User:IsBrzy/Hutto/Martin Site

The Hutto/Martin site is an archaeological site located in Marion County, Florida that was first documented by Willet A. Boyer III in 2006. It is located near the Ocklawaha River. Excavations at the site have led archaeologists to believe that it is the location of both a past Native American town and Spanish mission. Archaeological fieldwork performed during the summer of 2012 provides evidence for this hypothesis. For instance, findings of the 2012 excavations include a mission church structure, sixteenth-century Spanish colonial artifacts, and Native American ceramics.

Site History
The sixteenth-century chiefdom of Acuera, presumed to be the Hutto/Martin site, was a large town inhabited by Native Americans of the Timicuan tribe. Accounts of Acuera are provided by Spanish explorers, such as Hernando de Soto, in what is known as the de Soto entrada. After Spanish colonization of Florida in 1565, Spanish explorers were met with heavy resistance from the Acuera people. However, Acuera was later occupied by the Spanish, in which they built the Santa Lucia de Acuera mission within the town. The mission was occupied from roughly 1627 to 1656. After the mission's establishment, religious and cultural conflicts between the Acuera people and Spanish endured. Native American fugitives from other nearby regions also fled to Acuera to escape Spanish rule in their towns.

2012 Site Excavations
Previous work at the Hutto/Martin site raised questions as to whether it was the location of the Acuera chiefdom and Santa Lucia de Acuera mission. Later excavations during the summer of 2012 appear to strengthen this notion. The excavations were conducted under the Ocklawaha Survey Project, a Marion County field program that recruits students and the public to work with professionals in surrounding archaeological sites.

Field Methods
Shovel testing, metal detector testing, and water screening were some of the field methods used during these excavations. Metal detector testing was initially employed to determine the presence of any historic structures at the Hutto/Martin site. Afterwards, archaeologists used shovel testing in areas where artifacts were found in order to understand the boundaries of the site and denote if artifacts were positioned in situ. Other methods such as water screening were used to separate discovered materials from sediment for further analysis.

Findings
Findings of the excavations included a mission structure, a Clarksdale bell, clusters of both Spanish and Native American artifacts, and burial pit features with human remains. Additional findings were forged iron nails and spikes, two European style structures, and post mold features. Wall features were also discovered, which archaeologists believed to be apart of the mission building. No house structures were reported in these excavations. Overall, archaeologists believed that these findings were associated with a mission church, which would support the Hutto/Martin site being the location of the Santa Lucia mission. These artifacts and features were further used to map the overall layout of the mission structure.

Analysis
Archaeologists held that the 2012 excavations support the idea of the Hutto/Martin site being the place of the Acuera town and Santa Lucia de Acuera mission. They pointed to features of the site such as its similar location and size, discovered mission structure, and large percentage of Spanish and Native American artifacts to advance this claim. They also brought attention to differences in ceramic styles found within the vicinity of the mission structure compared to the rest of the site. Throughout the rest of the site, St. Johns II style ceramics were found, which are associated with Native American assemblages. But in areas near the church, archaeologists uncovered Leon/Jefferson wares, which are tied to missionized Native American groups. Archaeologists proposed this may have suggested traces of people not from Acuera, or fugitives, whose past presence was known to have been within the town. Other aspects, such as the low burial population densities that were measured in association to the mission structure, were said to be indications of resistance to Catholic religion. This was also known of the Acuera people.

Significance
Based off of the archaeological evidence and 2012 excavations at The Hutto/Martin site, archaeologists determined that the site was indeed the location of the seventeenth-century Santa Lucia de Acuera Spanish mission and sixteenth-century Acuera town. Archaeologists also came to this conclusion by comparing past records of Acuera, such as in the de Soto entrada. The Hutto/Martin site ultimately provides an understanding of the Native American cultures in this Florida region during the Spanish contact era. It also helps archaeologists further analyze interactions between the region's Native American groups and Spanish colonials.

Future Research
Archaeologists reckon that the findings at the Hutto/Martin site allow for future opportunities in studying the interactions between the Acuera people and fugitives, and organizing regional studies of other Marion County sites that could further inform about Native American lifestyles.