Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission

Fred A. White

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission

Fred A. White

Published in International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 4, Issue 4)

Received: 1 June 2016 Accepted: 23 June 2016 Published: 6 July 2016

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Abstract

The historical site identified by the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research as Smithsonian Trinomial 8AAMR03538 was the location of one of Hernando de Soto’s early camps during the 1539 entrada and was in later use during the sixteen and seventeenth century Spanish mission and ranching periods. This previously unknown First Spanish Cultural Period site named the White Ranch / De Soto site is located between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida on the wetlands associated with Orange Lake. Archaeological and documentary evidence confirms that this First Spanish mission period structure was a mission visita (mission without a resident priest) known as Apula and was understood to have been established in the late sixteenth century in the town of Potano known to have been visited by Hernando de Soto in 1539. The artifact assemblage from the mission period structure brings the conclusion that 8AAMR03538 was also a location of religious activities associated with the Franciscan mission of San Buenaventura de Potano, that was relocated a short distance along the lake shore. This investigation contains a systemic analysis of the artifacts from the White Ranch / De Soto site 8AAMR03538 recovered between 2005 and 2013. The goal of this study and results are to obtain information about the Aboriginal inhabitants and the following European occupations. Detailed field notes, ground truth studies performed with penetrating radar, magnetic detection and geographic information systems were used to record and analyze the excavation site and its geospatial relationships. This new information offers significant evidence and documentation confirming that the site is where Hernando de Soto came to the area of Potano on August 12^th 1539. His army began camping just to the south of this location from August 11^th to August 22^nd and then marched north through Potano to join him on the entrada at Aguacaleyquen. The ceramic and coin assemblages from the site strongly prove the visitation by De Soto and the later location for a Franciscan visita and ranch.

Published in	International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
Page(s)	44-53
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hernando De Soto, Potano, Franciscan Missions, Spanish, Florida

References

[1]	Milanich, Jerald T., 1995 Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
[2]	Thomas, David Hurst (editor), 1990 Columbian Consequences: 2. Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on the Spanish Borderlands East. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C.
[3]	Hudson, Charles, 1997 Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun, The University of Georgia Press, Athens and London.
[4]	Milanich, Jerald T., 1999 Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
[5]	Weisman, Brent Richards, 1992 Excavations on the Franciscan Frontier: Archaeology at the Fig. Springs Mission. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
[6]	Jones, B. Calvin, and Gary Shapiro, 1990 Nine Missions of Apalachee. In Columbian Consequences: Volume 2. Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on the Spanish Borderlands East, edited by David Hurst Thomas. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C.
[7]	Gannon, Michael V., 1996 The New History of Florida. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.
[8]	Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight, Jr. and Edward C. Moore (editors), 1993 The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando De Soto to North America in 1539-1543. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.
[9]	Gannon, Michael V., 1965 The Cross in the Sand: The Early Catholic Church in Florida, 1513-1870. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.
[10]	Jones, B. Calvin, 1973 A Semi-Subterranean Structure at Mission San Joseph de Ocuya, Jefferson County, Florida. In Bureau of Historic Sites and Properties Bulletin No. 3, Division of Archives, History, and Records Management, pp. 1-50. Florida Department of State, Tallahassee.
[11]	Milanich, Jerald T., 2006 Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
[12]	Wenhold, Lucy L. Translator and Ed., 1936 “A 17th Century Letter of Gabriel Diaz Vara Calderón, Bishop of Cuba, Describing the Indians and Indian Missions of Florida.” Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 95, No. 16. Reprinted in David Hurst Thomas. Ed. (1991). Spanish Borderlands Sourcebooks 23 The Missions of Spanish Florida. Garland Publishing.
[13]	Ewen, Charles R. and John H. Hann, 1998Hernando de Soto Among the Apalachee: The Archaeology of the First Winter Encampment, Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
[14]	Bushnell, Amy, 1978 The Menéndez Marquéz Cattle Barony at La Chua and the Determinants of Economic Expansion in Seventeenth-Century Florida. The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 407-431. Florida Historical Society.
[15]	Goggin, John, 1968 Spanish Majolica in the New World. Yale University Publications in Anthropology, no 72. Yale University Press, New Haven.
[16]	White, Fred, 2010 The Richardson Site 8AL100 and its association with the discoveries at the White / De Soto Site 8AAMR03538 of the town of Potano and the mission of San Buenaventura. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research, Master Site File MR03538.

