Jeffrey Shanks, an archaeologist with the National Park Service, to present
“Middens, Mounds, and Mortuary Cults: The Archaeology of the Byrd Hammock Site”
Mission San Luis today announced a change in speaker and topic for its upcoming event beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 19 as part of its ongoing lecture series to explore Florida’s history.
“Although we are sorry to announce that David Hurst Thomas had to cancel his appearance for personal reasons, we are very excited to welcome Jeffrey Shanks in his place,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “Mr. Shanks will speak about the history of Byrd Hammock, a prehistoric complex of burial mounds and villages that were in use from circa AD 400 to 900 and occupied by the people from the Swift Creek and Weeden Island cultures. His illustrated talk will cover the results of the recent excavations which are beginning to shed new light on the lifeways and ceremonial practices of these ancient people.”
Image Credit: Mission San Luis
Jeffrey Shanks is an archaeologist with the National Park Service and field director for the recent archaeological excavations at the Byrd Hammock Site in Wakulla County. Mr. Shanks is an expert on the Woodland Period archaeology of North Florida and has authored and co-authored a number of articles and papers on the subject, including a chapter in the recent book, New Histories of Pre-Columbian Florida. Mr. Shanks and his colleagues were awarded the 2016 Outstanding Achievement in Archaeology from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation for their work at the Byrd Hammock Site.
Come meet Mr. Shanks at a reception starting at 6 p.m. The lecture is scheduled to start at 6:30 and is free and open to the public. Find out more and share this event with your friends on Facebook!
This program is part of a six-lecture series titled, Florida Histories: Past to Present that will extend through spring 2017. The series features topics in Florida history that span from its indigenous and colonial past to the present-day. Funding was provided through grants from Visit Florida and the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About Mission San Luis
Mission San Luis, Florida’s Apalachee-Spanish Living History Museum, was the western capital of Spanish Florida from 1656 to 1704. The Mission, now a National Historic Landmark, brings the1700s to life with living history interpreters in period dress, reconstructed period buildings, exhibits, and archaeological research. The site is managed by the Florida Department of State. Mission San Luis is located at 2100 West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee, Florida, and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 850.245.6406 or visit missionsanluis.org.
