Archaeologists have questioned whether scallop beds associated with Calusa Native American middens were a product of harvesting for food. A scallop assemblage was recovered from a bed within a Late Archaic (785-745 BC) Calusa midden located on the northern end of Pine Island, Southwest Florida. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) the scallops in the collection represent one population of Argopecten irradians (Atlantic Bay Scallop, ABS), and (2) the scallops were harvested by the Calusa. Evidence to support species identification comes from rib count, shell length, and ctenolium teeth. Specimens were consistent with the morphology of ABS, rather than the A. gibbus (Calico Scallop) (Mikkelson, 2008). Ribs number between 17-22, lengths range from 4.1-7.3 cm, and the ctenolium have 3-5 teeth. Nearly half the shells displayed systematic breakage along the ventral edge, suggesting the scallops were harvested. The pristine taphonomic grades of the shell interiors, versus the poorly preserved shell exteriors, support the notion that scallops were removed from the estuarine environment alive, killed, and then deposited on land as refuse, as opposed to being deposited by natural forces. Scallops were clearly harvested as food by the Calusa. Whether the fishery was over exploited has yet to be determined.
An Anthropogenic Origin of a Scallop Assemblage Discovered in a Calusa Native American Midden in Pine Island, Florida.
Poster from the 2016 STEM Undergraduate Research Symposium. Research Mentor: Dr. Michael Savarese.