Pre-Contact Line Fishing Techniques along the Aucilla River, Northwest Florida Explored through the Use of Experimental Analysis

Numerous pre-Contact fishhooks have been recovered from the Aucilla River in northwest Florida. These specimens have provided evidence of small capture fishing methods such as hook and line fishing, primarily in the form of bone hooks. But the types of materials used as line are still a mystery. Through an experimental approach, I narrowed down the possibilities for what types of materials would have been good candidates to have been used as possible fishing lines on and around the pre-Contact Aucilla River. To do this, I looked at the ethnohistoric record, the availability of the materials, the speed and efficiency of production of each type of cordage starting from harvesting raw materials and ending with cordage, and finally I tested the structural integrity of each material using two phases of testing. This analysis suggests that the best cordage for line fishing in multiple environments would be yucca (Yucca filamentosa), when compared to red mulberry tree (Morus rubra) and cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto).