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The south Florida Calusa are noted for their complex social organization coupled with their forager-fisher subsistence strategy. Social and political complexity have often been attributed to a reliable resource base, most frequently agricultural products such as maize ( Zea mays ), and surplus stored foods. Recent reconsiderations of complexity for coastal populations, however, have questioned the stability of coastal resources citing ample evidence of periods of fluctuating instability. They have in turn emphasized the importance of other cultural mechanisms, such as resource exchange, in fulfilling subsistence needs during times of uncertainty. In this paper, we consider the complex food web of the central and south Florida Gulf Coast. We combine data on the zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical remains from the archaeological sites with those from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of archaeological human bone, and modern and archaeological plants and animals. These multiple lines of evidence confirm that marine-based protein and terrestrial C 3 plants provided a large and reliable portion of the diet in southwestern Florida as early as 4000 years ago and up to European contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of human remains from Tatham Mound, a dual-component mortuary site from central Gulf Coast Florida. The human remains from Tatham are significant because they come from a limited time period during the initial contact with Europeans at AD 1525-1550. Dietary reconstruction demonstrates that at the time of European contact, maize was not a predominant dietary item. Low frequencies for several dental and skeletal pathological indicators are consistent with relatively good health as compared to other Southeastern late prehistoric and protohistoric populations. Despite the limited time period represented by the mound population, critical interactions occurred between Native Americans and Spaniards, as indicated by skeletal elements severed by metal weapons. The Tatham population is significant because it is one of the earliest studied populations contacted by Europeans in North America, and the only one with well-documented sharp-force trauma that represents intergroup hostility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the human skeletal series from the Snow Beach site in Wakulla County, Florida. Stable isotope analysis of the mounds at the site; Importance of localized adaptations in Fort Walton and Apalachee populations; Derivation of information from bead assemblage and related lines of archeological evidence.

The article presents a detailed discussion of prehistoric subsistence and stable isotopic data in the Soconusco region. It states that tropical environments are particularly challenging because collagen degrades rapidly where it is hot. It mentions that the human bones from the Soconusco region appear to have experienced collagen degradation, and the methods used to extract collagen in the study do not ensure the removal of a significant class of postburial contaminants. It emphasizes that it is substantial that there should be a literature on collagen preparation and purification procedures and identification of contamination before isotopic analysis.

The arrival of Europeans in the New World had profound and long-lasting results for the native peoples. The record for the impact of this fundamental change in culture, society, and biology of Native Americans is well documented historically. This paper reviews the biological impact of the arrival of Europeans on native populations via the study of pre- and postcontact skeletal remains in Spanish Florida, the region today represented by coastal Georgia and northern Florida. The postcontact skeletal series, mostly drawn from Roman Catholic mission sites, are among the most comprehensive in the Americas, providing a compelling picture of adaptation and stress in this setting. Study of paleopathology, dental and skeletal indicators of physiological stress, stable isotope (carbon and nitrogen) analysis, tooth microwear, and skeletal morphology (cross-sectional geometry) reveals major alterations in quality of life and lifestyle. The bioarchaeological record indicates a general deterioration in health, declining dietary diversity and nutritional quality, and increasing workload in the contact period. The impact of contact in Spanish Florida appears to have been more dramatic in comparison with other regions, which likely reflects the different nature of contact relations in this setting versus other areas (e.g., New England, New France). The bioarchaeological record represents an important information source for understanding the dynamics of biocultural change resulting from colonization and conquest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the adoption of maize agriculture in late prehistory and the increased emphasis on maize during the mission period, focusing on the dietary reconstruction using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from archaeological human bone samples from coastal Georgia and northern and Gulf Coast Florida. Amount of isotope analysis drawn from early prehistoric, late prehistoric,and contact-period mortuary sites; Detailed information on the results.

• Titicaca Basin peoples used C 4 and lacustrine resources in different ways over time. • Environment shifts and cultural change impacted dietary choices. • Subsistence patterns did not follow linear change from foraging to agriculture. Humans use dietary resources in many ways, employing varied subsistence strategies in response to local environmental fluctuations and innovative technologies. Documenting these patterns of resource use is an important part of our understanding of past societies and human relationships with the landscape, animals, and each other. In this paper, we present results from stable isotope analysis of 66 individuals buried on the Copacabana Peninsula, Bolivia, compared to a baseline of 28 modern floral and faunal samples, and explore individual and population access to certain types of food over time (3000 BCE–CE 1700). The data show that access to C 4 and lacustrine resources shifted slightly over time, especially during the Early Intermediate Period (CE 1–500). We argue that Copacabana peoples used diverse subsistence strategies to navigate fluctuating environmental and social conditions. This was not a teleological nor one-way process; rather, people made choices about food in response to environmental patterns, shifting subsistence strategies, differential ritual use of maize, or, most likely, a combination of all of the above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]