Crystal River (8CI1) is a Woodland period archaeological site on the west-central Gulf Coast of Florida, famous for its diverse suite of exotic artifacts typical of the Hopewell Interaction Sphere, as well as its monumental shell mounds which surround a central plaza. Historically, these plazas are utilized as spaces for cultural expression, daily interactions between members of the community, economic exchanges, and discourse of all types. They also serve as a symbolic space, embodying social and political relations that are critical to the formation and maintenance of cultural identity. These spaces are challenging to study using conventional archaeological techniques since they were often swept clean and kept free of debris, thus discouraging the possibility of recovering artifacts of any significant size. Instead, my study utilizes integrated geoarchaeological techniques, such as microartifact analysis, soil chemical analysis, ground-penetrating radar, and magnetic survey in order to reconstruct plaza activities. The results indicate a stark difference in function between the northern and southern ends of the plaza. The South Plaza demonstrates high concentrations of elements associated with food preparation and consumption, particularly P, Sr, K, and M, high microartifact densities, and an associated strong magnetic anomaly. On the other hand, phosphate depletion is observed in the North Plaza, and it is generally barren of micro-artifacts, despite the possible presence of a few geophysical anomalies. This area appears to have been kept free of debris, save for a charcoal deposit and elevated K and Mg directly in front of Mound H, which may allude to ceremonial or other functions not associated with food.

Thesis (M.S.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 19, 2008). Electronic version approved: May 2007. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The examination of the tools that prehistoric people crafted for subsistence and related practices offers distinctive insights into how they lived their lives. Most often, researchers study these practices in isolation, by tool type or by material. However, by using a relational perspective, my research explores the tool assemblage as a whole including bone, stone and shell. This allows me to study the changes in tool industries in relation to one another, something that I could not accomplish by studying only one material or tool type. I use this broader approach to tool manufacture and use for the artifact assemblage from Crystal River (8CI1) and Roberts Island (8CI41), two sequential Middle and Late Woodland Period (A.D. 1-1050) archaeological sites on the central Gulf coast of Florida. The results of my research show that people made different choices, both in the type of material they used and the kind of tools they manufactured during the time they lived at these sites as subsistence practices shifted. Evidence of these trends aligns with discrete changes in strata within our excavations. The timing of depositional events and the artifacts found within each suggest people also used the sites differently through time. These trends exemplify the role of crafting tools in the way people maintain connections with their mutable social and physical world.