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44-473: The Windover Archeological Site is a Middle Archaic ( 8,000 to 1,000 BC) archaeological site and National Historic Landmark in Brevard County near Titusville , Florida , United States on the central east coast of the state. Windover is a muck pond where skeletal remains of 168 individuals were found buried in the peat at the bottom of the pond. The skeletons were well preserved because of

88-444: A body . They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife , or offerings to gods . Grave goods may be classed by researchers as a type of votive deposit . Most grave goods recovered by archaeologists consist of inorganic objects such as pottery and stone and metal tools, but organic objects that have since decayed were also placed in ancient tombs. If grave goods were to be useful to

132-742: A microscope . At least 90 of the recovered bodies had brain tissue that survived, due to the preservative effects of the peat. The state of preservation of the brain tissues allowed a determination that the bodies were buried in the peat within 24 to 48 hours after death. This preservation allowed researchers to sequence DNA from the brains. The DNA indicated that the Windover peoples' DNA "carried genetic markers that link them to ancient populations from Asia" and that "they do not match any native populations alive in North America today." The DNA also indicated that one family had used this grave site for over

176-805: A century. Gut contents were found with many of the burials. These included seeds of wild grapes , elderberries and prickly pear fruit , often in large quantities. The people's teeth were worn down early in life, presumably from sand in the food, but few had cavities . Many artifacts that were deposited with the bodies were also preserved. Archaeologists were able to recover a total of 86 pieces of fabric from 37 graves. These included seven different textile weaves, which appeared to have been used for clothing, bags, matting, and possibly blankets and ponchos. Numerous other artifacts, such as atlatls and projectile points , were also found at Windover. The occupants of Windover hunted animals, fished, and gathered plants. They used bottle gourds for storage, which comprise

220-809: A comfortable afterlife. The expression of social status in rich graves is taken to extremes in the royal graves of the Bronze Age. In the Theban Necropolis in Ancient Egypt , the pyramids and the royal graves in the Valley of the Kings are among the most elaborate burials in human history. This trend is continued into the Iron Age . An example of an extremely rich royal grave of the Iron Age

264-685: A potential indicator of the social stratification of a society. Thus, early Neolithic graves tend to show equal distribution of goods, suggesting a more or less classless society , while in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age burials, rich grave goods are concentrated in " chieftain " graves ( barrows ), indicating social stratification. It is also possible that burial goods indicate a level of concern and consciousness in regard to an afterlife and related sense of spirituality . For example, when they buried pharaohs in ancient Egypt, they buried common house hold items, food, vehicles, etc. so they could have

308-475: Is a small pond, about 0.25 acres (1,000 m) in area, that has held water continuously since sometime between 9000 and 8000 BC. It is next to the Atlantic Coastal Ridge about 5 miles (8 km) from Cape Canaveral . As the sea level was considerably lower 7,000 to 8,000 years ago than it is today, the pond originally sat above the water table, and was filled only by rainfall and runoff from

352-615: Is evidence of Egyptians (of the Badarian culture ) being buried with grave goods very early in their prehistory. Examples of these items include pots, shells, combs, stone vessels, animal figurines, and slate palettes. Beads made of basalt deposited in graves in the Fertile Crescent date to the end of the Upper Paleolithic , beginning in about the 12th to 11th millennium BC. The distribution of grave goods are

396-511: Is produced for the burial and deposited in the grave in place of the actual sacrifice. There are disputed claims of intentional burial of Neanderthals as old as 130,000 years. Similar claims have been made for early anatomically modern humans as old as 100,000 years. The earliest undisputed cases of homo sapiens burials are found in Upper Palaeolithic sites. Burials that include intentional artifacts come much later. There

440-801: Is the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang . In the sphere of the Roman Empire , early Christian graves lack grave goods, and grave goods tend to disappear with the decline of Greco-Roman polytheism in the 5th and 6th centuries. Similarly, the presence of grave goods in the Early Middle Ages in Europe has often been taken as evidence of paganism , although during the period of conversion in Anglo-Saxon England and

