The 2026 recipient of the ACUA & RECON Offshore Student Travel Award is Mikiko Robinson. Mikiko is a graduate student studying Historical Archaeology at the University of West Florida, graduating early in May 2026. She specializes in maritime and zooarchaeology. Her thesis examines environmental drivers of faunal bone preservation on the Emanuel Point II (EP II) shipwreck, focusing on tannins, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and elemental concentrations from XRF analysis. Mikiko has contributed to Phase I surveys, desktop research reviews, and technical reports and am interested in cultural resource assessments, and archaeological report preparation.
Mikiko Robinson, the winner of the 2026 ACUA & RECON Offshore Student Travel Award
Join us in welcoming Mikiko for her presentation Bones Beneath Pensacola Bay
Abstract: This paper examines environmental drivers of faunal bone preservation on the Emanuel Point II (EP II) shipwreck in Pensacola Bay, Florida. Faunal remains from submerged contexts provide valuable evidence for provisioning and shipboard life, yet their survival is strongly shaped by post-depositional environmental processes. While geochemical and water-quality datasets, including XRF elemental analysis and sampling, are not yet conducted, this research establishes a methodological and interpretive baseline for future data collection. Ongoing and planned analyses will refine understanding of how environmental conditions structure preservation limitations and shape the archaeological record of early Spanish colonial shipwrecks.