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Seeing the Ice Age Wacissa Through Artifacts and Fossils (Florida)
Seeing the Ice Age Wacissa Through Artifacts and Fossils
November 2, 2017
Last week, we met Morgan Smith’s team and got to know their archeological sites on the Silver River. Today, we’ll revisit their Wacissa River site, see some of the artifacts and fossils they’ve found, and learn what they can tell us about ice age Florida. We’ll also look ahead to potential off shore digs.
Special thanks to Shawn Joy, Morgan Smith, and Matt Vinzant of Karst Underwater Research for letting us use their underwater footage. Morgan’s research is sponsored by the Felburn Foundation, Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University, and the PaleoWest Foundation. He would like to thank the Silver River State Park, Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
In the video above, we visit three archeological sites on two rivers. When you watch footage from each sites, one sticks out as the most visually striking. It’s an underwater cavern at the head spring of the Silver River, and it’s full of mammoth bones. It looks like a cool place to explore. But it’s also the site with the least scientific value.
The footage from the other two sites looks similar. Divers methodically work the edge of flat walls of dirt, plucking and bagging small bits from them. FSU Anthropology masters student Shawn Joy makes notes on a clipboard while a large tube vacuums up loose sediment. The process is less dramatic, though the resulting story might not be. And telling that story is Morgan Smith’s job.
More, including some nice photos and video: http://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coastal-health/?p=10537
November 2, 2017
Last week, we met Morgan Smith’s team and got to know their archeological sites on the Silver River. Today, we’ll revisit their Wacissa River site, see some of the artifacts and fossils they’ve found, and learn what they can tell us about ice age Florida. We’ll also look ahead to potential off shore digs.
Special thanks to Shawn Joy, Morgan Smith, and Matt Vinzant of Karst Underwater Research for letting us use their underwater footage. Morgan’s research is sponsored by the Felburn Foundation, Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University, and the PaleoWest Foundation. He would like to thank the Silver River State Park, Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
In the video above, we visit three archeological sites on two rivers. When you watch footage from each sites, one sticks out as the most visually striking. It’s an underwater cavern at the head spring of the Silver River, and it’s full of mammoth bones. It looks like a cool place to explore. But it’s also the site with the least scientific value.
The footage from the other two sites looks similar. Divers methodically work the edge of flat walls of dirt, plucking and bagging small bits from them. FSU Anthropology masters student Shawn Joy makes notes on a clipboard while a large tube vacuums up loose sediment. The process is less dramatic, though the resulting story might not be. And telling that story is Morgan Smith’s job.
More, including some nice photos and video: http://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coastal-health/?p=10537