More Evidence Of Tequesta Civilization Unearthed Near Miami River
6:00 am Mon April 29, 2013
More Evidence Of Tequesta Civilization Unearthed Near Miami River
By Nathaniel Sandler
Two months ago, twelve dump trucks bursting with dirt and fill from a downtown Miami construction site made their way to the Everglades Outpost, an animal rescue facility in Florida City.
Barbara Tansey, the facility’s owner and overseer is slowly sifting through the remnants looking for clues. Though volunteers occasionally come to help, at some moments the elderly Tansey is entirely on her own, tirelessly sifting in hopes of revealing any artifact.
It should be mentioned that twelve truckloads is an insane amount of dirt.
Henry Flagler, one of Miami’s most ambitious early twentieth century developers, placed most of that dirt downtown to level out the natural bedrock under the city and expand the borders of his vast property. The land is being taken away from an archeological dig on Third Avenue, right off the mouth of the Miami River. The excavation is being led by South Florida archeologist Bob Carr, who undertook the well-publicized first Miami Circle site that was uncovered in 1998. As the fill is removed, you can see the lines of orange dirt, delineating the earth that Flagler deposited from Jupiter Florida via his famous railroad.
What Carr and his team have uncovered at the going Third Avenue dig site, where plans for an upscale movie theater are in motion, is of great historical significance, with artifacts and remnants spanning thousands of years of Miami history.
More:
http://wlrn.org/post/more-evidence-tequesta-civilization-unearthed-near-miami-river
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http://www.flheritage.com/archaeology/projects/miamicircle/
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Wikipedia:
The Miami Circle, also known as The Miami River Circle, Brickell Point, or The Miami Circle at Brickell Point Site, is an archaeological site in Downtown Miami, Florida. It consists of a perfect circle measuring 38 feet (11.5m) of 600 postmolds that contain 24 holes or basins cut into the limestone bedrock, on a coastal spit of land, surrounded by a large number of other 'minor' holes. It is the only known evidence of a prehistoric permanent structure cut into the bedrock in the United States, and considerably predates other known permanent settlements on the East Coast. It is believed to have been the location of a structure, built by the Tequesta (also Tekesta) Indians, in what was possibly their capital. Discovered in 1998, the site is believed to be somewhere between 1700 and 2000 years old. Some scholars have questioned both its age and its authenticity.
HistoryMiami, then known as the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, signed a 44-year lease of the site in March 2008, with plans to offer tours beginning in Spring 2009.[4]
On February 5, 2002, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009.[3]
More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Circle