Archaeology Sites

The first peoples to reach Florida may have arrived as early as 15,000 years before present (BP). They likely would have inhabited the rich coastal ravine areas where a variety of resources flourished—due to rising sea levels since that time, archaeological evidence of these earliest peoples is limited.

The area’s climate 15,000 years ago was cooler and drier than it is today, and supported very different animals than seen here today: giant ground sloth, horses, bison, llamas, giant armadillos, peccaries, mammoths, and mastodons.

The predominant archaeological traces, which the Paleo-Indians of this time left behind, are stone spear points (frequently Suwannee and Simpson styles).

The Archaic Period begins around 9,000 years ago, coinciding with rising sea levels and a new environment more similar to what is found in Florida today. By 6,000 BP, year-round villages were established along the area’s rivers.

The Orange Period is marked by the appearance of a pottery type known as Orange Pottery around 4,000 BP. Local clays tempered with plant matter produced an orange hue when fired, giving way to the style’s name.

The St. Johns period had begun by 500 BC, once Orange Pottery had been phased out by a chalky-textured pottery type known as St. Johns. Domesticated plants, mainly corn and squash, were used for the first time during the end of the time span. The St. Johns Period lasted until the arrival of the European explorers around 1500.

Because of the long, rich history of this state—in particular the St. Augustine area—there are many archaeological sites, both prehistoric and historic,  in Florida that you can visit today:

• Fort Matanzas dates back to 1742 and was erected to prohibit enemy ships from proceeding northward along the Matanzas River in an attack against St. Augustine.

• The Mala Compra Plantation was the residence of General Joseph Hernandez, Florida’s first delegate to the U.S. Congress.

• Fort Mose Historic State Park marks the first legally sanctioned free black community in what is now the United States.

• The Fountain of Youth is where Spain's Pedro Menendez de Aviles stepped ashore and established what would become St. Augustine.

• The Mission of Nombre de Dios and Our Lady of La Leche Shrine are both historically and religiously significant in that they mark the site of the first Catholic Mass celebrated in St. Augustine in 1565.

Amazingly, there are still ongoing archaeological digs in the area! Check out The Archaeological Dig at Menendez’s First Camp Site for more information.

New find ! Check out Longs Landing for more information.