ion site on Lafayette street in Tallahassee. Calvin discovered a fragment of an early variety of Spanish Olive Jar, a type that could only date to the early 16th century. Further excavations uncovered chainmail, crossbow bolts, and 7-layer chevron beads; items that all date to the early to mid-1500s, and would not be expected in the later Mission-era Spanish settlements in the area. Mad Dog Construction generously allowed archaeologists with the State of Florida to excavate the site ahead of construction. The archaeologist Charles Ewen was brought on to oversee the excavation work alongside Calvin Jones. Findings confirmed the presence of an early 16th century Apalachee settlement along with Soto-related artifacts. The presence of fired clay with palm frond impressions from an Apalachee structure may confirm the burning of Anhaica by the Apalachee during Soto's occupation.
Research into the Soto winter encampment site continues. In recent years the Florida Department of State's Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR) has collaborated with the Panhandle Archaeological Society at Tallahassee (PAST), a local chapter of the Florida Anthropological Society (FAS), to find further evidence of the Soto encampment at Anhaica. This work has not yet yielded any finds of early 16th century Spanish material. Nevertheless, it has uncovered more evidence of the Apalachee settlement. Research efforts continue in the laboratory as well. Archaeologists at the BAR are working with colleagues at Florida State University and the University of Florida to apply cutting-edge chemical analyses to learn more about the encampment site. BAR archaeologists are currently using an advanced form of analysis to learn about the chemical compositions of distinct seven-layer chevron beads found at the site and are comparing them to beads from other early 16th century sites in Florida in an attempt to distinguish between the beads from different early conquistador expeditions. Archaeologists at the BAR also hope to learn about the source and manufacture of these essential trade items that served as conduits for early contact between Indians and Europeans.
Radiocarbon Date for the Pig Jaw Recovered at The Governor Martin House Site
Since the excavation of the Governor Martin House site in 1987, archaeologists have used the presence of pig remains as a major line of evidence for the presence of the conquistador Hernando de Soto. During preparation for the expedition into La Florida, in Cuba, Soto provisioned a herd of pigs from Vasco Porcallo that was intended to serve as a mobile larder (Hudson 1997:55). The discovery of pig remains at the Martin House site was considered another line of evidence for the presence of the Soto expedition at the site.
Reanalysis of the context in which the pig remains were discovered, however, revealed that they came from a less than ideal context. Rather than excavated from a secure “closed” context, the pig remains were found in a unit with a modern metal pipe running through it. Such soil disturbances can mix artifacts from many different time periods. The Martin House site was occupied for centuries after Soto’s 1539 expedition. Archeologists also found evidence of Mission era (1633–1704), and 18th and early 19th century Seminole occupations. The site was also the residence of Governor John Wellborn Martin, whose house was built in 1930. Given the disturbed context of the pig bones, they have dated to later occupation.
In order to put this question to rest, BAR archaeologist Dr. Dan Seinfeld sent the pig remains to the Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia for radiometric dating using an accelerator mass spectrometer. This method, called AMS dating, requires smaller samples than are needed for traditional radiocarbon dating and is more precise. This analysis showed that the pig bones had an uncalibrated 14C age of 110 years BP (100 years before 1950) with a 1σ error of +/- 20 years. The result demonstrates that the pig died between 1820 and 1860 (with a 1σ margin of error). The most likely timefram