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Developers must dig up artifacts
By CHASE SQUIRES © St. Petersburg Times, published April 5, 2001 SAN ANTONIO -- The aboriginals are in the details. When the Pasco County Commission approved the 6,700-unit Cannon Ranch golf development last month, buried in the 12-page document was a brief mention of a potentially valuable historic find dubbed the "Egg Hole" site. Before they build, developers must excavate and record artifacts that could date back more than 3,000 years, according to the development agreement and state documents. The Egg Hole site is a "potentially significant cultural resource" that may be eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, according to a 1986 survey by archaeologist Elizabeth Horvath. According to Horvath's findings, recorded with the state Division of Historical Resources, researchers dug 11 test holes on 12 acres along the southern border of the 2,000-acre Cannon Ranch property. The ranch, about a mile east of Interstate 75 on the south side of State Road 52, is approved for a combination of houses, townhouses, condominiums and shops, as well as two golf courses. In addition, the county may require developers to build two elementary schools and donate land for a fire station and a library. The site is under contract to developers Del Webb Corp., best known for building large retirement communities under the Sun City brand. Thompson Station Enterprises, based in Tennessee, bought the ranch from the Cannon family for $7-million and still owns it. Thompson Station's California-based development consultants did not return a telephone call for comment Wednesday, but University of South Florida archaeology professor Robert Tykot said investigating and documenting historic sites usually doesn't hold up development. "A lot of times we're talking about a very short time," he said. "We're not talking about months and months, unless it's a very significant site." Development has actually helped uncover many of the archaeological finds in rural areas, he said. As long as developers are willing to give scientists time to examine the site and record the finds, historians and builders can work together, Tykot said. Tykot said residents of the area from around 1,000 B.C. are generally classified as "Woodland Peoples." They lived in small clans in a simple society. In her report, Horvath said tool and coral fragments found at the Egg Hole site hint of a semipermanent camp where raw materials were collected and tools were made and repaired. The spot was probably a frequent stopover for clans moving from the coast to settlements inland, she reported. It could be valuable in showing that coastal dwellers visited inland areas more frequently than originally thought. "It is believed that data obtained from this site can contribute to an understanding of the relationship between the uplands/lowlands/coastal environmental zones and their use by prehistoric aboriginals," Horvath reported. The county's development order requires builders to conduct a deeper study of the site and get approval of state officials before covering it. Horvath, who has moved to the Panhandle since her study, said Wednesday she still remembered the site after years on the job because of its rich deposit of tools and remnants. In thousands of test holes dug across the state, findings of small tool bits are common, Horvath said. To stand out, and to be a candidate for the National Register, a site must offer something more. The Egg Hole site does, she said. According to her report, it could offer a key to understanding the migration patterns of people who walked Florida long before recorded history. The name came from the egg-shaped hole archaeologists dug while surveying the spot, Horvath said. "There's a ton of lone-pine and twin-palm sites out there," she said. "It gets tough to come up with new names."
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