Misplaced Pages

#605394

36-489: The presence of fossils in a sinkhole on the Charles Deering Estate was discovered in 1979 by people searching for wood to use as knife handles. They took some unusually hard pieces they found to an archaeologist, who identified them as fossil horse teeth. The discovery was not publicized until an archaeological excavation could be mounted in 1985, but in the meantime, an unauthorized collector had dug pits in

72-500: A carriage house, pump house and power house. He also enclosed his estate with a limestone and concrete wall and built the boat turning basin in Biscayne Bay. In 1922 he completed his three-story Mediterranean Stone House and moved to Cutler in 1922. Stone House was designed by Phineas Paist and was completed in 1922. It has 18 inch poured concrete walls, oolitic limestone, coffered ceilings and copper clad and brass doors. After

108-560: A field staff office for the Deering Estate and Deering Estate Foundation.   The house and grounds were featured several times in the 1980s TV series Miami Vice , and the estate was the starting location for The Amazing Race All-Stars in 2007. The Richmond Cottage was built by S. Howard Richmond, agent for the Perrine Land Grant Company, as his family home, at the end of the 19th century in what

144-473: A mean calibrated age of 10,875 Before Present (9320 BCE ). Charles Deering Estate Charles Deering Estate (also known as Deering Estate at Cutler ) was the Florida home of Charles Deering until 1927 when he died at the estate. Deering lived on the 444 acres (1.80 km ) property for five years, from 1922 to 1927. The property consists of a three-story wooden house built in 1900, known as

180-509: A number of stone tools. Both local limestone and imported chert were used for tools. The chert has been identified as coming from quarries in central Florida. Projectile points from the sinkhole have been classified as Bolen Beveled, Dalton, and Greenbriar, dated to 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Human bones and teeth from at least five individuals were found in the Cutler sinkhole. Some of the individuals appear to have been buried in graves. Three of

216-532: A saber-toothed cat ( Smilodon fatalis ), and jaguar . Birds represented in the sinkhole include an extinct caracara ( Milvago reardi ), and an extinct hawk-eagle ( Spizaetus grinnelli ), as well as the California condor . The sinkhole was probably used at times as a den by dire wolves and by jaguars. The bones of 42 individual dire wolves, mostly juveniles, have been recovered from the sinkhole. Human bones, teeth, and artifacts were found in association with

252-665: A state park. In 1985 the State of Florida purchased the land for $ 22.5 million. The Deering Estate is a national landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It became part of the National Register of Historic places in 1986 by meeting the requirements in all categories. It is also part of the Organization of Biological Field Stations through its collaboration with Florida International University School of Environment, Arts and Society. By being part of

288-467: Is about 38 feet by 20 feet at the base, and about five feet high. Artifacts from the mound are from the Glades II and III periods. The mound has been disturbed repeatedly. Henry Perrine, Jr, son of Henry Perrine , removed several skulls from the mound in the 1860s while searching for Black Caesar 's treasure. Ralph Munroe dug in the mound in the 1890s. In the 20th century, neighborhood children dug in

324-400: Is approximately 8 metres (26 ft) by 10 metres (33 ft) in size. The pre-excavation soil surface in the sinkhole was about 7 feet (2.1 m) below the ground surrounding the sinkhole. Cores indicate that the fossil layer in the sinkhole is at least 4 metres (13 ft) deep, extending well below the water table. The Cutler Fossil Site was excavated in 1985 and 1986, with funding from

360-483: Is easily accessed by the public. In August 2019, the Deering Estate Foundation was granted $ 200,000 for capital improvements. This will expand the cultural and ecological field station and research site. The funds will provide renovations for a 10,700 square-foot field study research center. The research facility will provide temporary living quarters for up to 14 researchers, a archival library and

396-539: Is located in a sinkhole on the Miami Rock Ridge , a karstitic limestone formation running near the coast in Miami-Dade County . The ridge at the site is approximately 5 metres (16 ft) above the current sea level, and less than a kilometer from Biscayne Bay. In the late Pleistocene the area was 100 metres (330 ft) or more above sea level, and many kilometers from the ocean. The sinkhole

SECTION 10

#1732780263606

432-564: Is now part of the Charles Deering Estate Park. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, the third-strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in the United States , with winds of 165 mph (270 km/h). Andrew "destroyed 25,524 homes and damaged 101,241 others." Hurricane Andrew ravaged and damaged the property of Deering Estate. The waterfront property

