Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Anthropology

Major Professor

Thomas Pluckhahn, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Laura Harrison, Ph.D.

Committee Member

John Arthur, Ph.D.

Keywords

3D, Cultural Heritage, Digital Archaeology, Digitization, Fort Brooke, Public Heritage

Abstract

Fort Brooke, established in 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, shaped the growth of Tampa and Florida’s west coast for nearly sixty years and served as the nucleus for the forced removal of Indigenous people. Though the Fort itself has long since vanished beneath the modern city, archaeology has preserved its legacy. Excavations since the 1970s have uncovered rich assemblages of ceramics, glass, military equipment, faunal remains, and domestic refuse. These materials reveal daily life at the post, highlighting the interactions of soldiers, Seminoles, African Americans, white settlers, and Cuban fishermen, while also uncovering the deeper prehistoric, referred to as the Ancestral Period by the STOF (Seminole Tribe of Florida), occupation of the Channelside district.

Despite these discoveries, public interpretation has been limited. This project adopts a public heritage approach to reunite Fort Brooke’s fragmented record with the community it helped to shape. Collaborating with the Florida Division of Historical Resources and the University of South Florida’s Access 3D Lab, an interactive virtual exhibit has been developed. The project features three-dimensional scans of artifacts from the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research Fort Brooke collection, excavated by Henry A. Baker, and the University of South Florida Fisher Thesis collection, excavated by Elizabeth A. Fisher.

Two hundred years after its establishment, Fort Brooke survives most vividly through the archaeological record. By transforming artifacts into accessible digital experiences, this project demonstrates how archaeology, collaboration, and exhibition can preserve and reinterpret a nearly forgotten military outpost as a shared cultural touchstone.

Download

Share

COinS