This artifact is a Columbia dart point made out of chert. It was mounted on a short fore shaft which was in turn socketed to a longer project so that it could be launched by an Atl-Atl, a levered throwing stick for launching projectiles. It was the only chipped stone artifact recovered in our excavations. Chipped stone tools are extremely rare in southwest Florida because there are no naturally occuring outcrops of chert or other stone suitable form making chipped stone tools. This artifact was unused and found in the fill of a house platform. It is suggested that it was placed in the platform as a dedication to the erection of the house on top of this mound. The artifacts of this style date to around AD 500.
Click on an artifact to see its description.
Archaeologists use ceramic fragments, called sherds, to help them date the occupation of their sites. Often times the the distinctive decorations on ceramics are restricted to certain time periods. Archeologists can then use these designs to date their sites. The ceramic sherds can also be used to determine various activities that took place in the past. Some ceramic vessels are used for storage, others cooking and still others for serving foods. These functions can be determined by the size and shape of the vessels and whether or not there is carbon smudging on the inside or the outside from firing. The occupations in our excavation were determined by the ceramics and this allowed us to to construct the following occupational history in the remaining portion of the Key Marco site.
Fort Drum Punctate This is a ceramic bowl rim fragment. It has distinctive incised decorations consisting of angled lines emenating from the rim. Small closely spaced incised ticks angle from these lines to form a feather-like pattern. This ceramic type has been dated from AD 500 to 700 in other sites throughout southwest Florida. The archaeological period to which this ceramic type belongs is called Glades 1 Late.
Gordon Pass Incised This artifact is also a ceramic bowl rim fragment. I has a band of punctates just below the rim. This impressions were made with the spite (tip) of a lettered olive marine shell. This ceramic type dates from AD 700 to 900. It is the marker type for the Glades IIA Period.
Untyped Incised This pattern of incision is a new discovery in this part of Florida
This artifact
is actual size. It is one of the more interesting artifacts
recovered from the Key Marco Site Excavations. This tool is
thought to be a needle used for making fish nets. This
interpretation is based on the five small holes on the right end
of the tool and the pointed rounded tip on the opposite end. It
is thought that the five holes are necessary to attach the
individual braided or twisted strands used to make the cord thus
keeping it from unraveling. The use five small holes rather than
one hole of larger diameter and the relatively small size of the
needle suggests that the mesh size of the net woven with this
tool was quite small.
Fish Vertebra This artifact is a vertebra, or backbone, of a boney fish. These artifacts were extremely common in our excavations because fish were the most important food item for the inhabitants of this site. These faunal remains are important in reconstructing patterns of subsistence at the site, and also in determining the season of occupation of the site, the types of environments or fishing grounds that were utilized, the various species of fish that where captured and the methods used for capturing, processing, and preparing the catch.
Because there is a lack of stone suitable for chipping stone tools
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