In a small clearing amid the trees, divers from the University of Miami and the Florida Aquarium prepare for what could be a history-changing mission. They're about to plunge into Little Salt Spring.
This small circle of water near North Port holds clues to what was happening in Florida 10,000 years ago. "This would have been a kind of an oasis at the end of the last ice age," says UM archaeologist John Gifford. "Animals would have been attracted here by the water."
And the water here is unique; it's an underwater archaeologist's dream. Because the water contains no dissolved oxygen, it preserves materials like no other pre-historic site.
In years past, divers have discovered bones from animals long gone. "This is a giant tortoise. It's extinct today," says spring site manager Steve Koski, while holding a large piece of shell.
However, on Thursday's dive, Gifford intends to bring up treasures that show man was here too. The items were found on previous dives on a ledge about 90 feet down. A special dive mask allowed Gifford to speak with reporters on the surface as he explored the depths. Of the articles that had been excavated and marked, he said, "The two wood items look to me suspiciously unnatural."
With some careful handling, divers delivered the possible artifacts to the surface in plastic containers.
To the untrained eye, the two pieces of wood don't look so special, but Gifford thinks they've been shaped by humans. "They look as if they have been sharpened by people."
If the items are as old as Gifford suspects, they would place man in south Florida thousands of years earlier than previously thought. "When we have finished our analysis and publication, it will get into the textbooks," he says.
Samples from the articles will be sent to a lab in Coral Gables for carbon dating. Results should be available in about four to six weeks.
Despite the remarkable discoveries made at the spring, dollars for dives like this are scarce. The Florida Aquarium provided $12,000 for this latest 10-day effort and The University of Miami is trying to raise enough money to establish a research and learning center at the university-owned spring.
Underwater archaeologists hope that will happen, because they're convinced this little spring holds more big discoveries.
Author: Kathryn Bursch | Source: 10 News [August 21, 2010]