Pre-Columbian estuarine fishing along the lower St. Johns River, Florida, USA

The lower reaches of the St. Johns River, the longest river within the State of Florida, USA, form an extensive estuarine/tidal marsh system. Within this resource-rich region are numerous pre-Columbian sites. This paper presents a synthesis of zooarchaeological research conducted at eight of these sites. All sites considered here are shell middens that yielded large substantial faunal samples and that represent different periods of human occupation, ranging in time from ca. 5600 to 450 BP. In all faunal assemblages examined, estuarine fish is the predominant vertebrate resource represented. Fish constitute from 74 to 98% of the minimum number of individuals, or MNI, among the vertebrates in the various site samples. Dimensional measurements of a sample of skeletal elements show a range in fish sizes represented, indicating that mass capture techniques, such as nets, were probably used. Moreover, a number of these fish size estimates indicate that certain species were harvested in particular seasons. Similarities in the kinds and quantity of fish taxa represented in faunal assemblages from different time periods show that pre-Columbian peoples living in the lower St. Johns region continued to use the same local fish resources in the estuarine/tidal marsh ecosystem over several millennia.