Environmental archaeology: Locational analysis of Paleoindian and Archaic period sites in south Florida utilizing geographic information systems

The interrelatedness of archaeology, geography, and environment, in conjunction with the utilization of modern technology has become evident. This thesis employs the main principles of Environmental Archaeology while utilizing Geographic Information System technology to analyze the distribution of Paleoindian and Archaic period sites in south Florida. The following research demonstrates populations preferred certain areas to others, and environment played a considerable role in this preference, as indicated by the patterns that arose when site locations were analyzed based on environmental variables. These patterns in site locations were used to determine the most likely and least likely areas of south Florida for finding new archaeological sites. This thesis also provides an evaluation of the varions environmental and archaeological data sets used, concluding that paleoenvironmental reconstruction is a worthwhile goal, greatly enhancing modern environmental data sets used in this study.