The materiality of the Apalachee diaspora: an Indigenous history of contact and colonialism in the Gulf South

ABSTRACT In 1704 the Apalachee of northern Florida dispersed across the Southeast in the wake of the destruction of their homeland, experiencing a diaspora borne out of colonial violence, disappointing alliances, and the search for economic and political stability. Throughout the eighteenth century, various Apalachee communities traveled and settled across the American South, maintaining their ethnic identity while developing a hybridized ceramic practice from their interactions with other Indigenous communities. This article covers the Apalachee’s history of contact and colonialism, focusing on two Apalachee communities that followed two very different diasporic trajectories, but eventually settled in the Gulf South some 80 kilometers apart. Making use of ceramic data, archaeological evidence, and historical documents, this article examines how Apalachee materiality evolved with a durable Apalachee ethnic identity.