Archaeology of florida's caves
They are dark, damp, and sometimes dangerous. And people have used them for thousands of years! From homes to recreation, evidence for the human use of Florida's caves is scattered in front of their entrances and hidden deep inside the passageways. By mapping and excavating these caves, archaeologists are shedding new light into these dark spaces of Florida's past.
Florida Caverns State Park
The Florida Caverns State Park located in Jackson County, Florida and the many other cave systems in the region were formed in this way. These dark underworlds beneath the ground are full of life and wonder. The Florida Caverns offers a unique opportunity to explore one of the many cave systems located in Northwest Florida. To learn more about these geological treasures, visit the park in Marianna or check their website.
Hidden history of northwest florida caves
The Underworld
For thousands of years throughout the southeastern United States, people used caves for resources, shelter, and fun. Native people used caves for ceremonies as well as sources of stone to make tools and weapons. In colonial times people mined caves for saltpeter to make gunpowder. The cool climate of caves provided cold storage and were sources of fresh water even after the American Civil War. And today we use them for research, ecotourism, and leisure. Archaeologists are beginning to find evidence of these past uses of Florida's cave sites at their entrances and hidden within.
uncharted passages
Performing archaeology inside caves presents a lot of challenges. For one thing, caves are dark! This is a problem for archaeologists who must record and map everything they find. Natural daylight passes through entranceways, but it does not penetrate into the interior "dark zones." Special lighting equipment and hard hats were needed to work in these uncharted passages.
lime pit cave site
At the Lime Pit Cave Site in Marianna, University of West Florida archaeologists brought artificial lights in to inspect the walls and ceiling for cave art. They also recorded the position of artifacts they observed with pin flags and mapped the site. The context, or the original position of artifacts, provides information for interpreting the site. Context is the real value of artifacts. When someone removes artifacts from their context, the information is lost forever. Information recorded for the field work was used to create an accurate map of the cave site.
ILLUMINATING the Past
Ancient Native Americans left plenty of evidence that they used Florida's caves. These include footprints on the ground, cave art on the walls and ceilings, and charred wood and animals bones left in fire pits. At the Lime Pit Cave site archaeologists recorded different styles of stone tools and pottery fragments found inside. These prove that Native people used this cave for thousands of years! Artifacts like these allow archaeologists to shed light on these dark spaces of Florida's past. As long as artifacts are left in place, archaeologists can finally record the stories they can tell.
native american artifacts
Below are some of the artifacts archaeologists recorded and/or recovered for further analysis from cave sites in Northwest Florida. Each artifact was carefully mapped and documented whether they were left in place or collected for additional research. Collecting artifacts on state owned or Federal lands is strictly prohibited without a research permit.
For more information about this project:
Physical exhibit originally displayed at the Destination Archaeology Resource Center in 2015. This exhibit was made possible by a 2014 University of West Florida archaeology field school. The research is based on Gregg Harding's 2017 thesis work. Thanks to Dale Cox, Jackson County, the City of Marianna, Florida Caverns State Park, UWF Archaeology Institute, Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and many private land owners who all made this possible.
Credits:
Photos by Gregg Harding Text by Gregg Harding, Dr. Ramie Gougeon, and Mike Thomin