The History of Florida Archaeology \, Part One: Shadows and Spirits of the Past
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Who we
re the first Floridians\, where did they come from\, what civilizations di
d they build here\, and what was their eventual fate? This lecture will pr
esent their story\, beginning over ten thousand years ago at the end of th
e last Ice Age. These people were the paleo-indians\, who lived side by si
de with\, and hunted\, mammoths\, giant sloths\, and saber-toothed cats. T
hese hunter-gatherers eventually settled into permanent villages\, built t
emples and burial mounds\, and acquired agriculture. These changes lead to
the development of higher social organizations including chiefdoms\, mili
tary\, and religious leaders\, and culminated in the rise of a number of r
egional cultures. These regional cultures each had their own unique life w
ays and distinctive artifacts. These artifacts and the key sites associate
d with each of these regional cultures will be discussed in this presentat
ion.