WINDS OF CHANGE: HURRICANE PATTERNS AND IMPACTS ON EARLY NATIVE COASTAL COMMUNITIES

Abstract

Over time society has learned to adapt during hurricane season with various methods of preparations, some including evacuating. But how did early Native settlements prepare and withstand such adversity? Hurricanes would have tested the resiliency and adaptability of early Native settlements. Utilizing common theories and methods of paleotempestology and marine historical ecology, this research analyzes the relationship between early Native settlement patterns and hurricane patterns in the Panhandle and Northwest Region of Florida. Early storm data is extracted from cores processed through sedimentary particle size analysis. The storms identified are compared to the historical hurricane data published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Archaeological sites with pertinent existing collections within the vicinity of the research areas are identified and with permissions of the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR), new data on shell height was recorded to support this research project. The shell height data had a noticeable relationship with the periods of stormy impact. The period of stormy occurrence is compared to archaeological site location data provided by the Florida Master Site Files (FMSF) identifying an apparent relationship between the storm occurrences and the archaeological site density along the coastline.