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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Indian Key, today a Historic State Park listed on the National Register
of Historic
Places, was a bustling wrecking community in the 1830s, in close proximity
to the perilous
reef areas along the Florida Keys. The small island also had several
periods of use
extending through the early 1900s, including military and lighthouse
and ship building
construction activities and associated occupations. Recent archaeological
investigations
have produced much new information on these activities and the people
who lived and
worked on Indian Key. Using Global Positioning System (GPS) survey data,
a
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approach has allowed features to
be correlated
with known documents and maps, integrating the historical and archaeological
records.
This has resulted in new interpretations regarding community layout,
the built environment
and the evolution of the landscape through time.
Working in advance of
ground disturbing preservation and stabilization activities,
archaeological excavations have targeted areas identified to be of
immediate priority by
the Florida Park Service. These include areas with above-ground structural
features with
high potential for public interpretation. Investigations have focused
on three separate
features: a warehouse, and two residential areas. This examination
will primarily focus on
a house/cistern/kitchen complex located on Fourth Street on the historic
town grid. By
focusing on changes in the built environment through time in conjunction
with a detailed
analysis of the material culture, it is demonstrated how archaeology
can make a significant
contribution to understanding patterns of life on Indian Key after
the 1840s, a time period
poorly documented in historical records and not at present the focus
of site interpretation.
This technologically integrative approach is showing how the structure
was reused
and re-occupied, teasing apart the eras of occupation and site formation
processes, and
showing how activities at the feature relate to other occupation areas
on Indian Key. A
re-examination of previously collected materials from other inhabited
areas on the island
has also furthered this understanding, with space and time relationships
between features
considered.
The combination of GPS, GIS, historical documents and material
culture
analysis is adding to the understanding of the historic landscape and
nineteenth century
life on Indian Key. It also demonstrates the integrity and significance
of archaeological
deposits and the potential for new information and research at the
site. This approach to
landscape visualization is assisting the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection's
Park Service with public interpretation of Indian Key, with archaeology
used as a primary
interpretive tool. Results from this study serve as a guide for future
investigations of
Indian Key, and is useful for researchers at other historical sites
with a community or
urban landscape setting, showing how GPS and a GIS development can
be useful for
site-level investigations.
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