The Belle Glade Archaeological Culture is found in the Kissimmee Valley Region of South Central Florida.  This culture type was originally defined as unique to this region based on the characteristics of the type site known as the Belle Glade site (8PB40). This site is located around 1.5 miles west of Belle Glade, Florida on the Southeast shore of Lake Okeechobee.  This site was originally evaluated by Sterling in 1933 and 1934 as a Federal Relief project and was later documented by Gordon Willey (Willey 1949: 19).  In 1949, Willey reported the site was comprised of two components: an elevated habitation mound (8PB40) containing a black dirt midden and a burial mound (8PB41).

    The habitation mound is described as being around 100 X 150 meters large situated between two branches of the Democrat River which was connected to Lake Okeechobee prior to the establishment of a contemporary drainage canal.  The burial mound is described by Willey (1949:19) as being around 100 meters southwest of the habitation mound on the opposite side of the minor branch of the Democrat River.  Willey agrees with Steriling’s (1933-1934) original assessment of the mound when he states “The burial mound was made largely of sand and muck.  It is of interest that the type of sand used in the construction of the burial mound is not found in the immediate vicinity.  Today the closest deposits of this sand are ten miles away from the Belle Glade site, on a ridge bordering Lake Okeechobee.  Presumably, the Indians carried the sand this considerable distance for the ceremonial purpose of constructing a place of burial for the dead” (Willey 1949:19).  The three components of this site that have been applied as indicators of Belle Glade archaeological culture sites throughout the Kissimmee Valley region include: 1) the construction of mounds and earthworks, 2) a direct association with navigable waterways or marshes, and 3) Belle Glade Plain pottery.  Therefore, the primary artifact category representing this culture type is an undecorated (plain) ceramic ware known today as Belle Glade Plain.  Sterling’s excavation of the Belle Glade site resulted in the recovery of 784 sherds (fragments) of pottery that Willey chose to name “Bell Glade Plain”.  The primary characteristic used to distinguish this pottery type is the scraped or scratched surface created as sand grains were dragged across the surface of Belle Glade Plain vessels with a tool after they were formed (before they were fired).  Contemporary type descriptions of Belle Glade Plain ceramics focus on surface treatment and paste and have been formulated by Cordell (1992:111) and Austin (1996:75).

    The sub-sample of Belle Glade plain ceramics analyzed in this study came from the Belle Glade midden component (8PB40) of the Belle Glade site.  A random sample of 25 Belle Glade Plain rim sherds was chosen from the collection housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History (FMNH) Dickenson Hall Research Center.  These sherds were analyzed on 4-11-08 by measuring: lip shape, rim shape, lip thickness, and body thickness.  Also, the depth below surface was recorded (which provided a reference for relative location within the midden strata at the site).  To maximize accuracy for lip shape categorization, rim sherds had to be at least 2 cm long to be included in the sample.  The primary variables prioritized by this study are lip shape and rim shape which were evaluated according to the criteria established for evaluating Belle Glade Plain ceramics at the Blueberry site (8HG678) by Butler in 2007 (2007:2). 

    This study sought to define the distribution of lip shapes and rim shapes according to relative depth below surface (excavated according to 1930’s excavation protocol with arbitrary 1 foot intervals!).  The context of the sample housed at the FMNH allowed for analysis of rims from levels 2 (1-2 feet below surface), 3 (2-3 feet below surface), and 7 (6-7 feet below surface).  Analysis of the sample indicates that there were a total of 13 rims randomly chosen from level 3, 7 from level 4, and 5 from level 7.  The most common lip shape from all three levels was flat.  This lip treatment accounted for the vast majority of the sample and frequencies were as follows: lvl 2 = 85.7%, lvl 3 = 69.2%, and lvl 7 = 60%.  One possible trend indicated in this preliminary assessment is that the number of flat rims at this site may increase through time.  However, due to the lack of a comprehensive dataset and detailed chronological information, the accuracy of this trend needs to be reaffirmed with additional studies.  The trend in rim shape is relatively consistent in all three contexts with outward curving rims accounting for 64% of the overall assemblage.  In level 3, 61.57% were outward curving, in level 4, 85.7% were outward curving and in lvl 7 60% were outward curving.  This preliminary assessment identified trends in lip and rim shape and may point to larger trends indicating change in ceramic lip shape and vessel form from the Belle Glade archaeological culture.  However, more research is needed at this site and additional Belle Glade sites in the region to confirm or disprove this working hypothesis.      

 

Austin, Robert J.

1996      Ceramic Seriation, Radiocarbon Dates, and Subsistence Data from the Kissimmee River Valley: Archaeological Evidence for Belle Glade Occupation. The Florida Anthropologist, 49:65-87.
 

Butler, David

2007        Exploring the Cultural, Spatial, and Temporal Dimensions of the

Blueberry Site (8HG678).  Paper presented at the Florida Anthropological

Society conference, May 2007.  

 
Cordell, Ann S.

1992      Technological Investigation of Pottery Variability in Southwest Florida. In                                                                                                                                                           Culture and Environment in the Domain of the Calusa, edited by William H. Marquardt, pp 105-188. University of Florida, Gainesville.

2007    Informal Interview at Dickinson Hall Research Center. Gainesville Florida. 4-27-2007.

 
Willey, Gordon R.

1949    Excavations in Southeast Florida. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 42: New Haven.   We are currently creating content for this section. In order to be able to keep up with our high standards of service, we need a little more time. Please stop by again. Thank you for your interest!