Greetings All,
The following is some info and pics dealing with a "Salvage Job" that I took part of a few weeks ago at the Pineland Mound Complex on Pineland Island, Florida. Included are parts of the preliminary report. A few other pics are in my Default Pics folder.
A View of the House and the Drainage very early on. The piles of shell you see are full of artifacts that are now basically rendered useless to archaeology.
Background
Excavation by heavy equipment on the XXXXXXX property on September 27, 2007 removed sediment from a roughly rectangular area approximately 12.5 x 7.5 meters and 2 meters deep, excepting the northeast corner, which is about 3.3 x 2.6 m. This removed a large volume of previously undisturbed sediments of the feature of the Pineland Site Complex (8LL1902) known as Brown’s Complex Mound 4.
Lee County imposed a stop-work order on this project due to concerns about unmarked human burials, pursuant to state statute (chapter 872 FS) as referenced in chapter 22-106 of the Lee County Land Development Code. This was based on published archaeological evidence of Calusa Indians having buried their dead in elevated midden-mounds during the Caloosahatchee IIA period (AD 500-800). A significant amount of the material impacted by the drainfield excavation appeared to date to that period, based on stratigraphic correlation with other well known deposits at the Brown’s Mound Complex at Pineland.
WORKING ON EAST PROFILE
At the request of property owner XXXX XXXXXX, Lee County planner Gloria Sajgo, and State archaeologist Ryan Wheeler, William Marquardt proposed an investigation to determine whether or not human remains are present and to document the sedimentation layers for comparison with previous systematic work at the Pineland Site Complex. This plan was acceptable to all parties, and the field investigations were undertaken by William Marquardt and Karen Walker on October 16-19 and October 22-26, 2007. They were assisted by two professional archaeologists who were working in the area, who volunteered their time -- Tom McIntosh (2 days) and Eugene Chapman (3 days) -- and by archaeology student and Randell Research Center employee Michael Wylde (1 day). Without their assistance, this project could not have been accomplished in as timely a manner as it was, and we are very grateful for their assistance.
Summary of Work Accomplished
1. Stakes were set in at the corners of the drainfield excavation, and a general elevation datum stake was tied in to the Pineland Elevation System.
2. Using a surveying transit-level, we measured the elevations of the surface all along the edge of the excavation, and set in temporary survey pins at intervals along the edges of the undisturbed profiles to be documented.
3. Using hand tools (trowel and garden claw), working from top to bottom, we cleared the profiles of disturbed sediments, and pulled loose sediments away from the profile bases in order to reveal the maximum vertical exposure of each profile. We took both wide-angle photographs of each of the exposed profiles and 2-meter-wide close-ups of all profiles to document the stratification.
4. When the entire profile had been cleaned and photographed, Walker and Marquardt created a measured, schematic drawing, noting general stratigraphic trends and evidence of such features as activity surfaces, post molds, artifacts, and pits. Standard descriptions of the distinct sediments were made, and Munsell soil colors were noted. Any artifacts or unusual materials were noted in place in the profile diagram, then collected and systematically numbered.
DR. KAREN WALKER AND ARCHAEOLOGIST TOM MCINTOSH
5. If human remains had been encountered during the profile documentation, these would have been marked and left in place and the provisions of 872 FS would have been followed. However, although many fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, and bird bones were observed, no human bones were found.
6. When the field drawings had been completed, a series of representative sediment samples was retrieved, and several samples for radiocarbon dating of distinct stratigraphic zones were taken. These will be submitted to a radiocarbon laboratory for processing.
I Enhanced this to show contrast. Each of the dark layers was the ground surface at some point as the mound was built up over the generations. The verticle dark areas are the "post molds" from poles driven into the ground for buildings.
Conclusions
This report constitutes the preliminary written summary of findings promised in Marquardt’s original proposal. By agreement, it is being submitted to Lee County, the State Archaeologist, and the property owners. No human remains or burial pits were identified during the systematic documentation of the deposits.
A written “letter report” will be submitted to Lee County, the State Archaeologist, and the property owners within six months of the conclusion of field work (by April 26, 2008) including a statement of the work accomplished, stratigraphic observations, a copy of the drawings and pertinent photographs, and the results and interpretations of the radiocarbon dates. The state site file will be updated and a copy of the report filed with other records of the Pineland Site excavations at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
All artifacts discovered in the course of this investigation belong to the owners, but they have offered to donate all diagnostic and provenienced artifacts to the Florida Museum of Natural History. The Museum has agreed to curate them in perpetuity, and a signed gift agreement will be executed to record this gift. The owners have requested a representative sample of unprovenienced artifacts for display in the foyer of their new home, and we will be glad to provide interpretive information to accompany this display.
