Florida Indian Mounds

newnan man

newnan man

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Aug 8, 2005
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Beautiful Florida
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Visited some local mounds accessible by airboat yesterday. On one mound these teeth were scattered around wash out by recent heavy rains. We left the where they were. I hope others do to.
Pottery shards by the thousands. My friend has found 3 worn out points on other trips but that is fairly rare. I have more pics I will try to post.
 

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The Grim Reaper said:
I take it these are protected sites.
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All mounds on public property are protected in Florida, but mounds on private property are not afforded the same protections. That being said, it is illegal to disturb burials, although most mounds don't contain graves. There are plenty of mounds in remote areas of Florida that aren't even registered by the state. Many are inaccessible except by boat or through private land. I know of at least 5 coastal mounds in north Florida that are not listed with the state. Mound digging is frowned upon here even on private property, so typically only trespassers or people who don't have any qualms about breaking the law will attempt it. Surface finds such as he's describing here are very rare, which leads me to believe that this particular mound is not well-known.
 

A buddy of mine has dozens of mounds at his place on Pine Island....
He doesn't have any interest in Calusa swag though....
 

tonykidd said:
All mounds on public property are protected in Florida, but mounds on private property are not afforded the same protections. That being said, it is illegal to disturb burials, although most mounds don't contain graves. There are plenty of mounds in remote areas of Florida that aren't even registered by the state. Many are inaccessible except by boat or through private land. I know of at least 5 coastal mounds in north Florida that are not listed with the state. Mound digging is frowned upon here even on private property, so typically only trespassers or people who don't have any qualms about breaking the law will attempt it. Surface finds such as he's describing here are very rare, which leads me to believe that this particular mound is not well-known.
Click to expand...

Thanks
 

These mounds are on private ranch land way out on the St. Johns River. Air boaters and fishermen have been using them for decades as they are high & dry. That being said I personally never dig or pick up anything on them. I have no control over what others do. People camp on them, party, etc.
I'm sure the state Archy's at some time checked them out. I'll pick up a few pieces of pottery at the water line once in awhile if it's someone's land I know. All these freshwater mounds are built up from small Kite snails, mussels, & other small snail type things. Must have took billions as some mounds are fairly high & a couple acres. Village sites no doubt. One has a skull washing out and some bones.
I put the 9mm shell casing I found next to the teeth for size/ratio. Just thought some of you would find the pics interesting. I would never dig a mound or hunt without permission.
 

Florida mounds are usually just middens vs major mortuary complex developments from the Mississippian era groups north of Florida. Middens are shell/trash heaps first, and burial grounds second. Archaeologists and early collectors went through thousands of them as the coastal areas were developed and for fill for low areas, and you find a smattering of teeth, shell tools, pottery shards and occasionally some stone tools.

There are some notable exceptions that show trade items, ornate burials, copper, complete pots and organic artifacts, but most are just nice camping spots in high water. There are probably 50 mounds in my city outside of Ft Lauderdale, they are nice features on golf courses.
 

redbeardrelics said:
That is a lot of teeth in a small area, do you know what kind they are?
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They look human based on these pictures. The molars are small and not worn on the edges like deer molars would be. Teeth tend to last longer than bones, so if there were exposed bones at one time that makes sense. Also, rodents like rats and squirrels will shred a bone in a very short period of time.
 

ECS said:
Sounds like Randy Wayne White's property.
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Close....around the corner....
His entire place is on a mound. He used to be all cool with visitors, talked up a storm with his stories...that changed when he got stalked by a crazy lady.....he's a bit more guarded these days....
 

They are all human teeth. I looked at them but didn't touch them. Kinda gave me the hebe jebe's!��
 

BigWaveDave said:
Close....around the corner....
His entire place is on a mound. He used to be all cool with visitors, talked up a storm with his stories...that changed when he got stalked by a crazy lady.....he's a bit more guarded these days....
Click to expand...
Does he still stop by and write at Doc Ford's?
 

During 1891-1895, archeologist Clarence Bloomfield Moore rented the steamboat ALIGATOR searching for and mapping Native American mounds on the St Johns and Oklawaha Rivers.
The ALIGATOR caught fire and sunk in Crescent Lake and was forgotten until 2008, when it was found and recovery continues to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aligator_(steamboat)
 

People still collect but now we never see the finds or know where they came from. Some law abiding citizens now have a criminal record for selling what they thought were legal artifacts. One poor fellow committed suicide over the issue.
 

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