Early Paleoindian Potentials on the Continental Shelf in the Southeastern United States

As two researchers with significant credibility in the study of early Florida, James S. Dunbar and David K. Thulman evaluate the potential for Paleoindian research on the Southeastern Continental Shelf (SECS) of the U.S. In this chapter, they discuss ways to explore Clovis and pre-Clovis landscapes (or, as they collectively call them, early Paleoindian sites) in the SECS and how researchers might narrow their search and increase their chances of finding Clovis and pre-Clovis sites offshore. In doing so, they complement Halligan’s chapter in this volume (chapter 3) on exploring Florida’s inland waters for submerged sites. They evaluate the strategies available: thoughtful searching for both analogous natural and manmade landforms and serendipity. Of the two, the second approach has arguably produced the most sites so far. Dunbar and Thulman explore the “thermal enclave hypothesis” of Russell et al (2009) and follow David Webb’s earlier work on his idea for a climatically propitious region that could support animals and plants through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Dunbar and Thulman further suggest the possibility of a shellfish/marine adaptation by early-Paleoindian-period colonists. They posit that finding such sites would open new windows into the study on the behaviors of the early Floridians.