Assessing the Effectiveness of Archaeological Surveys Conducted at Avon Park Air Force Range

Penn State MGIS Capstone Proposalby Matthew Gill

Introduction

1. Location of Avon Park Air Force Range

2. Overview of the Range

3. Archaeology on the Range

4. Cultural Overview

Avon Park Location Map

Avon Park Overview Map

A View of the Range

Legal Requirements• National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA)

– Section 106 – Requires federal agencies to take into account the effect of their activities on historic (and archaeological) resources

– Section 110 – Requires federal agencies to establish a historic preservation program to manage archaeological and historic resources

• Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA)– Established permitting procedures for excavating or disturbing

archaeological sites on public land and penalties for failure to comply

Avon Park Surveys

Prehistoric Overview• Paleo-Indian Period (13,000-7,500 B.C.) – Small bands of hunter-gatherers using

stone tools. Limited evidence of activity at Avon Park.

• Archaic Period (7,500-500 B.C.) – Gradual transition to a more sedentary lifestyle, early ceramics and shell mounds in Late Archaic. Short term campsites have been found at Avon Park

• Woodland Period (500 B.C.-1500 A.D.) – establishment of permanent settlements, development of ceramics and more sophisticated material culture. Several shell mounds and other Woodland sites have been found at Avon Park– St. Johns culture, based in the St. Johns River watershed to the northeast– Belle Glade culture, based in the Okeechobee Basin region to the south

Examples of Prehistoric Artifacts

Belle Glade

St. Johns

Historic Overview• Colonial Period (1513-1845) – No evidence of activity at Avon Park

• Third Seminole War (1855-1858) – Fort Arbuckle and Fort Kissimmee

• Early Settlement and Cattle Ranching (1858-1920) – Many of the early homesteads have been found

• Turpentine Production (1920s-1930s) – Company town, tram line, and camps found throughout the range

• Avon Park Air Force Range Established (1942)

Examples of Historic Artifacts

Research Plan

1. Data Collection

2. Analyze the Results of Different Survey Methods

3. Analyze the Effectiveness of Predictive Models

4. Generate Conclusions

Survey Methods

Predictive Model from 1998

Revised Predictive Model from 2004

Planned Project Schedule

Prep for Proposal

Proposal Presentation

Data Processing-Surveys

Data Processing-Sites

Analysis-Surveys

Analysis-Models

Write Up Results

Incorporate Additional Data

Additional Analysis

Final Writeup

Prepare Final Presentation

Practice Presentation

Present at SEAC Conference

21-Apr 10-Jun 30-Jul 18-Sep 7-Nov

Special Thanks To:

• My advisor, Dr. Kirk French

• Beth King, Doug Miller and the rest of the MGIS faculty and staff

• Kathy Couturier, Avon Park base archaeologist

• All of the archaeologists who have worked at Avon Park over the years

References• Austin, Robert J. “Prehistoric and Early Historic Settlement in the Kissimmee River Valley: An Archaeological Survey

of the Avon Park Air Force Range.” The Florida Anthropologist 40, no. 4 (1987): 287–300.• Brooks, Mark J. An Archaeological Survey of the Proposed X Range Construction Project Area, Avon Park Air Force

Range, Highlands County, Florida. St. Petersburg, FL: Piper Archaeological Research Inc., 1983. • Devane, P. T. A History of Lands Composing the Avon Park Bombing Range. Manuscript on file, Natural Resources

Division, Avon Park Air Force Range, Avon Park, Florida., 1983. • Elam, Jenifer, Brandi Carrier Jones, and Amy Burkholder. Phase I Archaeological Investigation of 2,707.47 acres on

Avon Park Air Force Range, Polk and Highlands Counties, Florida. United States Air Force Air Combat Command Series, Reports of Investigations Number 54. Hampton, Virginia: Geo-Marine, Inc., 2009.

• Florida Department of State, Division of Historic Resources (FL DHR). “Cultural Resources Management Standards & Operations Manual”, Module 3, www.flheritage.com, 2002. Retrieved from

http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/compliance/manual.cfm on 3/28/2014.• Milanich, J.T. Archaeological Contexts. In Florida Historic Contexts, Version of 9-27-93, Online document.

http://www.flheritage.com/facts/reports/contexts• Osburn, Tiffany, Michael Wilder, Lisa O’Steen, and Brandi C. Jones. Phase I and Phase II Archaeological

Investigations, Avon Park Air Force Range, Polk and Highlands Counties, Florida. United States Air Force Air Combat Command Series, Reports of Investigation 34. Plano, Texas: Geo-Marine, Inc., 2008.

• Wilder, Michael, and Charles Frederick. Archaeological and Geomorphological Investigations at the Avon Park Air Force Range, Highlands and Polk Counties, Florida. United States Air Force Air Combat Command Series,

Report of Investigations 32. Plano, Texas: Geo-Marine, Inc., 2006.