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About Rollins

Zack Gilmore, PhD

Associate Professor of Anthropology

zack gilmore Assistant Professor Anthropology

I am an anthropological archaeologist with diverse interests in the pre-Columbian societies of Florida and the broader American Southeast. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department and Archaeology Program Coordinator at Rollins College. I earned my Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2014 before coming to Rollins in 2016.

I teach courses on a wide range of topics in archaeological method and theory and North America's pre-Columbian societies. I also direct the Central Florida Archaeological Field School Program and supervise student internships related to the curation of collections in the Rollins College Archaeology Lab. 

My research focuses on understanding the social structure and interaction of Florida shell mound communities during the Late Archaic Period (ca. 5700–3500 B.P.), a subject I approach primarily by studying the crafting and exchange of early pottery. I am author of Gathering at Silver Glen: Community and History in Late Archaic Florida (University Press of Florida, 2016) and co-editor of The Archaeology of Events: Cultural Change and Continuity in the Pre-Columbian Southeast (University of Alabama Press, 2015). 

T. 407.691.1314

Books

2016 Gilmore, Zackary I. Gathering at Silver Glen: Community and History in Late Archaic Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. (in press)

2015 Gilmore, Zackary I. and Jason O'Donoughue (editors). The Archaeology of Events: Cultural Change and Continuity in the Pre-Columbian Southeast. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

Journal Articles/Book Chapters

2018 Gilmore, Zackary I., Kenneth E. Sassaman, and Michael D. Glascock.  Geochemical Sourcing of Fiber-Tempered Pottery and the Organization of Late Archaic Stallings Communities in the American Southeast. Journal of Archaeological Science xx:xx.

2018 Randall, Asa R. and Zackary I. Gilmore. The Itineraries of Late Archaic Shell and Ceramic Cooking Vessels. In Investigating the Ordinary: The Archaeology of Everyday Matters, edited by Sarah E. Price and Phillip J. Carr, pp. 95-111. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 

2016 Wallis, Neill J., Zackary I. Gilmore, Ann S. Cordell, Thomas Pluckhahn, Keith Ashley, and Michael D. Glascock. The Ceramic Ecology of Florida: Compositional Baselines for Pottery Provenance Studies. Science and Technology of Archaeological Research 1(2):30-49.

2015 Gilmore, Zackary I. Direct Radiocarbon Dating of Spanish Moss from Early Fiber-Tempered Pottery in the Southeastern U.S. Journal of Archaeological Science 58:1-8. 

2015 Gilmore, Zackary I. and Jason O’Donoughue. The Enigma of the Event.  In The Archaeology of Events: Cultural Change and Continuity in the Pre-Columbian Southeast, edited by Z. I. Gilmore and J. O’Donoughue, pp. 1-22. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

2015 Gilmore, Zackary I. Subterranean Histories: Pit Events and Place-Making in Late Archaic Florida. In The Archaeology of Events: Cultural Change and Continuity in the Pre-Columbian Southeast, edited by Z. I. Gilmore and J. O’Donoughue, pp. 119-140. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

2014 Randall, Asa R., Kenneth E. Sassaman, Zackary I. Gilmore, Meggan E. Blessing, and Jason M. O’Donoughue Archaic Histories beyond the Shell “Heap” on the St. Johns River. In New Histories of Pre-Columbian Florida, edited by Asa R. Randall and Neill J. Wallis. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

2012 Gilmore, Zackary I. Bone Processing and Subsistence Stress in Late Prehistoric South Texas. In Revisiting the Late Prehistoric in Central Texas: The Toyah Phase, edited by Nancy A. Kenmotsu and Doug Boyd, pp. 111-127. Texas A&M University Press, College Station.

zack gilmore in the field

Upper St. Johns Shell Mound Survey. This long-term field project focuses on documenting and testing the exceptionally well-preserved—and yet virtually unstudied—pre-Columbian shell mound sites along the upper St. Johns River in Central Florida.  Much of the associated fieldwork is conducted in conjunction with the Central Florida Archaeological Field School Program, which aims to provide invaluable hands-on archaeological experience to undergraduate students, while also conducting meaningful research into the histories and cultures of Central Florida’s pre-Columbian indigenous societies.

RCAL Collections Rehabilitation Project. This project consists of ongoing efforts toward documenting the substantial collections housed in the Rollins College Archaeology Lab and bringing them up to contemporary curation standards. The primary goal of these efforts is to maximize the teaching and research value of the collections and to ensure that they are available as a resource for future generations of archaeologists and students. A significant component of the project is the curation internship program, which provides Rollins students an opportunity to gain experience carrying out a wide range of collections management activities. 

Stallings Pottery Project. This NSF-funded project (conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kenneth E. Sassaman, University of Florida) aims to shed light on the scale, permanence, and interactions of Late Archaic Period (ca. 5150–3800 B.P.) Stallings communities, the architects of North America’s oldest pottery technology. Methodologically, it involves the use of neutron activation analysis (NAA) and ceramic petrography to characterize the geochemical composition of hundreds of Stallings pottery sherds and clay reference samples, with the goal of reconstructing the movement of Late Archaic pottery and people along the Savannah River valley of Georgia and South Carolina.

  • professor zack gilmore teaching in front of classroom holding a skull
  • Central Florida Archaeological Field School
  • Curating Archaeological Collections
  • Fantastic Archaeology
  • Foundations in Archaeology
  • The Human Adventure
  • Human Evolution
  • Introduction to Archaeology
  • Making Any Major Marketable
  • North American Archaeology
  • Public Archaeology

  • Register of Professional Archaeologists
  • Society for American Archaeology
  • Southeastern Archaeology Conference
  • Florida Anthropological Society
  • Ceramic Petrographers in the Americas 

gilmore archaeology

Cool Class: Archaeological Field School

In a swampy, secluded section of the Charles H. Bronson State Forest—about 20 miles due east of campus—Rollins students are unearthing an ancient mystery.
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