The Grand site (8DU1) on Big Talbot Island (northeast of Jacksonville, Florida) is a mound complex containing a Mississippian period shell ring and an overlying sand burial mound. The shell ring dates almost exclusively to the St. Johns II period (ca. A.D. 900-1250) and is the subject of this study. I examine site seasonality and resource scheduling with a focus on the exploitation of Mercenaria mercenaria, also known as northern quahog clams or hard clams. Incremental growth techniques revealed that occupants collected clams primarily during the spring and during the latter half of the winter as well. Feature 1, which was located beneath the ring deposit, demonstrated a slightly different collection pattern: occupants collected clams equally throughout the winter and spring. Vertebrate faunal analysis indicated that the site was used throughout the year, yet occupants collected clams only during the winter and spring. I explore several reasons for this seasonal pattern of collection, and I conclude that occupants gathered clams on a seasonal schedule at times when their biomass and nutrition were highest. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Anthropology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2008. / February 8, 2008. / St. Johns, Grand Site, Quahog Clams, Seasonality, Shell Ring / Includes bibliographical references. / Glen Doran, Professor Directing Thesis; Rochelle Marrinan, Committee Member; William Parkinson, Committee Member; Michael Russo, Outside Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180402 |
| Contributors | Parsons, Alexandra (authoraut), Doran, Glen (professor directing thesis), Marrinan, Rochelle (committee member), Parkinson, William (committee member), Russo, Michael (outside committee member), Department of Anthropology (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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