468-540: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 , Charles Deering was nervous of what fire could do. He decided to build his Stone House without a stove. There was a kitchen that housed refrigeration cabinets and storage but the cooking was done in the Richmond Cottage. It was his trepidation of fire that had him asking the architect/designer for the 18 inch concrete walls and brass doors. He also added an elevator to

504-570: The beautiful armadillo , is an extinct armadillo species endemic to North America and South America from the Pleistocene , living from 1.8 mya —11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 1.789 million years . Slightly larger than its living relative, the nine-banded armadillo , its fossils are known from Florida and records extend west to New Mexico and north to Iowa and Indiana . D. bellus had small, simple, peg-like teeth similar to D. novemcinctus. Its maximum length

540-456: The Richmond Cottage, and a three-story stone mansion. Other buildings were also built on the property to serve as auxiliary buildings to the estate. Charles Deering Estate is located in the Cutler neighborhood of Palmetto Bay, Florida . The grounds include what is thought to be the largest virgin coastal tropical hardwood hammock in the continental United States . The estate was acquired by

576-422: The bones of Pleistocene animals at the sinkhole. As simple proximity of bones does not prove that humans were contemporaries of Pleistocene animals at the Cutler site, evidence of human modification of animal bones was sought. Approximately 800 bones and fragments that had been burned were identified. Natural fires in the sinkhole were unlikely, and Carr argues that the burned bones resulted from human action. Most of

612-555: The burned bones came from animals that remain extant in Florida, but some were from a mammoth, from the extinct armadillo Dasypus bellus , a paleolama, and a horse. Some burned bones were also from either a coyote (a species that after dying out at the end of the Pleistocene, has returned to Florida only in the last century) or a domestic dog. Artifacts recovered from the same layers include marine shells modified as tools, and

648-439: The enjoyment of the Deering Estate at Cutler and to raise funds to support education, research, exhibits and collections, natural conservation and historical restoration and preservation." The offices of the foundation are located on the third floor of the Richmond Cottage. Is a community based charitable 501(c) Florida Corporation and the philanthropic partners of the Deering Estate. Dasypus bellus Dasypus bellus ,

684-478: The great long-nosed armadillo, which is the largest living species of Dasypus from tropical South America, has the same features of osteoderms as D. bellus . They also share a large, unreduced fifth digit on the manus. The range of D. novemcinctus , the smaller nine-banded armadillo, has expanded out of Mexico and into much of the former range of Dasypus bellus. The two species are morphologically similar to each other. This had led many to believe that they might be

720-432: The house which was very forward thinking for 1922. The large wine cellar that is located on the first floor was not discovered until after Hurricane Andrew. It was very well hidden behind built-in cabinetry. Hurricane Andrew flooded the first floor and damaged much of it. It was during the clean up process that it was discovered. He intended the house to be used as a showcase for his art collection and books. Charles Deering

756-471: The individuals were adults, including an older male and a presumed female. Another individual was a child of three to four years of age. Some of the human bones had been burnt, raising the possibility of cremation or cannibalism. What are believed to be Paleo-Indian hearths were found at the same level as the Paleo-Indian artifacts. Radiocarbon dating of two samples of charcoal from those hearths yielded

SECTION 20

#1732780263606

792-481: The late Pleistocene, D. bellus spread into the American Southwest. The living animals apparently preferred dry scrub environments. The most frequent type of fossil found are isolated osteoderms . The most common types of osteoderms that have been found are the hexagonal elements, which include most of osteoderms covering the shoulder or pectoral regions. Other types of osteoderms include those covering

828-488: The late Pleistocene, it held standing water for at least part of the year, and was close to hardwood hammocks , pinelands , marshes, grasslands, and the sea coast. Pleistocene megafauna represented in the sinkhole include tapirs , horses , Columbian mammoth , American mastodon , camels ( Paleolama and Hemiauchenia ), Bison antiquus , dire wolf , spectacled bears ( Tremarctos floridanus and Tremarctos ornatus ), Florida (or American) lion ( Panthera atrox ),

864-556: The merger, Deering became the chairman of the board for International Harvester. Charles Deering died at the age of 75 at his estate at Cutler, at 11:30 P.M. on February 5, 1927. After Charles' death, the estate was left to his wife and children. The Cutler Burial Mound is a prehistoric mound on the Charles Deering Estate. It is one of the few surviving prehistoric mounds in Miami-Dade County. The mound

