Virtual and Howard Phillips Hall: 409M: Howard Phillips Hall: 409M

Bring your lunch and join us to learn about the research graduate students are conducting!

Please see the presentation abstracts below for more information:

Jacob Woodard \- Jonathan Dickinson's Journal as an Ethnohistorical Resource for Insights into Florida Ethnobiology

* Abstract: Jonathan Dickinson's Journal, a firsthand account of his 1696 shipwreck and journey through Florida, provides valuable ethnohistorical data on the region's plant and animal use. This talk examines the botanical and zoological references to reconstruct aspects of Indigenous resource utilization, environmental interactions, and subsistence strategies. By analyzing Dickinson's descriptions of flora, fauna, and survival practices, we gain information into the ethnobiological landscape of 17th-century Florida, and insights to colonial bias on ecological realities.



Melissa Marks \- Sex Estimation Using Metric and Geometric Morphometric Analyses of the Adult Human Talus

* Abstract: Estimating biological sex is an essential first step when analyzing human remains in both forensic and archaeological contexts. The talus is a promising alternative to traditional methods utilizing the pelvis or skull. The present study aims to refine metric and geometric morphometric methodologies of sex estimation utilizing ancient Egyptian, ancient Maya, and modern American tali. After preliminary analyses, side asymmetry was not identified based on the linear measurements or the GM data. Linear discriminant analysis achieved 64-71% accuracy. Set points achieved 71-78% accuracy. Canonical Variate Analysis achieved 57-100% accuracy in shape space, and 67-83% in form space. These preliminary results carry important implications for sex estimation of archaeological and modern populations based on the talus.



Lydia Kiernicki - A Temporal and Spatial Analysis of Macrobotanical Remains Preservation at the Penny Site in Cape Canaveral, Florida

* Abstract: Previous paleoethnobotanical analyses of microremains, starches and phytoliths at the Penny Site in Cape Canaveral, Florida have identified a variety of food plants, including greenbrier (Smilax sp.), maize (Zea mays), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and acorn (Quercus sp.). Using statistical analyses to identify spatial and temporal patterns of plant remains, I will further assess the distribution, preservation, and cultural use of plants at the site. This study will enhance our understanding of preservation of plant remains in coastal Florida contexts and of foodways that made up the subsistence practices of Indigenous populations that occupied Cape Canaveral.



Virtual Location URL: https://ucf.zoom.us/j/96976159385?pwd=61qhoOkT1nXzKbKOYDlY1CnzPeorRL.1&from=addon