The Windover Site (Florida)

[Gomer]

Way cool link Uniface.
Most of those bone items look like weaving tools and the large points I would call Kirk. Wonder how much it costs...no price listed that I saw?

[uniface]

Recommended used book source : Advanced Book Exchange. Google it. If you can't get it through ABE (an umbrella organisation of used book sellers), you probably can't get it at all.

[jcinpc]

there are plenty of underwater burials in this state and I know Gomer knows what I mean. The biggest was/is Lake Okeechobee, alot of burial were unearted when it nearly dried up a few years ago, but not to the point of preservation like Windover. Over 80+ canoes were uncovered in another drought in Newnans lake from all ages. We have some fascinating water preservation here. Frank Cushings and Marco Island with the maskl and wooden artifacts in the turn of the century, of course they all dried up because they lacked proper preservation techniques.

I too remember when this was discovered and kept all new print when it came out.
Florida now has their answer for taking away our IFP ( Isolated Finds Program) its called FPAN. Florida Public Archaeology Network. They will help you with alot of info now and encourage people to participate in digs with them and ID your stuff when you bring it to them..
What I find facinating about the Windover site is the fact that a 14 year boy has spina bifida and they carried him around for all those years. ANother male was found with a point shot in his butt . A bunch of bone tools and pins. I have seen part of the report from my Arch friend who is with FPAN. THis is one of the most awesome site to me and to think it was almost part of an exit ramp for I-95

[Gomer]

True enough JC, What I was trying to say in a poor way is Windover is unique in that these people by all signs searched out a wet pond to bury in. Big lakes in Florida such as Newnans, Oranges, etc. have always been going from over full to dry through the ages. The peoples just moved where the water level were at any given time. Since this was not a dramactic change normally but long periods of time, people died on the edge of the lake. That means through time these burials are sometimes dry where they were done originally and sometimes they are beneath the present day water elevation. Though I know nothing about Lake Okeechobee and its ancient history. The lakes I mentioned do bear out what I am trying to say. At Orange lake the last time the sink opened up and everyone was beaching their water front property was no more, they stuck a school bus along with other junk in the sink to block it. In the scope of history that was a very short term fix, sooner or later all that junk will be gone and the lake dry again, if left on its own. Even within the last 100 years one can see pictures of boats on Paynes Parrie and now only see swamp and highways crossing it. If its sink isn't kept cleaned out the lake would come back (something I would like to see, personally). Even in its condition now one can visit the Alachua sink and as long as the "man" is not watching one can find flint out the cazoo right in the lowest part of the creek going into the sink. Just shows it had been dry before for a long period of time and folks were living around that creek on dry ground.The burials found in these type of places were not necessarily being done searching the water out to bury in but used the condidtions at the time to bury in? The people of Windover it would seem were clearly looking a for a pond to bury in?

JC who is in charge of FPAN and is it state wide recognized or regionally located and sponsered by a University? Sounds good as long as Judy Bense and Bryan Wheeler are not involved in any way.

[mootsman]

Originally Posted by Gomer

True enough JC, What I was trying to say in a poor way is Windover is unique in that these people by all signs searched out a wet pond to bury in.

Not my area of expertise (assuming one at all) but wouldn't that environment be different during the earlier Holocene than it is now? Meaning would we assume a pond was present then?

[Gomer]

Good question. With what I understand from say taking pollen samples from dirt the Pros can answer that question. I was assuming that had been established by the excavators and that question had been answered at Windover making it so special?

I know the state now can just from soil samples decide whether a burial had taken place in any tested example. Here in Florida on non-submerged lands one digging may never see nothing on remains except very slight colorations in the sand. Something the average digger never notices.