Archaeology of the Everglades / John W. Griffin ; edited by Jerald T. Milanich and James J. Miller ; foreword by John E. Ehrenhard, Jerald T. Milanich, and James J. Miller.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"An important book about a natural World Heritage site that also has a rich human heritage."-- American Archaeology "As the only available synthesis of the archaeology of the Everglades, this book fills an important niche."-- Choice "Adds immeasurably to our knowledge of South Florida archaeology."-- Journal of Field Archaeology "Offers a vivid glimpse into a rich cultural past in an oftentimes misunderstood and overlooked region of our country."-- H-Net "Detailed descriptions of archaeological surveys and test excavations dovetail nicely with broader chapters on settlement, subsistence, and social organization. This is a valuable reference work."-- SMRC Revista "An extremely important work. . . . John has brought his unprecedented knowledge of the archaeology together with his anthropological and ecological insights, to provide the most thorough synthesis of the predrainage aboriginal use of this area. Now that Congress has mandated the restoration of the Everglades . . . this book will provide researchers as well as the general public with an understanding of what the Everglades were like prior to drainage and how humans utilized this natural wonder."--Randolph J. Widmer, University of Houston Originally prepared as a report for the National Park Service in 1988, Griffin's work places the human occupation of the Everglades within the context of South Florida's unique natural environmental systems. He documents, for the first time, the little known but relatively extensive precolumbian occupation of the interior portion of the region and surveys the material culture of the Glades area. He also provides an account of the evolution of the region's climate and landscape and a history of previous archaeological research in the area and fuses ecological and material evidence into a discussion of the sequence and distribution of cultures, social organization, and lifeways of the Everglades inhabitants. Milanich and Miller have transformed Griffin's report into an accessible, comprehensive overview of Everglades archaeology for specialists and the general public. Management plans have been removed, maps redrawn, and updates added. The result is a synthesis of the archaeology of a region that is taking center stage as various state and federal agencies cooperate to restore the health of this important ecosystem, one of the nation's most renowned natural areas and one that has been designated a World Heritage Site and a Wetland of International Importance. This book will make a key work in Florida archaeology more readily available as a springboard for future research and will also, at last, allow John Griffin's contribution to south Florida archaeology to be more widely appreciated. John W. Griffin , a pioneer in Florida archaeology, was an archaeologist for both the Florida Park Service and the National Park Service (NPS), director of the NPS Southeast Archeological Center in Macon, Georgia, and director of the St. Augustine Preservation Board. Jerald T. Milanich is emeritus professor at the University of Florida/Florida Museum of Natural History and author of numerous books about the native peoples of the Southeast United States. James J. Miller was state archaeologist and chief of Florida's Bureau of Archaeological Research for twenty years and is now a consultant in heritage planning. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This version of a report done in 1988 for the National Park Service has recent references and redone maps added by the editors, but no significant changes to the text. Griffin was a highly respected archaeologist who spent much of his 50-year career working in Florida. The book presents a well-referenced regional overview of the prehistoric and historic-contact archaeological sequence. Habitation began in the Everglades about 5000 years ago, but mostly occurred after 500 CE. A useful summary of Holocene sea level and environmental change is provided for south Florida. Griffin thoroughly describes ceramic styles, shell and bone artifact types, and the few stone artifacts found. Data are presented on subsistence systems, which were heavily dependent on marine resources throughout, and on settlement patterns, composed mostly of coastal shell and interior earth middens. Shell works--sites with shells arranged in mounds and ridges--also are found in the Ten Thousand Islands area of the Gulf Coast. Test excavations at the Bear Lake site, which contains three mounds, are reported for the first time. As the only available synthesis of the archaeology of the Everglades, this book fills an important niche. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. E. Rafferty Mississippi State University