CEDAR KEY LIBRARY 2021 LECTURE SERIES
January 23, 2021
Dr. Ginessa Mahar is the Library’s first speaker of the 2021 series. She will speak to ancient fishing practices.
The an in-person presentation may be accessed via ZOOM @ Meeting ID 216 050 5120 - Passcode zTm2FD.
The an in-person presentation may be accessed via ZOOM @ Meeting ID 216 050 5120 - Passcode zTm2FD.
ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT FISHING PRACTICES: INSIGHTS FROM CEDAR KEY
Millions of people venture out into Florida’s coastal waters each year to take part in an ancient practice: fishing. Whether for commercial or recreational purposes fishing has deep roots in the Cedar Key region - thousands of years deep. That Florida's ancient inhabitants have benefited from bountiful coastal waters for over five thousand years is not surprising. Coastal archaeological sites throughout the area are loaded with the remains of fish familiar to local fishing enthusiasts: mullet, red drum, seatrout, sheepshead and more. But while archaeologists have been able to identify what fishes ancient fisherfolk were catching, they have not been able to discern how they were catching them. Until recently. Ethnoarchaeology is the study of living human practices to understand past human actions and archaeological materials. Methods like this are often used when archaeological investigations leave researchers with more questions than answers. This presentation tacks back and forth through time—over two thousand years—on a quest to better understand the knowledge, practices, and technologies of Florida's ancient fisherfolk.Dr. Ginessa Mahar serves as the Anthropology Librarian for the University of Florida Smathers Libraries. Her archaeological research involves the investigation of coastal fishing communities that thrived along the shores of the North Florida Gulf Coast during Pre-Columbian times. Dr. Mahar specifically focuses on the fluorescence of Woodland era civic-ceremonial centers and how fishing technologies and practices developed to facilitate large gatherings that brought distant communities together at these sacred sites.
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