Newspaper - Windover

Much has been written about Windover and the incredible finds unearthed there, but my interests lay in the fabrics found and the lifestyle of the people. I do not buy into the idea that early man was somehow unintelligent and stupid. I believe that they had skills that were in some ways far superior to our own today. The 168 individuals uncovered at Windover prove this in many ways. (7,000-year-old Native American 'Bog Burial' Found Off the Coast of Florida) This represents more than half of all Paleoamerican skeletons found in North America. (Lepper)

For those who don’t know I will give a short background story of Windover and the archeological history of the place. Florida is not young when it comes archeology, in fact we boast some of the oldest known civilizations and the new archeological records attests to a thriving ancient Florida that had thousands upon thousands of people living in well maintained organized cities and communities.

In 1982 land was being cleared for a new subdivision called Windover Farms. While operating a backhoe, skulls were uncovered. Archeologist Glen Doran from FSU was called in to examine the remains. He immediately labeled them at least 1,000 years old and Native American. After tests were run it was determined that the bodies were anywhere between 7,000 and 8,000 years old making them thousands of years older than the Pyramids in Egypt. There were around 168 bodies to be found under the peat bog. (Brotemarkle) what was even more interesting was the existence of brain matter in the skulls. There as even remains of an elderly ladies last meal still in her stomach. The find was beyond historical. The DNA extracted proved that the families represented used this cite for over 100 years. (Brotemarkle)

Further excavation uncovered implements from their daily lives. Proving that they didn’t just bury these people with no thought. Indeed, great thought and care went into burying each individual. Many were wrapped in fabric. It is not believed they were wrapped like the Egyptian embalmed but that they had garments or blanks placed over them when buried. The fabric uncovered is thought to the be oldest found in the new world. Similar fabric has been found in caves out west, but the weave is simpler. Complex weave indicates these people had time to participate in crafts not just the creation of fabrics for modesty or utilitarian use. “The Florida specimen, which measures at least 18 inches by 11 inches, was made with single-stranded warp filaments and triple-stranded weft threads. As weft intersects warp, it does not simply pass alternately under and over as in loom-woven fabrics. Instead, the strands of a weft thread separate at each warp, pass over and under and are twisted back together on either side of the warp. There are about 16 wefts and 9 warps per inch. ‘ It’s an incredible thing. Absolutely unique at that age.’ Said James Adovasio, a specialist in ancient fabrics and basketry at the University of Pittsburgh. (Rensberger and Hilts)

The fabric is unique and gives us a look not only into the lives of this people group but also the types of threads they used and where these threads were derived.

As to the origin of this people group, there is speculations. The Smithsonian tested the DNA and determined that they were of Asian descent. That still does not tell us how they got to this area in the southern part of the United States. Some of the methods used in burial can be found in other areas around the world, such as Southern Sweden, Southern Finland and Karelia (NW Russia) (ALEKMOUNTAIN)

Windover is proof that these ancient people had relatively long lives, enjoyed their surroundings and each other. The textiles they chose to include in the burials points to this.

Works Cited

"7,000-year-old Native American 'Bog Burial' Found Off the Coast of Florida." 8 March 2018. Correspondence.

ALEKMOUNTAIN. "Final DNA analysis of Windover Pond People in Florida." The America's Revealed. 7 February 2021.

Brotemarkle, Dr. Ben. Florida Frontiers: The Weekly Radio Magazine of the Florida Historical Society. n.d.

Lepper, Brad. "The Windover Site: A Paleoamerican Tableau." Mammoth Trumpet (n.d.): 8-9.

Rensberger, Boyce and Philip J Hilts. "Prehistoric Florida Cemetery Yields 7,500-year-old Fabric." 13 October 1986.