Estabrook, Richard W., May 1986 - ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS AT THE RANCH HOUSE SITE (8-Hi-452) HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA Abstract - This thesis details the results of a Phase III archaeological data recovery program at the Ranch House site (8-Hi-452) conducted during May-July of 1983. This investigation was undertaken as part of the University of South Florida's 1983 summer field school in archaeology. This site is the largest site in the Tampa Palms Development tract, extending over 28.3 hectares (approximately 70 acres~. Three excavation areas were defined during the field investigation: Area 4 A, B, and C. In total, 160 fifty cm square tests, four 1x2 meter excavation units, and 16 two meter square excavation units were undertaken as a data recovery procedure. The general project goals included delineation of activity areas, identifying reduction stages, and re-evaluating Rom's (1979) site function designations. The primary research propositions included: 1) to determine whether the artifact clusters identified by the Phase II study are spatially distinct; 2) to determine the culture phase(s) in which these areas were utilized/occupied; 3) to identify the activity or activities represented by the material remains; 4) to determine whether the increased frequency of certain debitage attributes is indicative of the various stages (steps) in stone tool manufacture; and S) to determine whether thermally altered material was used more intensively than was unaltered material. The Ranch House site is best characterized as a series of aboriginal occupations which are not superimposed that exist within the original site boundaries. Area A is a limited activity area with no dominant activity subset which dates to the middle or late phases of the Archaic period (5000 to 3200 B.P.). Area B is a multi-component, multiple activity area with no dominant activity subset. This area contains components which date as early as the Early Archaic (8500 to 7000 B.P.) through the Wedden Island-related or Safety Harbor phases (ending A.D. 1528). The major use of Area B occurred during the Middle Archaic phase (7000 to 5000 B.P.). Area C is a spatially isolated limited activity area with a dominant activity subset; the dominant activity being stone tool production. This component has been tentatively dated to the Florida Transitional or early Manasota phases (2500 to 1200 B.P.). .