerations of habitat, resource availability and subsistence, and artifacts and technology to construct the story of Paleoindian presence. Dunbar conclusively demonstrates that the challenge of the coastal sites is overcome through this holistic approach, and that Paleoindians lived in the coastal southeast. A theoretical theme underlying this impressive compilation is a call for archaeologists to abandon the paradigm clinging that hampered the field of Paleoindian studies for a century. He points out that rigidity of theory prevented recognition of Pleistocene man in North America for 60 years, and acceptance of pre-Clovis existence took another 70 years. Dunbar warns against clinging to the 16,000 BP fluted point icons as more information is unearthed. An extensive bibliography is a bonus. For knowledgeable researchers and advanced students. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Gregory Omer Gagnon, Loyola University of New Orleans and Tulane University