The Anthropology of Florida
By Ales Hrdlicka; Introduction by Jeffrey M. Mitchem
University of Alabama Press
A fundamental work on the peopling of the Americas
This volume, originally published in 1922, constitutes the most complete summary of anthropological information on Florida up until that point. Not only does it consider all previous research on Florida archaeology, physical anthropology, and aboriginal history, it also contains Hrdlicka’s analysis of every human bone from Florida that he could find in collections. He made remarkably accurate observations about the general physical types of prehistoric Florida Indians and how they compared to native peoples of surrounding regions.
This volume, originally published in 1922, constitutes the most complete summary of anthropological information on Florida up until that point. Not only does it consider all previous research on Florida archaeology, physical anthropology, and aboriginal history, it also contains Hrdlicka’s analysis of every human bone from Florida that he could find in collections. He made remarkably accurate observations about the general physical types of prehistoric Florida Indians and how they compared to native peoples of surrounding regions.
Perhaps Hrdlicka’s most important contribution was that he provided the first systematic population estimate of south Florida based on the number of sites and the amount of labor required for their construction. These techniques of population estimation are still used today by archaeologists.’
—Randolph J. Widmer, University of Houston
Aleš Hrdlicka, M.D., (1869–1943) was a physical anthropologist and founder of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, and he was its editor from 1918 until 1942.
Jeffrey M. Mitchem is a research archaeologist with the Arkansas Archeological Survey who edited and introduced both The West and Central Florida Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore and The East Florida Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore.
Jeffrey M. Mitchem is a research archaeologist with the Arkansas Archeological Survey who edited and introduced both The West and Central Florida Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore and The East Florida Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore.
