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Protection of Native American sites in Florida
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Protection of Native American sites in Florida
The State of Florida, the United States Federal government, local governments, and indigenous tribal governments have particular interests in the protection and preservation of Native American cultural, historic, and sacred sites in Florida. Over the years, Florida has faced threats to its indigenous sites from development, looters using bulldozers and heavy machinery, and various environmental factors such as hogs and erosion. In recent years, the protection of indigenous sites has become a focus in Florida.
In the 1960s, the advent of scuba diving led to a wave of underwater explorers who quickly realized that Florida's riverbeds were covered with remains of prehistoric megafauna and paleoindian artifacts. A collaborative relationship was quickly forged between this group and the Florida Museum of Natural History. Notable divers from this time period include Ben Waller, Hub Chasom, Clarence Simpson, Don Serbousek, and many others. Without the contributions of knowledge, artifacts, and sites by these and many other amateur archaeologists, professional archaeologists would have struggled to unlock the door to Florida's past. The late, esteemed archaeologist Dr. Barbara Purdy wrote in 2005, "We wouldn't know zilch without the contributions of river divers and avocational archaeologists."
In 1983, retired US Navy Seal and recreational diver Buddy Page led paleontologist S. David Webb (then with the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida) and archaeologist James M. Dunbar (then with the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research) to a deep underwater sinkhole site he discovered in the Aucilla River that he believed was scientifically significant (now called the Page-Ladson site).
A test pit at the site confirmed that it contained not only vertebrate fossils, but also evidence of Paleoindian occupation. A project called the "Aucilla River Prehistory Project" was born out of this survey, which ran from 1983 until 1997. This project was led by Dr. Webb and Dr. Dunbar as a collaborative effort between their agencies, amateur river divers and other members of the public. This site became ground zero as far as searching for the secrets to North America's first peoples and is currently dated to around 14,500 years old.
Between 1996 and 2005 the Isolated Finds Program was in place which allowed amateur archaeologists to continue contributing to the archaeological record without fear of violating the newly adopted 1993 Florida Statutes which increased penalties for looting. The suspension of the program led to decreased participation and reporting of new sites and is widely viewed as the beginning of a great rift in the amateur/professional relationship that has only continued to grow over the last two decades.
In 2016, amateur archaeologists introduced bills in both the Senate and the House of Representatives that sought to mend the rift between professionals and amateurs. Although these bills were controversial at the time and failed, they nevertheless brought increased attention to the importance of bridging the gap between amateurs and professionals in order to work together towards the discovery & protection of Native American sites.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, has been largely tasked with protecting Native American sites from criminals using bulldozers to loot and destroy archaeological sites.
The invasive feral hog was introduced to Florida first in 1539 by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Aside from harboring diseases, killing native plant and animal species, and destroying crops, feral hogs are also a significant threat to indigenous sites in Florida. Feral hogs often root as deep as 20 centimeters in the soft Florida soil with some examples of rooting up to 45 centimeters in Florida. A study on feral hog rooting that involved 293 archaeological sites in Florida found that 90% of the sites had artifacts within the first 20 centimeters of the soil and 85% of sites had artifacts within the first 10 centimeters of the soil, making these sites especially vulnerable to feral hog disturbance. The study gave a conservative estimate that 42% of the sites experienced feral hog disturbance during the time period of study. The study also found that after 18 months the damage from feral hogs was impossible to detect, which would lead archaeologists to believe that the sites had not been disturbed.
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Protection of Native American sites in Florida
The State of Florida, the United States Federal government, local governments, and indigenous tribal governments have particular interests in the protection and preservation of Native American cultural, historic, and sacred sites in Florida. Over the years, Florida has faced threats to its indigenous sites from development, looters using bulldozers and heavy machinery, and various environmental factors such as hogs and erosion. In recent years, the protection of indigenous sites has become a focus in Florida.
In the 1960s, the advent of scuba diving led to a wave of underwater explorers who quickly realized that Florida's riverbeds were covered with remains of prehistoric megafauna and paleoindian artifacts. A collaborative relationship was quickly forged between this group and the Florida Museum of Natural History. Notable divers from this time period include Ben Waller, Hub Chasom, Clarence Simpson, Don Serbousek, and many others. Without the contributions of knowledge, artifacts, and sites by these and many other amateur archaeologists, professional archaeologists would have struggled to unlock the door to Florida's past. The late, esteemed archaeologist Dr. Barbara Purdy wrote in 2005, "We wouldn't know zilch without the contributions of river divers and avocational archaeologists."
In 1983, retired US Navy Seal and recreational diver Buddy Page led paleontologist S. David Webb (then with the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida) and archaeologist James M. Dunbar (then with the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research) to a deep underwater sinkhole site he discovered in the Aucilla River that he believed was scientifically significant (now called the Page-Ladson site).
A test pit at the site confirmed that it contained not only vertebrate fossils, but also evidence of Paleoindian occupation. A project called the "Aucilla River Prehistory Project" was born out of this survey, which ran from 1983 until 1997. This project was led by Dr. Webb and Dr. Dunbar as a collaborative effort between their agencies, amateur river divers and other members of the public. This site became ground zero as far as searching for the secrets to North America's first peoples and is currently dated to around 14,500 years old.
Between 1996 and 2005 the Isolated Finds Program was in place which allowed amateur archaeologists to continue contributing to the archaeological record without fear of violating the newly adopted 1993 Florida Statutes which increased penalties for looting. The suspension of the program led to decreased participation and reporting of new sites and is widely viewed as the beginning of a great rift in the amateur/professional relationship that has only continued to grow over the last two decades.
In 2016, amateur archaeologists introduced bills in both the Senate and the House of Representatives that sought to mend the rift between professionals and amateurs. Although these bills were controversial at the time and failed, they nevertheless brought increased attention to the importance of bridging the gap between amateurs and professionals in order to work together towards the discovery & protection of Native American sites.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, has been largely tasked with protecting Native American sites from criminals using bulldozers to loot and destroy archaeological sites.
The invasive feral hog was introduced to Florida first in 1539 by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Aside from harboring diseases, killing native plant and animal species, and destroying crops, feral hogs are also a significant threat to indigenous sites in Florida. Feral hogs often root as deep as 20 centimeters in the soft Florida soil with some examples of rooting up to 45 centimeters in Florida. A study on feral hog rooting that involved 293 archaeological sites in Florida found that 90% of the sites had artifacts within the first 20 centimeters of the soil and 85% of sites had artifacts within the first 10 centimeters of the soil, making these sites especially vulnerable to feral hog disturbance. The study gave a conservative estimate that 42% of the sites experienced feral hog disturbance during the time period of study. The study also found that after 18 months the damage from feral hogs was impossible to detect, which would lead archaeologists to believe that the sites had not been disturbed.