معرفی
John E. Worth is a Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities at the University of West Florida. He is a leading expert in historical archaeology and ethnohistory, with a focus on Spanish colonial interactions with Native American communities in the Southeastern United States, particularly in Florida and the Gulf Coast region.
Worth earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Florida and holds an MA and BA from the University of Georgia. His academic career has centered on interdisciplinary research combining archaeological fieldwork with archival analysis of Spanish colonial documents.
His research interests include historical archaeology, ethnohistory, Spanish colonial history, the study of Southeastern Indians, Spanish missions, and historical research methods. He has conducted extensive fieldwork on key colonial sites such as the Tristán de Luna 1559–1561 settlement—the oldest multi-year European settlement in the United States—and Mission San Joseph de Escambe (1741–1761). His work has significantly advanced understanding of Native American-Spanish interactions, mission systems, and colonial frontier dynamics.
The trends in his scholarly publications reflect a deep engagement with colonial-era material culture, indigenous agency, economic exchange, and cultural hybridization. His research often bridges archaeology and ethnohistory, using both physical artifacts and historical documents to reconstruct colonial lifeways. Topics span from mission economies and inter-ethnic trade to the resilience of Native communities under colonial pressures.
- Rembert Patrick Award (1999) from the Florida Historical Association for The Timucuan Chiefdoms of Spanish Florida
Worth has supervised numerous graduate students, including Danielle Dadiego, Patrick Johnson, and Michelle Pigott, many of whose theses contribute to the broader understanding of colonial Florida. He has directed UWF’s archaeological field schools since 2009, training students in field and laboratory methods. His research has been supported by institutional affiliations and collaborative projects, including extensive digital outreach through his faculty website and public archaeology initiatives.
He leads the Pensacola Colonial Frontiers Project, which includes research on Mission San Joseph de Escambe and the Yamasee mission of San Antonio de Punta Rasa. His work involves collaboration with students, colleagues, and public audiences, and includes maintaining a comprehensive online archive of Spanish Florida documents, maps, and mission records.
