Fig Springs mission site
| Fig Springs mission site | |
|---|---|
  Location of Fig Springs mission site in Florida | |
| Location | Columbia County, Florida, USA |
| Nearest city | Fort White, Florida |
| Coordinates | 29°58′2.47″N 82°46′33.82″W / 29.9673528°N 82.7760611°W |
The Fig Springs mission site (8CO1) is an archaeological site in Ichetucknee Springs State Park, in Columbia County, Florida. It has been identified as the site of a Spanish mission to the Timucua people of the region, dating to the first half of the 17th century. Found within the historical territory of the Timucua tribe known as the Northern Utina, it is thought to be the Mission San Martín de Timucua, also known as San Martín de Ayacuto, which was founded in the important Northern Utina village of Ayacuto in 1608.
Description[edit]
The Fig Springs site is adjacent to a short tributary connecting Fig Springs to the Ichetucknee River, about one mile downstream from the head springs of the Ichetucknee. An apparent midden was discovered in the tributary in 1949, and a survey with limited excavations in 1986 found evidence of a mission on the adjacent land, including a church building, missionary residence (convento), cemetery, plaza and native village. More extensive excavations were carried out in 1988-1989.[1] Four samples of charcoal obtained in 1989 and 1990 from the South End part of the Fig Springs site yielded radiocarbon dates with 2 sigma (standard deviation ranges of 980–1170, 1160–1290, 1220–1410, and 1420–1660, in the Mississippian period.[2]
Post holes and post molds were found in excavating the Fig Springs site, but no clear patterns representing structures were found. One post hole with an entry trench (2.5 meters long and 1 meter wide) was over a meter deep. A charred stump of a post, 20 to 30 cm in diameter, was found in the hole. Storage or trash pits, including a bell-shaped pit, were also found. One pit was filled with charred corncobs, which yielded the latest radiocarbon dates from the site.[3]
Suwannee Valley culture[edit]
The definition of the Suwannee Valley culture (formerly called the "Indian Pond complex") came into focus as the result of studying artifacts recovered from pre-Columbian levels at Fig Springs.[4] Ceramic shards recovered from the South End of the Fig Springs site, where all the radiocarbon dated charcoal samples were taken, were strongly associated with the Suwannee Valley culture, with almost none representing the earlier Weeden Island culture, and less than 1% from the later Leon-Jefferson culture of the Spanish mission period.[5] The most common ceramic type found at Fig Springs, which is the most distinctive ceramic type distinguishing Suwannee Valley culture from the neighboring Alachua culture, has been named "Fig Springs Roughened". A minor component of the Suwannee Valley ceramic assemblage has been named "Fig Springs Incised".[6]
Spanish mission[edit]
Analysis of sherds found at the site indicated that the mission was occupied during the first half of the 17th century. The archaeologists identified the site as likely to be that of San Martín de Timucua, which is known to have been founded in 1608 at Ayacuto (or Ayaocuto). Ayacuto was one of the five major towns that existed at the beginning of the 17th century in the Province of Timucua proper (also Northern Utina or Utina), which included north Florida north of the Santa Fe River from the St. Johns River in the east to the Aucilla River in the west. The mission of San Martín de Timucua does not appear in Spanish records after the Timucua rebellion of 1656. An earlier identification of the site as Santa Catalina de Afuerica, which is known to have existed in the area between 1675 and 1685, is less likely based on the evidence of the sherds.[7]
The mission church was an open-air structure, with a plank wall on the east end, and the other sides left open. Posts, about 10 cm square, supported a roof over an area about 10.5 m north-south and 8 m east-west. The floor had been cleared down to bare earth, and a clean sand subfloor supported a packed clay floor, which rose in steps from west to east. The structure apparently burned, and the remains were covered by a layer of clean sand. A cemetery on the north side of the church included several rows of burials. Unlike several other Spanish missions in Florida, no burials were found in the floor of the church.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ Weisman 1993, p. 165.
- ^ Worth 2012, pp. 156–157.
- ^ Worth 2012, p. 166.
- ^ Worth 2012, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Worth 2012, p. 156.
- ^ Worth 2012, p. 158–159.
- ^ Weisman 1993, pp. 170–172.
- ^ Weisman 1993, pp. 173, 176–177.
Sources[edit]
- Weisman, Brent R. (1993). "Archaeology of Fig Springs Mission, Ichetucknee Springs State Park". In McEwan, Bonnie G. (ed.). The Spanish Missions of La Florida. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. pp. 165–192. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5.
- Worth, John E. (2012). "An Overview of the Suwannee Valley Culture". In Ashley, Keith; White, Nancy Marie (eds.). Late Prehistoric Florida: Archaeology at the Edge of the Mississippian World. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. pp. 149–171. ISBN 978-0-8130-4014-1.
Further reading[edit]
- Weisman, Brent Richards (1992). Excavations on the Franciscan Frontier: Archaeology at the Fig Springs Mission. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1119-1.