Florida archeology students are uncovering the behavior of indigenous people more than 2,000 years ago in the shadow of a place best known for modern space exploration.
University of Central Florida students and faculty are currently excavating the DeSoto Site at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station along the Atlantic Ocean coast, the location of America’s iconic launch pad to space.
According to a report by Fox News, the archaeological site dates back to the Malabar II period, which lasted from approximately 900 to 1565 AD. The site is composed of “black earth heaps”, meaning it lies on top of layers of ancient waste.
“Midens contain trash that people leave behind after going about their daily activities,” Sarah “Stacy” Barber, an anthropology professor at the University of Central Florida, told the news outlet.
“Obtaining and preparing food” was a primary daily activity for the people living there, he said.
“They did not farm,” he said, although another researcher has found that “at least some people in the area had access to ground corn, which was being cultivated by the indigenous people of northern Florida.”
According to the outlet:
Rather than farming, Native Americans in the area largely depended on local resources, although some people in the area had access to imported foods such as maize and beans. They also dined on seafood, including sharks, fish, clams, and other local species – the remains of which have been found on the beach.
“We found several dozen pieces of food waste,” the archaeologist said. “We know from our discoveries in DeSoto this year that turtles, sharks, black drum and coquina clams were on the menu.”
Students and teachers also found tools such as pottery shards, shell hammers, and shark-tooth knives used to prepare food, as well as “the remains of at least one hearth where food was cooked.”
The discoveries also indicate that Native Americans depended on local resources for centuries, while also having contact with other tribes.
“Our sites show the abundance and diversity of food, time to make pottery when needed, and opportunity to travel or interact with people in remote areas,” Barber said.
He added, “It was probably a relaxed, beachy lifestyle.”
Cape Canaveral became America’s premier rocket launch site when its first rocket, Bumper 8, was flown from there in 1950. It was renamed Cape Kennedy for a ten-year period from 1963 to pay tribute to assassinated President John F. Kennedy, one of the strongest supporters of space exploration.
Archaeologists are struck by the way the distant past is also the site of the present and future of American exploration.
He said, “There are few places in the world that highlight the role of the past in the present more than a place like Cape Canaveral, where the future of space flight literally sits on top and amid Native American landscapes.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is a best-selling author of Los Angeles crime novels below the line and nine other crime novels and non-fiction titles. Look lovellcauffiel.com For more information.
