November 19, 2025
The AIA-Gainesville Society celebrated International Archaeology Day with a special Lecture and Lunch with the Lecturer event at the University of Florida. This activity was part of a focused effort to engage more directly with faculty and graduate students on campus.
The highlight of the event was a lecture by Kenneth Sassaman, titled “Water Histories: How 8,000 Years of Fluctuating Lake Levels in North-Central Florida Affected Indigenous Land Use and Regional Interactions.” Drawing on a recent survey of public land on Lake Pithlachocco in Alachua County, Florida, Sassaman shared insights from an 8,000-year record of horizontal stratigraphy extending 500 meters from and 5 meters above the modern lake shore. The first half of this record reflects the mid-Holocene expansion of surface water in the region, while the second half shows a pattern of low-frequency, high-magnitude flooding that influenced lakeside land use. These fluctuations affected settlement choices and regional travel, at times connecting Lake Pithlachocco to distant locations by boat during periods of high water, and isolating it during extreme droughts.
The event provided a rich opportunity for students, faculty, and the wider archaeological community to engage with cutting-edge research and discuss the ways long-term environmental change shaped human activity in North-Central Florida.
International Archaeology Day Blog
