Assessing the Effectiveness of Archaeological Surveys Conducted at Avon Park Air Force Range Penn State MGIS Capstone Proposal by Matthew Gill

Introduction 1.Location of Avon Park Air Force Range 2.Overview of the Range 3.Archaeology on the Range 4.Cultural Overview

Avon Park Location Map

Avon Park Overview Map

A View of the Range

Legal Requirements National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) – Section 106 – Requires federal agencies to take into account the effect of their activities on historic (and archaeological) resources – Section 110 – Requires federal agencies to establish a historic preservation program to manage archaeological and historic resources Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) – Established permitting procedures for excavating or disturbing archaeological sites on public land and penalties for failure to comply

Avon Park Surveys

Prehistoric Overview Paleo-Indian Period (13,000-7,500 B.C.) – Small bands of hunter-gatherers using stone tools. Limited evidence of activity at Avon Park. Archaic Period (7, B.C.) – Gradual transition to a more sedentary lifestyle, early ceramics and shell mounds in Late Archaic. Short term campsites have been found at Avon Park Woodland Period (500 B.C A.D.) – establishment of permanent settlements, development of ceramics and more sophisticated material culture. Several shell mounds and other Woodland sites have been found at Avon Park – St. Johns culture, based in the St. Johns River watershed to the northeast – Belle Glade culture, based in the Okeechobee Basin region to the south

Examples of Prehistoric Artifacts Belle Glade St. Johns

Historic Overview Colonial Period ( ) – No evidence of activity at Avon Park Third Seminole War ( ) – Fort Arbuckle and Fort Kissimmee Early Settlement and Cattle Ranching ( ) – Many of the early homesteads have been found Turpentine Production (1920s-1930s) – Company town, tram line, and camps found throughout the range Avon Park Air Force Range Established (1942)

Examples of Historic Artifacts

Research Plan 1.Data Collection 2.Analyze the Results of Different Survey Methods 3.Analyze the Effectiveness of Predictive Models 4.Generate Conclusions

Survey Methods

Predictive Model from 1998

Revised Predictive Model from 2004

Planned Project Schedule

Special Thanks To: My advisor, Dr. Kirk French Beth King, Doug Miller and the rest of the MGIS faculty and staff Kathy Couturier, Avon Park base archaeologist All of the archaeologists who have worked at Avon Park over the years

References Austin, Robert J. Prehistoric and Early Historic Settlement in the Kissimmee River Valley: An Archaeological Survey of the Avon Park Air Force Range. The Florida Anthropologist 40, no. 4 (1987): 287–300. Brooks, Mark J. An Archaeological Survey of the Proposed X Range Construction Project Area, Avon Park Air Force Range, Highlands County, Florida. St. Petersburg, FL: Piper Archaeological Research Inc., Devane, P. T. A History of Lands Composing the Avon Park Bombing Range. Manuscript on file, Natural Resources Division, Avon Park Air Force Range, Avon Park, Florida., Elam, Jenifer, Brandi Carrier Jones, and Amy Burkholder. Phase I Archaeological Investigation of 2, acres on Avon Park Air Force Range, Polk and Highlands Counties, Florida. United States Air Force Air Combat Command Series, Reports of Investigations Number 54. Hampton, Virginia: Geo-Marine, Inc., Florida Department of State, Division of Historic Resources (FL DHR). Cultural Resources Management Standards & Operations Manual, Module 3, Retrieved from on 3/28/ on 3/28/2014 Milanich, J.T. Archaeological Contexts. In Florida Historic Contexts, Version of , Online document. Osburn, Tiffany, Michael Wilder, Lisa OSteen, and Brandi C. Jones. Phase I and Phase II Archaeological Investigations, Avon Park Air Force Range, Polk and Highlands Counties, Florida. United States Air Force Air Combat Command Series, Reports of Investigation 34. Plano, Texas: Geo-Marine, Inc., Wilder, Michael, and Charles Frederick. Archaeological and Geomorphological Investigations at the Avon Park Air Force Range, Highlands and Polk Counties, Florida. United States Air Force Air Combat Command Series, Report of Investigations 32. Plano, Texas: Geo-Marine, Inc., 2006.