Maritime Ritual Economies of Cosmic Synchronicity: Summer Solstice Events at a Civic-Ceremonial Center on the Northern Gulf Coast of Florida

Abstract

Places such as Poverty Point, Mound City, and Chaco Canyon remind us that the siting of ritual infrastructure in ancient North America was a matter of cosmological precedent. The cosmic gravity of these places gathered persons periodically in numbers that challenged routine production. Ritual economies intensified, but beyond the material demands of hosting people, the siting of these places and the timing of gatherings were cosmic work that preconfigured these outcomes. A first millennium AD civic-ceremonial center on the northern Gulf Coast of Florida illustrates the rationale for holding feasts on the end of a parabolic dune that it shared with an existing mortuary facility. Archaeofauna from large pits at Shell Mound support the inference that feasts were timed to summer solstices. Gatherings were large, judging from the infrastructure in support of feasts and efforts to intensify production through oyster mariculture and the construction of a large tidal fish trap. The 250-year history of summer solstice feasts at Shell Mound reinforces the premise that ritual economies were not simply the amplification of routine production. It also suggests that the ecological potential for intensification was secondary to the cosmic significance of solstice-oriented dunes and their connection to mortuary and world-renewal ceremonialism.

Birds of Summer Solstice: World-Renewal Rituality on the Northern Gulf Coast of Florida

“…A consistent pattern of immature bone development among ibis elements provides a strong basis for inferring that these birds were collected in mid to late June. Although they are not as time-specific as those of ibises, the bones of fish and marine turtles from these same pits corroborate the summer timing of feasts involving not only large pit features, but also large pots, oyster mariculture and the use of tidal fish traps (Sassaman et al 2019b). Given the estimated timing of these events, we infer further that they were synchronised to the summer solstice, the solar standstill of the longest day of the year.…”

“…That Shell Mound was chosen as a location for summer solstice feasts was arguably predetermined by the history of prior land use, especially the siting of cemeteries on the arms of parabolic dunes. As mentioned earlier and detailed elsewhere (Sassaman 2016; Sassaman et al 2019b), dunes in the region were aligned to solstice angles. Their long, open arms pointed to the winter solstice set (~240°) while their reciprocal at the higher, closed end (head) pointed to summer solstice rise (~60°), the prevailing direction of dune formation.…”

“…Fish make up the vast majority of individuals, a total of 728, or nearly 76 per cent of all MNI. Mullet comprise nearly half of all the fish, followed by lesser but appreciable numbers of jack, sea trout, red drum, hardhead catfish and sheepshead (see Sassaman et al 2019b for species-level data). Black drum, flounder, pinfish and gar contribute modest fractions, and bowfin, requiem shark, Gulf sturgeon and ladyfish each occur as more than a trace.…”

“…The cultural-historical outline of the area dating from about 2500 bc is well established by the results of testing at 25 sites and scores of radiometric age estimates. Shell Mound has received the greatest level of testing and dating (Sassaman et al 2013; 2015; 2019a,b). Our results firmly indicate this was a place of gathering and ritual activity, as well as residence, from c. ad 400–650.…”

“…The overall historical context and supporting details of ritual feasts at Shell Mound are provided elsewhere (Sassaman et al 2019b) and only summarized here. The backdrop of this history is millennia of sea-level rise in the post-glacial era, as much as 80 m since people arrived in the region 14,000 years ago, resulting in over 250 km of shoreline retreat in the study area.…”