ion, and there are many recorded sites dating to the Fort Walton period. The description in the chronicles fits archaeological findings showing a sprawling settlement pattern where principal towns were surrounded by hamlets and homesteads. The precise sociopolitical structure of the Apalachee remains unclear. Historic accounts suggest that their capital was located at Anhaica, although they may have had an alternate capital at Ivitachuco, which was likely located on the Aucilla River. The chronicles give little information about the everyday life of the Apalachee. Continuing archaeological work may shed light into more aspects of Apalachee life during the early 16th century and before.
Soto's violent push through the southeastern United States would forever change the landscape of the region, decimating populations through disease and violence, and disrupting longstanding and powerful Chiefdoms. Soto never established a colony. He died of a fever and his body was placed in the Mississippi river in 1542. Half of his men survived and fled by raft to Mexico.
Despite the trauma of Soto's occupation of their capital, the Apalachee survived. They reoccupied Anhaica after Soto left and were still at the town when the Spanish returned to the area in the 1600s. In 1633 the Apalachee invited Spanish Franciscan friars to the area to establish a mission. The Apalachee remained at their homeland until 1704 when they fled the region due to pressure from invading British and Creek forces. The Apalachee today live in Louisiana.
The Archaeology of the Soto Winter Encampment at Anhaica Apalachee
Historians and archaeologists had long puzzled over Soto's expedition route. Through reconstructing distances and landmarks noted in accounts of the expedition, researchers suspected that the 1539–1540 winter encampment would be located in Tallahassee. Material evidence for Soto's expedition remained elusive until 1987, when Division of Historical Resources archaeologist, B. Calvin Jones (now deceased), decided to "poke around" a construction 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 manufac