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Ancient Native American burial site discovered in Gulf of Mexico

March 02, 2018 15:22·
Archaeologists made a 7000-year-old discovery in the Gulf of Mexico

Archaeologists made a 7000-year-old discovery in the Gulf of Mexico

A Native American burial site that is thousands of years old has been discovered off of Florida's Gulf Coast, CBS Tampa affiliate WTSP reports.

The site will help archaeologists understand what the environment was like for Florida's indigenous people over 7,000 years ago, and how they lived.

The burial grounds were found at the Manasota Key Offshore archaeological site, located west of Venice, Florida.

"As soon as we were there it became clear that we were dealing with something new", Ryan Duggins of Florida's Bureau of Archaeological Research told the magazine.

In addition, the scientists also unearthed pieces of prehistoric culture: a collection of carved wooden stakes and textile fragments that radiocarbon tests date to around 7,000 years ago. But it's the first discovery of underwater preservation from the Archaic Period in the Americas, having made it through sea level rise in the last ice age.

A burial site hidden for some 7,000 years beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico likely has archeologists picking their jaws up from the floor.

Research has proven that sea levels were lower during his time and that an inland freshwater pond, which was small, existed where the site is located.

It's against the law to disturb any unmarked human burial sites, so underwater archaeologists had to use techniques such as sonar and magnetometry to investigate.

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'Peat slows the process of organic decay, which allowed the site to stay well-preserved'. So far, researchers have recovered the remains of around six individuals from this prehistoric hunter-gatherer society. "A series of fire-hardened and sharpened stakes would be pounded into the pond bed around the body with the tops of those stakes protruding above the water line". Some of the only other examples are in Israel and Denmark.

He's one of the main curators behind the center's American Indian display.

"Having it underneath peat, underneath mud, in the water like that is the best way to preserve it", Kite-Powell said.

"Documenting it. That is so important for our understanding of history". "We now know that this type of site exists on the continental shelf".

BAR says it is developing a long-term management plan for the site that focuses on protection and preservation.

The bureau worked with Florida Gulf Coast University, the National Park Service, Florida Public Archaeology Network, Sarasota County Historical Resources and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as local and state law enforcement and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

This newly uncovered sacred location in the Manasota area will now be preserved and protected by the state and off-limits to recreational divers.

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