What Does the Future Hold for First Floridian Studies?

This chapter by Jessi Halligan examines the peopling of North America and, in particular, ancient Florida. Florida’s important role in First Americans studies demonstrates the importance and number of “Paleoindian” archaeological sites. Halligan addresses the issue of separating Paleoindian and Early Archaic materials. This point is key because of the continuity of the earliest cultural sequences in the archaeological record for many of Florida’s sites. What is “Paleoindian” and what succeeds it must be clearly delineated. This chapter also examines impacts of present and future analytical techniques (like Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates, Optical stimulated luminescence (OSL), LiDAR, geoarchaeology, and ancient DNA) on Paleoindian research. The Paleoindian period is discussed in the chronological context of “Early,” Middle,” and “Late.”