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The Windover Archeological Site is a Middle Archaic ( 6000 to 5000 BC) archaeological site and
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in
Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in ...
near Titusville,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
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, on the central east coast of the state. Windover is a muck
pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...
where skeletal remains of 168 individuals were found buried in the
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
at the bottom of the pond. The skeletons were well preserved because of the characteristics of peat. In addition, remarkably well-preserved brain tissue has been recovered from many skulls from the site. DNA from the brain tissue has been
sequenced In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure (sometimes incorrectly called the primary sequence) of an unbranched biopolymer. Sequencing results in a symbolic linear depiction known as a sequence which suc ...
. The collection of human skeletal remains and artifacts recovered from Windover Pond represent among the largest finds of each type from the Archaic Period. It is considered one of the most important archeological sites ever excavated. The Windover dig site is a small pond, about in area, that has held water continuously since sometime between 9000 and 8000 BC. It is next to the Atlantic coastal ridge about from Cape Canaveral. As the sea level was considerably lower 7,000 to 8,000 years ago than it is today, the pond originally sat above the water table, and was filled only by rainfall and runoff from the surrounding land. At that time the pond had a relatively thin layer of
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
under a thin layer of water. The subsequent rise in sea level raised the local water table, and in more recent times the pond has been fed by groundwater as well as rainfall. In 1984 the pond had a thick layer of peat, with five strata described by the archaeologists who excavated the pond. The peat in the center of the pond was covered by of water.Milanich 1994: 72


Discovery and excavation

The site was discovered in 1982 when work began on building a road across the pond in a new housing development, Windover Farms. A backhoe operator noticed several skulls in the bucket of his machine. The sheriff and medical examiner determined that the burials were not recent. The local forensic expert originally believed he was examining modern Caucasian remains.Brown: 19-20Milanich 1994: 70 The developers,
Jack Eckerd Jack Eckerd (May 16, 1913 – May 19, 2004) was an American businessman and the second generation owner of Eckerd chain of drugstores. Biography Eckerd was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Culver Military Academy and the Boein ...
and Jim Swann, halted construction at the pond and called in archaeologists. Radiocarbon dating on two bones excavated from the pond by the backhoe, paid for by the developers, yielded dates of 7,210 years and 7,320 years Before Present, establishing the importance of the find. The developers changed their overall plans in order to preserve the pond intact and donated $60,000 worth of pumping equipment to drain the pond for excavation. The state approved funding to excavate the pond in 1984. The work was carried out under the direction of Glen Doran and David Dickel of Florida State University. The buried bones were or deeper beneath the surface of the peat at the bottom of the pond, under 3 to of water. Researchers used a network of 160 wells around the pond to lower the water table enough to permit excavation of the peat. The workers used shovels and hand tools to remove the peat until the level of the burials was reached. One of the lead archaeologists compared excavating the peat to trying to dig chocolate mousse under water. Only half of the pond was excavated, with the remainder left undisturbed for future investigation.


Human remains

The remains found included bones of males and females of all ages from infants to about 60 years, a total of 168 individuals. The average height of adult males was . Children constituted about half the remains. Skeletons showed the effects of disease and healed wounds, allowing
forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...
studies. Many bones of children showed interrupted growth, perhaps due to severe disease or malnutrition. Osteoporosis was evident in older females. Adults of both sexes exhibited a high incidence of
osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...
, which is another continuing problem for humans. Some skeletons showed wounds from conflict that were likely the cause of death. The pelvis of one male had a bone spear point embedded in it. Others had severe skull fractures. Children and teenagers were buried with more
grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
than were adults, indicating the high value placed on children. Skeletons included one of a male aged about 15 who had ''
spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, men ...
''. All of his bones were found to have been fragile. One of his feet was missing and the stump of his lower leg had healed. As his spinal condition almost certainly meant the boy was paralyzed below the waist, this find was important for assessing the society's commitment to ensuring his survival for 15 years in a hunter-gatherer community. While some of the remains were mixed, about 100 undisturbed burials were found with fully articulated bones, in roughly the correct position and relationship in the body. Most were buried in a flexed position, on their left sides, and with their heads toward the west. The bodies were held down in the graves by sharpened stakes. The bodies were buried in clusters, in five or six episodes of short duration that were scattered over a thousand years. Thirty-seven of the graves contained woven fabrics which demonstrate a relatively complex weaving technique and indicate that the bodies had been wrapped for burial. In late 1984 the archaeologists discovered that brain tissue had survived in many of the
skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...
s. Lumps of greasy, brownish material were found in several skulls when they were opened for examination. Suspecting that this was brain tissue, the researchers sent the intact skulls for
X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10  picometers to 10  nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
, CAT scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which showed recognizable brain structures. In addition, cell structures were seen under a
microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...
. At least 90 of the recovered bodies had brain tissue that survived, due to the preservative effects of the peat. The state of preservation of the brain tissues allowed a determination that the bodies were buried in the peat within 24 to 48 hours after death. This preservation allowed researchers to sequence DNA from the brains. The DNA indicated Asian origin, similar to that of the four other major haplotypes of Native American peoples, and a relatively rare
haplogroup A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...
, X. The DNA also indicated that one family had used this grave site for over a century. Gut contents were found with many of the burials. These included seeds of wild grapes,
elderberries ''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
and prickly pear fruit, often in large quantities. The people's teeth were worn down early in life, presumably from sand in the food, but few had cavities.


