Paleoindian

FLORIDA'S COASTLINE ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO WAS VERY DIFFERENT 15,000 YEARS AGO. Sea levels were as much as 300 feet lower than today. As a result, the Florida peninsula was more than twice as large as it is now.

It is suspected that more than half of Florida's Paleo Period archaeological sites are underneath the Gulf of Mexico. Some may be found near the present day coast and in shallow waters, which suggest they were located in the central part of that post Ice Age peninsula.

Other Paleoindian sites may be far from today's shoreline and deep in the Gulf, showing that they were deposited along the "Pleistocene Coast". That is why any Paleo or Early Archaic sites accessible today are rare and precious windows into the past.

Wow, that white star is where my bayfront home is located. I would not have had a water view in Paleoindian times.

As the Ice Age was ending, ancient people called Paleondians, entered what we know today as Florida following the Pleistocene megafauna upon which their survival depended.

Archaeologists have found direct evidence that Paleoindians in Florida hunted mammoths, mastodons, bison, and giant tortoises.

Bones of other mammals like camelids, giant ground sloth, tapirs, large armadillos, deer, bear, and big cats have also been found at Florida fossil sites.

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Archaeological finds show Native Americans lived at Little Salt Spring in south Sarasota County around 14,000 years ago.

Seen here is artist Steve Daniels' rendering of a side view of Little Salt Spring showing the sloping ledges and the mounded bottom.
(Courtesy of Friends of Little Salt Spring.)

Hello, I'm Edith Conway Ringling, and no doubt my friends and I would have enjoyed a day swimming in the spring, while my husband Charles worked on our house...

With a consistent average temperature of 85 degrees year-round, Warm Mineral Springs Park provides visitors with a number of therapeutic and passive recreation options. The spring is rumored to have one of the highest mineral contents of any natural spring in the United States. With anaerobic and highly mineralized properties, internationally known for its purported healing qualities, the park attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually who journey to soak in its waters.

The springs and the buildings, designed by architect Jack West, one of the leaders of the Sarasota School of Architecture, are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. 

LEARN MORE AT https://www.cityofnorthport.com/visitors/visit-north-port/warm-mineral-springs-park