News Room

Current news and events from ARI

Submerged mastodon at Wakulla Springs

A team of archaeologists from the Aucilla Research Institute are diving just off shore at Wakulla Springs State Park searching for clues and evidence of life in Florida's distant past.  The submerged mastodon is in about 8 feet of water and has sediments covering most of the find.  Below are images taken at the site above and below the water.  More details are available in this newspaper article in the Tallahassee Democrat (click here)  and the WTXL TV clip (click here)

Tallahassee Is Known For Its History.
​What About Its Prehistory?

Story by Robin Young and Karyn Miller-Madzon Oct 25, 2018
ARI Andy Hemmings and Tom Harmon talk about Prehistory at the ARI/Wakulla dig site.
Here & Now's Robin Young and Karyn Miller-Medzon interview archaeologist Barbara Clark at the Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park in Tallahassee. (Mark Wallheiser for Here & Now)
Here & Now's Robin Young, second from right, and Karyn Miller-Medzon conduct interviews during an excavation at Wakulla Springs State Park, south of Tallahassee.
​(Mark Wallheiser for Here & Now)
​listen to the interview with Andy Hemmings and Tom
Harmon about Prehistory at the ARI/Wakulla dig site
NPR here and Now WBUR

Sneak Peak: 15,000 Year-Old Pre-Clovis
at Wakulla Springs - Archaeological Conservancy

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The Archaeological Conservancy
Preserving the past . . . for the future.

Fall 2018 Sneak Peek By Tamara Jager Stewart.

15,000 Year-Old Pre-Clovis Sites Cluster
​at Wakulla Springs, Florida        
Are These Evidence of Mastodon Kill Sites?

CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

Wakulla Springs Dig Site (Week 2)
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How one see’s the world, junior anthropologist edition!
Friday, this young archaeologist in training was just the right size to notice something interesting about the saw horses we set our dirt screens on.   Clearly the open mouth meant they needed their teeth brushed.  Now that she showed us the faces how can you ever stop seeing them?
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​Sometimes the cacophony of sound and activity makes it hard to pass information on site.  Three ring dig pit master extraordinaire Phil Gerrell is of course throwing the universal gangster archaeologist sign for “piece plot this item right down here yo”.  While the always thoughtful Dr. Dunbar is reminding us all that Easter is coming and wishes all a joyous holiday.
As I have scrolled through several hundred outstanding images Joe Latvis has already taken I was constantly struck with one stellar constant.  Everyone is smiling!  We really are having a lot of fun in the pits and would like you all to join in.   Wakulla, it’s good for your soul.  Andy
Many projects are seasonal and usually are active in the spring or summer months.
Check our calendar or call the office for dates!
Week 3
With the Paleo excavation you could say the bad news is the good news- namely, the intrusive drainage pipes from the Lodge are far more extensive than we first suspected.  The good news is that means we can move through excavation to nearly 1m much faster than we thought it was going to take.  Thus far the diagnostic artifacts are exclusively latest Archaic with the now much rarer sliver of modern glass thrown in every now and then.

​The Kinnaird (think that is the spelling being used now- might ask W. Boyer) excavation continues to find a surprisingly rich array of glass trade beads, very late Native American pottery, with even a dash of European forms, and what seem to be a handful of ever older European artifacts.  All manufactured circa 1650 to 1800 which could mean either or both occupations from the brief Spanish Mission at Wakulla or the 1800ish Lower Creek Kinnaird Tradehouse.

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WALKING WITH MASTODONS
​How would you survive in a world of giant elephants, ground sloths, and bison? How would you keep the dire wolves at bay? Begin your journey back in time on an engaging walk with Historian Dr. Madeleine Carr at Wakulla Springs State Park. Then continue on a fascinating voyage as you float over Wakulla Spring in the glass bottom boat Henry with Archaeologist Dr. James Dunbar. Discover one of the oldest underwater prehistoric sites in the country. This area of the panhandle has been providing archaeologists with faunal remains and artifacts on the prehistory of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico since the 1940s. Sites like these show us why Florida was exceptionally different from other areas when mastodons made Wakulla their home.  March 14, 2018   See our Calendar

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Congratulation to Board member Jim Dunbar and Associate Scholars Andy Hemmings and Jim Adovasio on their contributions to the academic book entitled the “Early Human Life on the Southeastern Coastal Plain” .  Chapter authors include Andy Hemmings, James Adovasio et al. with a chapter on the “The Vero Site . . .”  And Jim Dunbar as a junior author on a chapter entitled “The Quarry Cluster Approach to Chert Provenance  . . .”.  

Link for "Early Human Life on the Southeastern Coastal Plain"   CLICK HERE
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Natural and Cultural Resources of Jefferson County and the larger Big Bend Area of Florida (Combined BOCC Presentation)
​This video focuses on unique aspects of the Aucilla River basin which includes tributaries such as the Wacissa River. The national Wetlands Inventory is also featured in a way that considers geologic and cultural time frames.  The Cody Scarp, a magnificent break separating the uplands and coastal lowlands is perhaps most dramatic near the town of Wacissa.  The scarp 
​was sculpted by the Wicomico sea level stand that took place 360,000 years or more ago.  Differences in elevation in the uplands and the types of sediment strata represent five types of recharge areas to the local groundwater. It is important to understand these places as land uses are considered because recharge is high to moderate in these areas and would best be avoided. Why?  These are places where pollutants can contaminate the water.  Below the Cody Scarp in the coastal lowlands the aquifer (ground water reservoir) is exposed and is easily contaminated.  The coastal lowlands are very susceptible to coastal flooding particularly during a Category 5 hurricane.  This area of Florida would be flooded as far inland as the town of Wacissa in a Category 5 hurricane.  Cultural resources are unique in this area of Florida, particularly in the Aucilla-Wacissa basins and in the upland, plantations area of Florida.   The Aucilla can boast of having the oldest archaeological site in North America and there are many other early sites in and along the river.  The uplands became the focus of Native American activity around 1300 AD when early agricultural practices were first practiced by what is collectively known as Mississippian Indian groups.  In this area of Florida the Apalachee were the Native American group and were the one’s first contacted by the early Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1539. Eventually, Jefferson County became the focus of many Spanish missions.  Finally, by 1821, the Spanish seeded Florida to the fledgling United States and Jefferson County became recognized as a major Plantation area.  Monticello today has numerous historic buildings and cemeteries that date from the Plantation days. Please enjoy this informational video.
WKPP Team prepares for research support with ARI Team at Wakulla Springs 2018.
For more than 25 years, divers of the Woodville Karst Plain Project have been exploring, mapping, documenting and supporting ground breaking karst research within the Woodville Karst Plain south of Tallahassee, FL USA. Under special use permit from the State of Florida and utilizing technology suited for extreme depth, distance and duration, WKPP divers travel "Into the Source" to document the massive freshwater superhighway that is Wakulla Springs B-Tunnel.
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