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Fred A. White. (2016). Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission. International Journal of Archaeology, 4(4), 44-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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Fred A. White. Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission. Int. J. Archaeol. 2016, 4(4), 44-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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Fred A. White. Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission. Int J Archaeol. 2016;4(4):44-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12,
  author = {Fred A. White},
  title = {Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission},
  journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {44-53},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20160404.12},
  abstract = {The historical site identified by the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research as Smithsonian Trinomial 8AAMR03538 was the location of one of Hernando de Soto’s early camps during the 1539 entrada and was in later use during the sixteen and seventeenth century Spanish mission and ranching periods. This previously unknown First Spanish Cultural Period site named the White Ranch / De Soto site is located between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida on the wetlands associated with Orange Lake. Archaeological and documentary evidence confirms that this First Spanish mission period structure was a mission visita (mission without a resident priest) known as Apula and was understood to have been established in the late sixteenth century in the town of Potano known to have been visited by Hernando de Soto in 1539. The artifact assemblage from the mission period structure brings the conclusion that 8AAMR03538 was also a location of religious activities associated with the Franciscan mission of San Buenaventura de Potano, that was relocated a short distance along the lake shore. This investigation contains a systemic analysis of the artifacts from the White Ranch / De Soto site 8AAMR03538 recovered between 2005 and 2013. The goal of this study and results are to obtain information about the Aboriginal inhabitants and the following European occupations. Detailed field notes, ground truth studies performed with penetrating radar, magnetic detection and geographic information systems were used to record and analyze the excavation site and its geospatial relationships. This new information offers significant evidence and documentation confirming that the site is where Hernando de Soto came to the area of Potano on August 12th 1539. His army began camping just to the south of this location from August 11th to August 22nd and then marched north through Potano to join him on the entrada at Aguacaleyquen. The ceramic and coin assemblages from the site strongly prove the visitation by De Soto and the later location for a Franciscan visita and ranch.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission
AU  - Fred A. White
Y1  - 2016/07/06
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
SP  - 44
EP  - 53
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7595
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
AB  - The historical site identified by the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research as Smithsonian Trinomial 8AAMR03538 was the location of one of Hernando de Soto’s early camps during the 1539 entrada and was in later use during the sixteen and seventeenth century Spanish mission and ranching periods. This previously unknown First Spanish Cultural Period site named the White Ranch / De Soto site is located between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida on the wetlands associated with Orange Lake. Archaeological and documentary evidence confirms that this First Spanish mission period structure was a mission visita (mission without a resident priest) known as Apula and was understood to have been established in the late sixteenth century in the town of Potano known to have been visited by Hernando de Soto in 1539. The artifact assemblage from the mission period structure brings the conclusion that 8AAMR03538 was also a location of religious activities associated with the Franciscan mission of San Buenaventura de Potano, that was relocated a short distance along the lake shore. This investigation contains a systemic analysis of the artifacts from the White Ranch / De Soto site 8AAMR03538 recovered between 2005 and 2013. The goal of this study and results are to obtain information about the Aboriginal inhabitants and the following European occupations. Detailed field notes, ground truth studies performed with penetrating radar, magnetic detection and geographic information systems were used to record and analyze the excavation site and its geospatial relationships. This new information offers significant evidence and documentation confirming that the site is where Hernando de Soto came to the area of Potano on August 12th 1539. His army began camping just to the south of this location from August 11th to August 22nd and then marched north through Potano to join him on the entrada at Aguacaleyquen. The ceramic and coin assemblages from the site strongly prove the visitation by De Soto and the later location for a Franciscan visita and ranch.
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Author Information

