Research Seminar Explores New Approaches to the Early Colonial Southeast

This semester, our department hosted a research seminar that brought together scholars working to deepen understanding of the social landscape of the Southeast before, during, and after the Spanish entradas led by Hernando de Soto (1539–1543) and Juan Pardo (1566–1568). Participants examined how to more effectively situate Indigenous communities, town sites, and early colonial encounters within absolute calendrical time, while also looking beyond Spanish documentary accounts to reconstruct the broader landscapes that shaped those interactions.

A central focus of the seminar was addressing the long-standing divide between archaeology and history. Archaeologists often rely on material culture and relative chronologies, while historians privilege documentary records. Descendant communities, meanwhile, maintain traditional knowledge of their own pasts. Conversations throughout the seminar emphasized the importance of reconciling these approaches to produce a more integrated and inclusive understanding of the early colonial Southeast.

Participants, including researchers from UGA, Penn State, and Tulane Universities, highlighted advances in radiocarbon dating as a promising path forward. New sampling strategies, laboratory techniques, and statistical modeling methods—including the incorporation of informative priors—are enabling researchers to date sites and events with greater precision. These methodological developments create opportunities to align archaeological findings more closely with historically documented events and to establish clearer points of connection with Indigenous traditional knowledge.

The seminar unfolded in two parts. A two-day working session convened a select group of researchers to define priorities for a large-scale collaborative initiative. Discussions centered on identifying specific towns, sites, and provinces for future study, refining methodological strategies, and outlining meaningful ways to incorporate descendant community perspectives as partners in research. The event concluded with a public-facing seminar featuring short presentations and a lively roundtable discussion, extending the conversation to a broader audience of scholars, students, and community members.

Together, the seminar laid important groundwork for a collaborative research agenda aimed at transforming our understanding of the early colonial Southeast.

This event was made possible through the generous support of the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the Carl and Sally Gable Fund for Southern Colonial American History, the Georgia Museum of Natural History, the Department of Anthropology, and New South Associates.