May 3, 2007 - Looking for Angola Expands to Underwater Investigation
"LOOKING FOR ANGOLA” EXPANDS TO UNDERWATER INVESTIGATION
A team of scholars from several Florida universities has enlisted the help of an underwater archaeological team from Mote Marine Laboratory to search for artifacts of an early 1800's Black Seminole settlement known as Angola. The group has been testing equipment this week and will officially begin the study, the first underwater archaeological research study ever conducted in the Manatee River, on Thursday, 5-3-07.
The underwater survey has the potential to reveal information about the river's use by early communities. The investigation is part of an on-going project called, "Looking For Angola" (LFA). "There have been no studies that examine African and African American use of the Manatee River or the coastal area. The Manatee River was significant to Angola inhabitants because it was a major source of food and travel," said Dr. Uzi Baram, Associate Professor of Anthropology at New College of Florida.
Baram and a team of Angola scholars hope the underwater work will produce evidence of the fishing, transportation and defensive activities of the state's earliest settlers and their British military allies.
Led by Dr. Coz Cozzi, a Nautical Archaeologist from Mote, the initial underwater effort includes use of specialized equipment such as side scan sonar and a magnetometer to scan the river's bottom. Found materials will be identified and categorized into chronological and historical context. "The river will likely contain iron artifacts from earlier periods that highlight Florida's maritime culture." Dr. Cozzi's team will survey a two-mile stretch of the river. A videographer will document the finds.
The project is financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State assisted by the Florida Historical Commission. Angola, the first known black community of Tampa Bay was comprised of escaped slaves, free blacks and Seminoles. "Their history and contributions were virtually unknown to the general public until the LFA project began in 2003," said Project Director Vickie Oldham. Since then, the project has broadened to include tertiary archaeology, public lectures, a documentary, teacher workshops and three resource guides used by Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte County schools. Angola highlights the state's role as a beacon of freedom.
About Mote Marine Laboratory & the Nautical Archaeology Program
Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is one of the largest independent nonprofit marine research organizations in the world. It is dedicated to advancing the science of the sea through the study of marine and estuarine ecosystems, through the public Mote Aquarium and through an education division that provides unique programs for all ages. Dr. Cozzi joined Mote in 2003, to begin nautical archaeology investigations aimed at interpreting how people have interacted with the very ecosystems that other Mote scientists have long studied. The nautical archaeology program initiated the first scientific shipwreck survey of Charlotte Harbor that has documented several underwater sites including vessels and docks associated with the earliest industrial activities in south Florida along the Peace River. This survey will continue in the fall. Dr. Cozzi has also documented historic maritime activities in Sarasota Bay and now the Manatee River.
For more information on the Mote Marine Laboratory and the upcoming underwater archaeology research, please contact:
Martha Wells, Vice President of Communications Phone: 941-388-4441, ext. 316 Email: mwells@mote.org