900-435: The mound and removed bones and artifacts. Some of those bones have been returned and reburied in the mound. The mound is believed to contain 12 to 18 burials of Native Americans. The mound is accessible via a boardwalk. In 1979 a sinkhole on the Deering Estate was found to contain bones of Pleistocene animals associated with bones and artifacts of early humans . The site was eventually acquired by Miami-Dade County , and

936-490: The organization they receive assistance in order to improve their effectiveness in supporting critical  research, education and outreach programs. For more than 30 years, researchers have studied the unique ecological, geological and archaeological features of the property. The Deering Estate is situated in the only portion of the Everglades Restoration Project within an urban setting and which

972-651: The owners of the Deering Estate. The excavation was led by Robert S. Carr of the Dade County Historic Preservation Division, with help from the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy and the Florida Museum of Natural History . A grid of 32 1-meter squares was established, and each square was excavated to just above the water table, approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) below the original surface. Recent disturbances to

1008-403: The pelvic region of the carapace or the so-called buckler or immovable osteoderms and the elongate rectangular elements from the movable bands, the imbricating or movable osteoderms. The beautiful armadillo likely shares a common lineage with numerous species of large armadillos from the Pleistocene of South America. This includes Propraopus sulcatus and Propraopus grandis. D. kappleri ,

1044-438: The sinkhole, removed fossils and artifacts, and disturbed contexts. Later, most of the fossils and artifacts removed by the collector were recovered. The Deering Estate protested designation of the sinkhole as a "historically significant site", which would have protected the area from development. Eventually, the site was acquired by Miami-Dade County . It now is part of the Charles Deering Estate Park. The Cutler Fossil Site

1080-423: The soil were up to 2 feet (0.61 m) deep, and had to be removed before controlled excavation could proceed. Thousands of fossil bones found in the sinkhole represent 47 mammal species (of which 16 are extinct, and another three locally extinct), 51 bird species (seven extinct), nine reptile species, seven amphibian species, and five fish species. The mix of species represented in the sinkhole suggests that during

1116-539: The state of Florida in 1985. The estate is owned by the State of Florida and is managed by the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. After the death of Charles Deering in 1927 the property was maintained by his family. In 1982 after his daughter died the property became available for sale. In 1984 the estate was purchased by Finley Matheson which fought to get it turned into

Cutler Fossil Site - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-443: Was approximately 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) long, twice the size of the nine-banded armadillo. The osteoderms of the shell and the limb bones of D. bellus are about two to two and a half times the extent of those of the living modern nine-banded armadillo D. novemcinctus . The small D. bellus overlapped in size with the D. novemcinctus . The body size of D. bellus decreased during the late Pleistocene, suggesting that its body size

1188-716: Was born on July 31, 1852, in Paris, Maine . He was the son of William Deering , founder of Deering Harvester Company , and brother of millionaire industrialist James Deering . Deering is remembered as an American businessman and philanthropist . In 1873 Deering graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served as an officer in the Navy until 1881. Deering then became secretary of his father's company, which merged with McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and became International Harvester in 1902. After

1224-544: Was devastated by waves that reached as high as the second floor of the buildings. Water rose more than 16 feet (4.9 m) from sea level and caused major flooding on the property. The Richmond Cottage was taken off its foundation and splintered by the hurricane. It took seven years and $ 7.2 million to restore the location. Deering Estate at Cutler reopened to the public in 1999 and officially opened in 2000. The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc., organized in 1989 and strives, "to raise public awareness, outreach, understanding and

1260-481: Was then the pioneer town of Cutler . An addition which converted the home into a 22-room hotel was completed in 1900. The hotel was managed by Richmond's wife, Edith M. The Richmond Cottage was described as being the "most southerly hotel on the mainland of the United States". Charles Deering bought the Richmond Cottage in 1916. Over the next several years he added different structures to the estate, including

1296-637: Was variable. DNA testing of two D. bellus fossils and modern armadillos has proved the species are not genetically the same. However, one of the D. bellus fossils proved to be a specimen of D. novemcinctus . The mistake was due to the high morphological similarities between the two species. It also proved that D. novemcinctus was in Florida much earlier than previously thought. The earliest fossils are found in early Pleistocene South America, and would emigrate into southern North America. They have been found at many sites in Florida , including caves, sinkholes , river sites, coastal, and lake deposits. By

#605394