Mounds and Middens – ArchaeologySRQ

In the late 19th and early 20th century, some Florida pioneers built their homes on top of ancient mounds, like at Historic Spanish Point in Osprey and Snead Island in Palmetto.

Other mounds were mined for shell to use as a base for roads like the Tamiami Trail, which runs through Tampa and south all the way to Miami. The highway is important, but it sure is a shame we destroyed the chance to learn more about the region's first locals.

Across the region, there are middens and mounds made of shell and dirt long ago. American university professors would tell students they were trash heaps; they were wrong though that language can still be found in books and even interpretive signs.

There is great diversity for the middens and mounds but recognizing them as ancient architecture, providing elevation, platforms for rituals, markers on the landscape, fire breaks, and burial sites is more accurate.