The Maritime Cultural Landscape of the Tristan de Luna Settlement and Shipwrecks, John Bratten (108)

The University of West Florida archaeology program identified the archaeological site of the Luna settlement – the first multi-year European settlement in the United States – in a developed neighborhood in Pensacola. The artifacts discovered are evidence of the Spanish settlement by Tristán de Luna y Arellano from 1559 to 1561, the earliest multi-year European colonial settlement ever archaeologically identified in the United States.

UWF archaeologists recovered numerous sherds of broken 16th century Spanish ceramics found undisturbed beneath the ground surface. The artifacts were linked to the Spanish expedition led by Luna, who brought 1,500 soldiers, colonists, slaves and Aztec Indians in 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico, to Pensacola to begin the Spanish colonization of the northern Gulf Coast in 1559. The Luna settlement inhabited Pensacola from 1559 to 1561, which predates the Spanish settlement in St. Augustine, Florida, by six years, and the English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, by 48 years.

Dr. John Bratten, chair and associate professor of anthropology, teaches archaeology, maritime studies, shipwreck archaeology and artifact conservation.

Bratten was always fascinated by stories of arctic explorers and shipwrecks. But reading the book, “The Sea Remembers: Shipwrecks and Archaeology,” inspired him to switch careers midstream – from teaching science to studying maritime archaeology.

As co-principal investigator of the Emanuel Point II shipwreck, Bratten combines his passion for science and archeology by overseeing the excavation and artifact conservation of the second vessel from Tristán de Luna’s 1559 colonization fleet. He utilizes a state-of-the-art freeze-dryer provided by the Archaeology Institute to stabilize and maintain diagnostic information from artifacts that have been submerged in water for more than 400 years.

Bratten wrote, “The Gondola Philadelphia and the Battle of Lake Champlain,” a comprehensive analysis of the oldest intact warship and the associated artifacts that were recovered from the bottom of Lake Champlain. In addition to his manuscript publication, he has written numerous journal articles, lay publications and technical reports. He was also board member of the CSS Alabama Project and the Pensacola Archaeological Society. Before joining UWF in 1996, he was a conservator for Florida’s Bureau of Archaeological Research.

Dr. John Bratten, University of West Florida Faculty Page:

The Discovery and Exploration of Tristán de Luna’s

1559-1561 Settlement on Pensacola Bay

Luna Settlement:

Luna Media Kit:

Florida's Lost Galleon: The Emanuel Point Shipwreck

Archaeology Institute

FLORIDA FRONTIERS: The Luna Settlement Excavation