The Alachua culture is a Late

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

Southeast period

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

in north-central

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, dating from around 600 to 1700. It is found in an area roughly corresponding to present-day

Alachua County Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus o ...

, the northern half of Marion County and the western part of Putnam County. It was preceded by the

Cades Pond culture The Cades Pond culture is defined as a Middle Woodland Southeast period archaeological culture in north-central Florida, dating from around 100 to 600 CE. Location The Cades Pond culture is found in an area roughly corresponding to present-day ...

, which inhabited approximately the same area.

Origin

The

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes ...

Jerald Milanich suggests that the people of the Alachua culture were immigrants from what is now

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Early Alachua culture

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

resembled that of the Ocmulgee culture found along the

Ocmulgee River The Ocmulgee River () is a western tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the westernmost major tributary of the Altamaha.

. In this scenario, the Ocmulgee immigrants were either already practicing agriculture or adopted it shortly after arriving, and settled in upland areas suitable for agriculture. These areas had been little used by the Cades Pond people, who had occupied areas in wetlands. The Cades Pond culture disappeared soon after the appearance of the Alachua culture. Other archaeologists have suggested that the distinctive Alachua pottery types developed in situ, and even that the resemblance between Ocmulgee and Alachua pottery resulted from a migration from the Alachua area to the Ocmulgee area. Archaeologists also note the close resemblance between Alachua culture and neighboring

Suwannee Valley culture The Suwannee Valley culture is defined as a Late Woodland Southeast period archaeological culture in north Florida, dating from around 750 to European contact. The core area of the culture was found in an area roughly corresponding to present-day ...

pottery, which appears to have developed in situ out of the McKeithen Weeden Island culture.

Periods

The precolumbian part of the Alachua culture period has been divided into the Hickory Pond period (600 to 1250) and the Alachua period (1250-1539). At the time of first contact with

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

explorers, the Alachua culture area was occupied by the historical Potano Indians, a branch of the

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The v ...

. They spoke the Potano dialect of the

Timucua language Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua peoples. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish colonization in Florida. Differences among the ...

. The sub-periods in the Alachua culture period are defined by the relative prevalence of different

types. The most common type of pottery during the Hickory Pond period was the Prairie Cord Marked style. The Alachua Cob Marked style became more prevalent in the Alachua sub-period. Other styles of pottery occurred throughout the Alachua culture period. The period after 1539 was characterized by the introduction of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an artifacts and of pottery styles from other cultures. The Potano II period was marked by the almost complete replacement of traditional pottery styles by Leon-Jefferson pottery styles (associated with the

Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,B ...

). This suggests that the depopulated Potano Province was repopulated from

Apalachee Province Apalachee Province was the area in the Panhandle of the present-day U.S. state of Florida inhabited by the Native American peoples known as the Apalachee at the time of European contact. The southernmost extent of the Mississippian culture, th ...

, but no evidence of such a population movement has been found in Spanish documents. Stone and bone tools show little variation over the course of the period.

Sites

The Alachua-culture people occupied hardwood hammocks, with village sites on high ground, near streams or

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s. The village sites are often in clusters, which may have resulted from periodic relocation of a village in a small area. The village clusters tend to fall along lines, which may represent the lines of the hammocks, or the paths of trails. Archaeological sites associated with the Alachua culture include the Richardson ( 8AL100)Site, currently believed to have been the site of the town of Potano visited by

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

in 1539, as well as the later mission of San Buenaventura de Potano. Other Alachua culture sites include Bolen Bluff, Fox Pond, Henderson Mound, Law School Mound, Rocky Point and Woodward Mound and Village.

Subsistence

The presence of Cob Marked pottery throughout the period indicates that the people of the Alachua culture grew

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

Midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...

s contain few fresh water shells, and a smaller number of animal species, compared to Cades Pond middens. This may indicate a reduction in hunting and gathering as food sources, compared to the preceding Cades Pond culture.Milanich 1994: 335 A more detailed analysis of the food resources used by the Alachua culture people has not been made. Burial

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically highe ...

s are found in the area, but have not been extensively excavated. Storage pits and indications of other structures, including a circular house at one site, have been found in villages.

Notes

References