Archaeologists believe they have discovered a lost settlement in Florida
Miami, Jun 8 (EFE) .- An archeology team from the University of North Florida believes they have located an indigenous settlement mentioned in Spanish and French documents from the 16th century, but no remains have been found to date.
The university stresses that the type and quantity of indigenous pottery the team is finding at a northeastern Florida location, combined with the class and dates of the European artifacts and the evidence from cartographic maps, "strongly" support that it is from the Sarabay settlement, according to a press release.
Led by Keith Ashley, head of the University of North Florida (UNF) Archeology Laboratory and assistant professor, a group of students, who have already found various artifacts, are currently searching for evidence of houses and public architecture. .
Students recently found more than 50 pieces of early Spanish pottery, as well as indigenous pottery dating from the late 16th or early 17th century.
They have also recovered artifacts of bones, stones and shells, as well as fragments of burned ears of corn.
Expanding on UNF excavations at the southern tip of Big Talbot Island in 1998, 1999 and 2020, the UNF research team has completed what are probably the most extensive excavations at a Mocama-Timucua culture site in the history of Northeast Florida.
The Mocama Archaeological Project, conducted by the UNF Archeology Laboratory, focuses on the Mocama-speaking Timucua Indians who lived along the Atlantic coast of northern Florida at the time of the arrival of Europeans in 1562. .
The Mocama were among the first indigenous populations encountered by European explorers.
The team hopes to finally confirm the Sarabay discovery with evidence of houses and public architecture.
They will continue to explore and learn about the physical design of the settlement as part of ongoing fieldwork projects over the next three years.
