Archaeologica.org

In one of the more dramatic moments of an underwater archaeological survey co-led by Mercyhurst College archaeologist James Adovasio along Florida's Gulf Coast this summer, Andy Hemmings stood on an inundated river's edge where man hasn't set foot in more than 13,000 years.

Donning full scuba gear, Hemmings stood in 130 feet of water on a peninsula at the intersection of two ancient rivers nearly 100 miles offshore from Tampa. The last time humans could have stood in that spot, mammoth and mastodon roamed the terrain.

"The successful tracking of the St. Marks-Aucilla River and the Suwannee River, between 50 and 150 kilometers respectively, represents what we believe to be the most extensive delineation of submerged prehistoric river systems ever done anywhere in the world," Adovasio said.

Another pivotal find is the identification of chert at three dive sites along the river systems; chert is a superior quality fine-grained stone used by prehistoric peoples to make tools.

"There is no doubt," Adovasio said, "that we have found the haystacks and are one step closer to uncovering the archaeological needles," in effect, narrowing the search for evidence of early Americans in the now submerged Inner Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast.

Hemmings, one of the leading Paleoindian underwater archaeologists in North America, agreed. "My feeling is, given a little time to probe the sediments with a dredge, we will quickly find human artifacts." ...

..."Proof of past human habitation here would reinforce the disintegration of the once prevalent hypothesis about who the first Americans were, how they got here and when they arrived," said Adovasio, who rose to fame 30 years ago while excavating the Meadowcroft Rockshelter near Pittsburgh, Pa.

jw1815 wrote:An online newsletter from Mercyhurst staff (sorry, didn't save the link) says they'll release a more complete report later in Sept. at a conference.

Speaking of Adovasio, has anybody read his book, First Americans, In Pursuit of Archaeology’s Greatest Mystery? Wasn’t aware of it until I stumbled on it while doing a search.

This link has an excerpt from the first chapter. Click on the link for "read an excerpt" under the photo of the book. Looks like a good read.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookse ... ovasio#EXC

Don't write it off, just because it's about women.

jw1815 wrote:

Don't write it off, just because it's about women.

I wouldn't write it off for any reason. Since Adovasio's specialty is weaving and textiles, I imagine that he has some good information on the subject.