Multidimensional Experiences of Oystering: Investigating Selectivity and Management in Contemporary and Precolonial Oyster Assemblages From Tampa Bay,Florida,USA

Abstract

Oysters are ecologically and culturally significant to communities worldwide. Their presence in precolonial shell middens attests to their longstanding importance to coastal societies, a relationship that is exemplified along Florida's Central Gulf Coast. However, archaeological investigations into oyster harvesting in the region have been mainly economic-centered. Our study enlists the concept of oyster merroir—the connection between the characteristics of oysters and the environmental and social contexts in which they are raised—to explore how the management and consumption of oysters are multidimensional and capable of reinforcing connections to specific places and times. To accomplish this, we compare the morphology and taphonomy of oyster shells from three assemblages: contemporary farmed, contemporary wild reefs, and precolonial middens to assess selective preferences. We contextualize our data with previously conducted interviews with those in the Florida oyster industry and through firsthand experience of these practices from volunteer days at local oyster farms and with oyster managers. We found more morphological and taphonomic variation between wild reefs than between archaeological sites, highlighting consistency in harvesting practices over centuries. Still, farmed oysters had the most morphological consistency, reflecting the goal of producing an idealized shell shape. Our data suggests that Indigenous Floridians were consistent but flexible in their oyster harvesting—targeting nearshore intertidal reefs and culling oyster clusters to maintain reef substrate. We conclude by outlining how each assemblage reinforces connections to time and space in their own way.