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Mound is fresh snapshot of Indian life
By ALEX LEARY
© St. Petersburg Times, HERNANDO -- Pottery and bones are scattered as if left behind a week ago, but archaeologists say the remains are more than 1,000 years old and could hold new clues about the Indians who once thrived along the Withlacoochee River. The recently discovered site appears to represent one of the richest collections of animal remains, said Lori Collins, a University of South Florida graduate student who traveled here last month. "It was really stunning to see," Collins said, explaining that most middens, or trash mounds, in the region are full of fish and shellfish remnants. The animal bones, which could be bear, deer or pig, illustrate the importance of the uplands, she added. "The biggest thing a site like that can help you understand is how people were using the area, how they made a living with the environment," Collins said. Middens are fairly common along the river so researchers are only mildly interested in this one. "It would be highly doubtful that there would be human remains but there could be," Collins said. Still, "it needs further study." The site, near Potts Preserve, has already been ransacked, and researchers caution against disclosing its exact location. Looters, probably looking for arrowheads or jewelry, dug several holes and blithely scattered the animal and pottery artifacts. They left behind trash and citronella candles. "I hope that people understand there are very stiff penalties for looting," Collins said. Hunters who came across the site last fall disclosed its location to Chester Bradshaw, who has done extensive research on water flows in the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes. Bradshaw said he visited the area in June and was "totally surprised and in disbelief." Ceramic remains found at the site appear to be between 1,200 and 1,500 years old, said USF archaeology professor Brent Weisman, who studied photographs of the remains. Sites along the Withlacoochee were used throughout history by various generations of Indians, Weisman said. "The river was the main highway. It was how they connected socially. It was also their main source of food," he said. Weisman, a leading expert in state archaeological history, has not decided whether he will visit the site. He made a name for himself in the mid 1980s for his work on the Tatham Mound near Inverness. The remains of dozens of Indians were excavated from the mound and glass beads and silver artifacts demonstrated contact with the Spanish, particularly Hernando De Soto, who visited the area in mid to late 1539. - Staff writer Alex Leary can be reached at (352) 564-3623 or leary@sptimes.com.
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