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The Martin/de Soto Site is located in the heart of Tallahassee, Florida, just southeast of the Capitol building. The site is thought to be the village of Anhaica, once home to the Native American group known as the Apalachee. According to historical documents, the village was occupied for over 100 years and was comprised of at least 250 dwellings. Between 1539-40, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his expedition of 600 men spent the winter at this location. The site has proven to be one of the earliest Spanish sites in the United States and the only known campsite associated with the de Soto expedition.
In 1987, State archaeologists discovered the site and conducted intense savage excavations. During the excavation project rare sixteenth-century Spanish artifacts like chain mail armor, crossbow quarrels (dart tips), glass beads, domesticated European animal bone, and copper coins were recovered. Thousands of artifacts associated with the Apalachee were also unearthed. In addition to the artifacts, evidence of Apalachee and Spanish structures, cooking pits and trash deposits, were uncovered. Research has provided archaeologists an opportunity to study Native American cultural continuity and change among the Apalachee during 100 years of occupation at the village site as well as investigate an early Spanish contact site in the Southeast. Check our history page of the Martin/de Soto site for a more detailed history.
Due to its national significance and public interested in preserving the site, the State of Florida acquired 4.84 acres of the site, which is currently managed by the Florida Park Service. The purpose of the field school is to test areas of the site that might be impacted by the development of the state park as the northern trailhead of the Florida de Soto Trail. The field school is directed by Andrea White and Mary Glowacki, both archaeologists for the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research and will included students from Florida State University. Through the field school experience, students are introduced to basic field and lab methods in archaeology, including survey, mapping, excavation, and preliminary artifact analysis.
Most of the previous archaeological investigations of the Martin/de Soto Site concentrated on the private property surrounding the state owned portion of the site. Only limited testing has been carried out on the state owned property. The field school project goals include 1) excavating a series of shovel tests in the state owned portion of the site, 2) conducting unit excavations on selected areas that may be impacted by development, and 3) interpreting the site for the public. The principal goals are to determine the distribution of cultural material, investigate evidence for village activities associated with the Apalachee and Spanish occupations, and address larger questions in culture contact studies, and mitigate the adverse impacts to the archaeological deposits that will result from construction. The project also will advance current knowledge of the prehistory of Northwest Florida as well as Spanish and Apalachee interaction at the site. Additionally, research will aid in interpreting this publicly owned site.
After each field day, students will be posting to the online journal to share their experiences. Please keep checking on the progress of the project. Since Florida's citizens played a crucial role in placing the site in state ownership, it is important to share the research project with you. We hope that this on-line journal will provide yet another way for archaeologists to communicate their findings to a broader audience. Moreover it is an opportunity for students to reflect on their experience in the field as they learn basic archaeological skills and how to work as part of a team. Participating in a field school can be a demanding, yet extremely satisfying experience. We hope to share the challenges and the fun the archaeologists and students have in the field.
June 9th is a Public Archaeology Day which will allow visitors to observe the archaeological excavations in progress and see artifacts on display from the site. Various activities for all ages will be planned. On that day, we invite the public to the site to be a part of the archaeological experience.