Human Remains of Over 177 Individuals Dating Back 8,000 Years Unearthed From Florida Bog

Several decades ago, archaeologists were called to a site in Florida after a team of construction workers stumbled upon the remains of over 170 humans dating back to the Stone Age.

In 1982, a team of construction workers was in the process of creating a new road near Titusville in Brevard County, Florida, when they began coming across the remains of human skulls.

From around 1984 to 1987, archaeologists conducted an excavation at the site and discovered the remains of around 177 Native Americans who lived in the region surrounding Windover Pond around 7000 to 8000 years ago.

After explaining many of the remains, researchers were shocked by the remarkable preservation of the bodies, some of which still had brain tissue.

Bogs, which are one of the four main types of wetlands, gradually accumulate decaying plant material, causing the bog to function as a carbon sink.

The lack of oxygen in the stagnant bog water, plus acids released from the plants in the wetland, makes it impossible for bacteria to live. Without bacteria, dead things can’t decompose.

Despite the bodies being in a well-preserved state, once archaeologists remove them from the bog, they begin to decompose rapidly, making their job even more challenging.

To safely remove the bodies, archaeologists set up a system that included over 158 well points spread around the entire pond, which allowed them to slowly lower the pond’s water level.

Due to the incredible number of remains recovered from the site in Florida, the Windover site is recognized as one of America’s largest-ever bog body sites.

Archaeologists at the site have determined the bodies were buried on their sides during the Stone Age and eventually sunk to a depth of 3 feet below the surface of the dirt.

During investigations of the remains, researchers revealed humans of all ages were buried at the site.

During their investigation of the site, researchers explained why the bog bodies were so well preserved, and it’s all to do with the water chemistry at Windover.

Several decades after the initial discovery, researchers reexamined the DNA of the bog bodies and discovered they had come from Asia at some point in the distant past.

Several other bog bodies discoveries have been made throughout Florida, yet a discovery of the magnitude witnessed at Winover is unlikely to ever occur again.

This wasn’t the first time that Indigenous people were found in a body of water in Florida. In 2018, the Florida Department of State announced that it had unearthed an Early Archaic Native American burial ground off the coast of Manasota Key.

A diver looking for prehistoric shark teeth found a jawbone with a molar still attached. The diver brought the relic to the attention of Florida’s Bureau of Archaeological Research, which confirmed that the jawbone had come from a human.

The Florida Department of State said that the burial ground dates back to 7,000 years ago when the sea levels were much lower than they are today. A small inland freshwater pond was located where the bodies were found.

The newly discovered graveyard was eventually covered with deeper waters, but a key ingredient remained intact.

It is very rare to find submerged offshore prehistoric burial sites that are still intact, especially in North America. Researchers most commonly find “bog burials” in Northern Europe.

The discovery of Manasota Key suggests that the regions may hold other unexplored Native American burials that have managed to survive over the millennia.

Officials are taking steps to ensure that they treat the remains of Native Americans found in these grave sites respectfully, in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

“As important as the site is archaeological, it is crucial that the site and the people buried there are treated with the utmost sensitivity and respect,” Timothy Parsons, director of Florida’s Division of Historical Resources, said in the Department of State’s press release.

“What we currently are thinking is that when an individual passed, they would have been wrapped in handwoven fibers and sunk to the bottom of the pond,” Ryan Duggins, the bureau’s underwater archaeology supervisor, explained to National Geographic.

Archaeologist Michael Faught, a trailblazer in prehistoric underwater archaeology in Florida, states that the Manasota Key Offshore site features “impressive preservation of organic materials that are rarely found on land.”