Fred A. White

The Archaeological Collections, Florida Archaeological Survey, Gainesville, FL, USA; Advisory Council and Collections, Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, Ocala, FL, USA

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Fred A. White. (2016). Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission. International Journal of Archaeology, 4(4), 44-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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ACS Style

Fred A. White. Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission. Int. J. Archaeol. 2016, 4(4), 44-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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AMA Style

Fred A. White. Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission. Int J Archaeol. 2016;4(4):44-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12,
  author = {Fred A. White},
  title = {Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission},
  journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {44-53},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20160404.12},
  abstract = {The historical site identified by the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research as Smithsonian Trinomial 8AAMR03538 was the location of one of Hernando de Soto’s early camps during the 1539 entrada and was in later use during the sixteen and seventeenth century Spanish mission and ranching periods. This previously unknown First Spanish Cultural Period site named the White Ranch / De Soto site is located between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida on the wetlands associated with Orange Lake. Archaeological and documentary evidence confirms that this First Spanish mission period structure was a mission visita (mission without a resident priest) known as Apula and was understood to have been established in the late sixteenth century in the town of Potano known to have been visited by Hernando de Soto in 1539. The artifact assemblage from the mission period structure brings the conclusion that 8AAMR03538 was also a location of religious activities associated with the Franciscan mission of San Buenaventura de Potano, that was relocated a short distance along the lake shore. This investigation contains a systemic analysis of the artifacts from the White Ranch / De Soto site 8AAMR03538 recovered between 2005 and 2013. The goal of this study and results are to obtain information about the Aboriginal inhabitants and the following European occupations. Detailed field notes, ground truth studies performed with penetrating radar, magnetic detection and geographic information systems were used to record and analyze the excavation site and its geospatial relationships. This new information offers significant evidence and documentation confirming that the site is where Hernando de Soto came to the area of Potano on August 12th 1539. His army began camping just to the south of this location from August 11th to August 22nd and then marched north through Potano to join him on the entrada at Aguacaleyquen. The ceramic and coin assemblages from the site strongly prove the visitation by De Soto and the later location for a Franciscan visita and ranch.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Artifacts and Archaeology from the Conquistador Hernando De Soto’s Potano Encampment and the Lost Franciscan Mission
AU  - Fred A. White
Y1  - 2016/07/06
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
SP  - 44
EP  - 53
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7595
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20160404.12
AB  - The historical site identified by the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research as Smithsonian Trinomial 8AAMR03538 was the location of one of Hernando de Soto’s early camps during the 1539 entrada and was in later use during the sixteen and seventeenth century Spanish mission and ranching periods. This previously unknown First Spanish Cultural Period site named the White Ranch / De Soto site is located between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida on the wetlands associated with Orange Lake. Archaeological and documentary evidence confirms that this First Spanish mission period structure was a mission visita (mission without a resident priest) known as Apula and was understood to have been established in the late sixteenth century in the town of Potano known to have been visited by Hernando de Soto in 1539. The artifact assemblage from the mission period structure brings the conclusion that 8AAMR03538 was also a location of religious activities associated with the Franciscan mission of San Buenaventura de Potano, that was relocated a short distance along the lake shore. This investigation contains a systemic analysis of the artifacts from the White Ranch / De Soto site 8AAMR03538 recovered between 2005 and 2013. The goal of this study and results are to obtain information about the Aboriginal inhabitants and the following European occupations. Detailed field notes, ground truth studies performed with penetrating radar, magnetic detection and geographic information systems were used to record and analyze the excavation site and its geospatial relationships. This new information offers significant evidence and documentation confirming that the site is where Hernando de Soto came to the area of Potano on August 12th 1539. His army began camping just to the south of this location from August 11th to August 22nd and then marched north through Potano to join him on the entrada at Aguacaleyquen. The ceramic and coin assemblages from the site strongly prove the visitation by De Soto and the later location for a Franciscan visita and ranch.
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
ER  -

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