Artifacts

Many artifacts that were deposited with the bodies were also preserved. Archaeologists at this site were able to recover a total of 86 pieces of fabric from 37 graves. These included seven different textile weaves, which appeared to have been used for clothing, bags, matting, and possibly blankets and ponchos. Numerous other artifacts, such as ''
atlatl A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to store ene ...
s'' and
projectile point In North American archaeological terminology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a weapon that was capable of being thrown or projected, such as a javelin, dart, or arrow. They are thus different from weapons presumed to have ...
s, were also found at Windover. The occupants of Windover hunted animals, fished, and gathered plants. They used bottle gourds for storage, which comprise the earliest evidence for vegetable container storage discovered in North America. Animal bones and shells found in the graves indicated that the people ate
white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
, opossum,
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s,
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
and shellfish.


Water burials

Windover is one of a number of Archaic period sites in Florida with underwater burials in peat. Similar burials occurred at Little Salt Spring (in Sarasota County) 5,200 to 6,800 years ago, Bay West (in Collier County) 5,940 to 6,840 years ago, and Republic Grove (in Hardee County) 5,690 to 6,470 years ago. A site currently below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico near
Venice, Florida Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in S ...
, the Manasota Key Offshore site, was discovered in 2016. It has multiple burials in multiple areas. The burial site was a freshwater peat pond when the burials occurred 7,200 years ago. At Windover, stakes were driven into the peat through fabrics wrapped around the bodies. Similar stakes were found associated with burials at Bay West, Republic Grove, and Manasota Key Offshore. The stakes may have been used to help hold the bodies underwater. There were also burials (although not in peat) in the sinkhole at Warm Mineral Springs, dating as much as 12,000 years ago. Robin Brown notes in connection with these underwater burials that many Native American groups have a tradition that spirits of the dead are blocked by water. As recently as 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, bundled, defleshed bones were stored on a wooden platform set in the middle of a pond at Fort Center.


Significance

Windover Pond is one of a number of sites in Florida excavated since 1970 that have led to a major reassessment of the Archaic period in Florida. Jerald T. Milanich states that Windover has provided "unprecedented and dramatic" information about the early Archaic people in Florida, and that the Windover site may be "one of the most significant archaeological sites ever excavated.".Milanich 1994: 26, 61, 70 The site was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1987 in recognition of this significance.


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


Further reading

*Tuross, Noreen, et al.
Subsistence in the Florida Archaic: The Stable-Isotope and Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Windover Site
. ''
American Antiquity The professional journal ''American Antiquity'' is published by Cambridge University Press for the Society for American Archaeology, an organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas. The journal is considered to be the flagship jou ...
'' 59.2 (1994): 288–303. *Wentz, Rachel. "Life and Death at Windover:Excavations of a 7,000 Year-Old Pond Cemetery". 2012.


External links


Brevard County listings
a
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs

Windover Archeological Site
a
National Historic Landmarks ProgramWindover Burial Site
a
A History of Central Florida Podcast
{{Authority control Archaic period in North America Archaeological sites in Florida National Historic Landmarks in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Brevard County, Florida Prehistoric burials Underwater archaeological sites