Southwest
Regional News
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| Archaeologist Gives Presentation | ||||
| • | Archaeologist Steve Koski presented a very interesting talk about work at an important site in North Port called Little Salt Springs (in Sarasota County, but of great relevance to all of Florida archaeology) at the recent Florida Trust meetings. Little Salt Spring is a 240-foot deep spring-fed sinkhole that may have served as a water supply to prehistoric inhabitants. People are believed to have used Little Salt Spring as many as 12,000 years ago. Artifacts found in the spring, including carved and shaped wood tools and some intriguing carved greenstone pendants, provide just a glimpse of the people who may have stopped here on their way to the coast. The site is believed to have served as an oasis for early residents of Florida, and it would have been a convenient stopping place where they could get water and food. | |||
| Research has been conducted there since the 1970s, and since 1992, the University of Miami has conducted field work at Little Salt Spring through multidisciplinary classes. It provides an exceptional opportunity for underwater archaeological research. The University of Miami, which oversees Little Salt Spring, sometimes presents guided tours of the Archaeological and Ecological Preserve at the spring. The site is at 6863 West Price Blvd. in North Port, west of Heron Creek Middle School. Steve Koski and his colleagues are very interested in involving the public in research and interpretation at the site, and Koski himself is very active with the Warm Mineral Springs Archaeological Society (a chapter of FAS), which meets monthly at the North Port Library. | ||||
| The Blanchard House | ||||
| • | The Blanchard House Museum of African-American History & Culture commemorated our nation's 144th anniversary observing the Emancipation Proclamation by hosting its 7th Annual Emancipation Day Celebration on May 19. Historian Clifton Lewis presented "The Importance of Celebrating the Emancipation." Blanchard House Museum tours were conducted, and storytelling by local elders also took place. A replica of the thatched hut under which the first church service was organized in Punta Gorda was on display. That service was conducted by Dan Smith in 1886. Minnie Blanchard's "Jubilee Black-Eyed Peas" recipe was cooked authentically in a large iron pot. Similar programs are often available at the Blanchard House Museum of African-American History & Culture is located at 406 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard at the corner of East Virginia Avenue in Punta Gorda. Call (941) 575-7518 for information. (6-04-07) | |||
| Lifetime Learning Institute | ||||
| • | Kara Bridgman Sweeney is teaching a class for the Lifetime Learning Institute at Edison College in Punta Gorda. This class is called Uncovering the Past Through Archaeology, and will be taught during the fall and spring. Contact Edison College for details. | |||
| Native Plants Guide | ||||
| • | A native plants guide is being developed for the Pineland site at the Calusa Heritage Trail ,which also should help visitors at other sites in the region. This guide is being developed with Nancy Kilmartin of Manatee Park and Sarah Miller and Christy Pritchard of the NE FPAN office in St. Augustine, as well as with staff and volunteers from the Randell Research Center! Stay posted!! | |||
| The Emancipation Day | ||||
| • |
...at the Blanchard House Museum was a success! At least 300 people
were present to witness the very first reenactment of when local people
learned about the Emanicpation Proclamation. Many of these
people also took self-guided tours of the museum. sun-herald.com/CHNewsstory.cfm?pubdate= 052007&story=ch1.htm&folder=NewsArchive2 |
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| Outreach Coordinator | ||||
| • | A position for an outreach coordinator will be posted soon. This person will assist Kara Bridgman Sweeney in presenting programs to area students and other groups. They also will assist with other events, ensuring wide coverage of heritage events and archaeological issues throughout this region! | |||
| The Lemon Bay Conservancy | ||||
| • | ...seeks
to acquire a significant archaeological site for preservation, with
the assistance of the county commissioners in Charlotte. sunherald.com/CHNewsstory.cfm?pubdate= 051007&story=ch14.htm&folder=NewsArchive2 |
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| Audubon of Southwest Florida | ||||
| • | ...is interested in teaching citizens how to conserve rural lands, especially in Glades County | |||
| All Educators and Civic Organizations | ||||
| • | ...interested in planning programs about archaeology in Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Glades, and Hendry counties, please contact our center. We can send you a request form so that specific programs can be coordinated for your group’s needs, in or out of the school year. Current offerings include slide shows and interactive workshops with hands-on learning experiences for students of all ages. | |||
| ”Treasures”
in Lake Okeechobee? Report From Kara Bridgeman Sweeney |
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| • | On
June 4, 2007 I visited some exposed areas in Lake Okeechobee outside
of Clewiston. A long-time Clewiston resident and fisherman invited
me there and hoped I could tell him whether some things he had seen
at one spot (which had been underwater as long as this man knew, until
this recent drought) were fossils, or whether they might tell us about
people who used to live by the lake. This difference is important
and not well understood by many- fossils found in such areas are interesting
to scientists who work with really ancient animals and environments,
but they don’t tell us anything about past humans since they
normally pre-date those people by thousands and often millions of
years. What we found on the exposed island was unremarkable and not
useful in terms of archaeology; there were some animal bones which
had grown into limestone over the past millennia. But, we saw nothing
indicating people had lived at this spot at any time in the past-
no pottery, no human bone, and no other signs that trash piles (what archaeologists call middens) had been left behind. So, I felt comfortable noting that this area was not what we call and “archaeological site.” (Article continued on bottom of page 5) |
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