Context of Paleo-lndian in Central Florida

Abstract

Unfortunately, as elsewhere in the Southeast, most Florida Paleoindian sites exist as isolated lanceolate points and alleged kill sites. Most purported associations of Paleoindian points with extinct Ice Age fauna remain dubious. Probably the most well-known Paleoindian sites are Little Salt Spring and Warm Mineral Springs, both in Sarasota County. These two sites contained both Paleoindian and Archaic diagnostic artifacts. Artifacts from Warm Mineral Springs, for example, appear to be temporally related to Archaic points or, at best Transitional, such as Greenbriar point. Besides Harney Flats, the only other location that produced in situ Paleoindian tools was the Silver Springs Site in Marion County. Although the Suwannee point and its variants is thought to be the predominant Florida Paleoindian diagnostic artifact, it remains undated. It is agreed by most professional archaeologists, nevertheless, that Suwannees represent Florida’s earliest point type and are the most characteristic Paleoindian tool in Florida.