<< Feature Articles >> A look at the best Prehistoric Sites to visit on a trip to Florida
Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 19 December 2018 Page Views: 4754
Pre-ColumbianCountry: United States State: Florida Type: Artificial MoundInternal Links:
Ormond Beach Indian Burial Mound is just north of Daytona Beach. The Native Americans who lived in Florida centuries ago would bury their dead in mounds like this, and here is one of the best preserved examples in the state, containing the skeletal remains of over 125 individuals. Many of the deceased were “bundled” and buried with special ceremonies. The mound grew as more bodies were added. Now in a residential neighborhood, the mound is untouched and still considered sacred.
Since this part of Florida is so flat, any hill you see could be an Indian mound so keep a look out!A good way to get some peace and quiet away from the bustle and cramped rooms of typical tourist hotel complexes could be a timeshare property such as Club Wyndham timeshare rental. These are located all over the USA, from Manhattan, to the middle of the desert. Don't forget if you're travelling to the USA from an approved country you'll need to apply for an ESTA visa.
Another example is Wyndham Bonnet Creek timeshare, close to the Orlando attractions such as Walt Disney World. Each unit comes equipped with a kitchen, washing machine, and lots of other excellent facilities such as multiple bathrooms, with plenty of space for the whole family to relax. You don't have to purchase a timeshare in order to get a great deal. You can rent one from a current owner, and you can find these on a number of secondary marketing sites, which work like price comparison sites, with lots of opportunities to shop around for the best deal. So following those accommodation tips, let’s get back to the prehistoric sites:
About 44km south down the Florida coast from Ormond Beach is the remarkable Turtle Mound This is a huge ancient midden - essentially a trash heap of discarded shells accumulated over 600 years by the Timucuan people who lived in this area living on the abundant marine resources of Mosquito Lagoon.
The successive layers of shells contain other artefacts forming a record of the Timucuan culture. It is impossible to see most of the mound due to the thick vegetation, but the National Park Service have built this amazing walkway to the top of the double mound, that takes you above tree height. It’s complete with aerial intersections and is great fun to explore. From the top you get an amazing panoramic view over to New Smyrna Beach and the rest of the Canaveral National Seashore, which has many natural wonders to explore.Just 7km south-west in Volusia County, Florida is Snyder’s Mound (pictured top left), another huge shell mound where season clam processing took place. Synder's Mound was created from from 600 to 1100 AD, but other small shell mounds nearby have been dated from as early as 2000BC right up to 1600 AD. As with many Florida mounds, early European settlers found Synder's a good location to build on to get some height above the otherwise flat Florida landscape.
One of the closest mounds to Orlando itself is in the village of Indian Mound, Seminole County. This site can be reached off of FL 415 just south of the St. John’s River Bridge between Sanford and Osteen.
A must-see museum while visiting Florida is the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Sciences. This has lots on modern history, including space-flight as you’d expect, being so near to Cape Canaveral, but there’s also a lot on ancient history, with some amazing fossil skeletons of long extinct animals
such as the Mastodon (below right) and Giant Ground Sloth, and a display on the nearby Windover site, which is one of the oldest communal burial sites in the Americas, dating from 6000BC. I hope you enjoyed this quick look at the prehistoric sites of central Florida - you can find more on our Megalithic Portal search pages, and by browsing the nearby sites from any of the pages linked.
With many thanks to Mary M (Bat400), Gayle Stephenson, Baronfivetwo, Chris Crowley for their assistance with this article.
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.