484-541: The Frankish Empire (7th century), the situation may be more complicated. In the Christian Middle Ages, high-status graves are marked on the exterior, with tomb effigies or expensive tomb stones and still had certain grave goods such as accessories and textiles. The practice of placing grave goods with the dead body has thus an uninterrupted history beginning in the Upper Paleolithic , if not

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528-782: The Lithic stage and is superseded by the Formative stage . Numerous local variations have been identified within the cultural rankings. The period has been subdivided by region and then time. For instance, the Archaic Southwest tradition is subdivided into the San Dieguito–Pinto , Oshara , Cochise and Chihuahua cultures. Since the 1990s, secure dating of multiple Middle Archaic sites in northern Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida has challenged traditional models of development. In these areas, hunter-gatherer societies in

572-688: The Lower Mississippi Valley organized to build monumental earthwork mound complexes as early as 3500 BC (confirmed at Watson Brake ), with building continuing over a period of 500 years. Early mound sites such as Frenchman's Bend and Hedgepeth were of this time period; all were constructed by localized societies. Watson Brake is now considered to be the oldest mound complex in the Americas. It precedes that built at Poverty Point by nearly 2,000 years (both are in northern Louisiana). More than 100 sites have been identified as associated with

616-496: The Middle Paleolithic . Many people would assume that the introduction of Christianity led to the absence of grave goods, however, there were many different Christian tombs that were shown to still have grave goods such as jewelry. The importance of grave goods, from the simple behavioral and technical to the metaphysical, in archaeology cannot be overestimated. Because of their almost ubiquitous presence throughout

660-878: The climatic optimum , starting around 6,500 years ago. During this warm period, forests advanced northward and temperatures were warmer than they were in the late 20th century. It is associated with the northern frontier and transition area between boreal forest and tundra in what is now northern Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories , near Lake Athabasca . However, the Late Shield Archaic phase (3,500–4,450 BP ) has sites as far as Manitoba , and archaeologists have investigated suspected Shield Archaic sites as far away as Killarney Provincial Park near Georgian Bay in Ontario . The prominent Canadian archaeologist J. V. Wright argued in 1976 that

704-618: The Dead ), in East Asia the " hell bank note " and related customs. Also closely related is the custom of retainer sacrifice , where servants or wives of a deceased chieftain are interred with the body. As the inclusion of expensive grave goods and of slaves or retainers became a sign of high status in the Bronze Age , the prohibitive cost led to the development of "fake" grave goods, where artwork meant to depict grave goods or retainers

748-652: The Florida Peninsula and along the Gulf of Mexico coast as far west as the Pearl River . In some places, such as Horr's Island in Southwest Florida , resources were rich enough to support sizable mound-building communities year-round. Four shell or sand mounds on Horr's Island have been dated to between 2900 and 2300 BC. The Shield Archaic was a distinct regional tradition which existed during

792-627: The Shield Archaic had emerged from the Northern Plano tradition , but this was questioned by Bryan C. Gordon in a 1996 publication. Shield Archaic tools differed in design between "forest" and "tundra" sites. Pushplanes have been found, which would have been used for planing wood, bone, or antler. Shield Archaic people hunted caribou , with a focus on water crossings as hunting places. Grave goods Grave goods , in archaeology and anthropology , are items buried along with

836-472: The bodies had been wrapped for burial. In late 1984, archaeologists discovered that brain tissue had survived in many of the skulls . Lumps of greasy, brownish material were found in several skulls when they were opened for examination. Suspecting that this was brain tissue, the researchers sent the intact skulls for X-ray , CAT scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which showed recognizable brain structures. In addition, cell structures were seen under

880-473: The bodies underwater. There were also burials (although not in peat) in the sinkhole at Warm Mineral Springs , dating from as much as 12,000 years ago. Robin Brown notes in connection with these underwater burials that many Native American groups have a tradition that spirits of the dead are blocked by water. As recently as 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, bundled, defleshed bones were stored on a wooden platform set in

924-415: The body. Most were buried in a flexed position, on their left sides, and with their heads toward the west. The bodies were held down in the graves by sharpened stakes. The bodies were buried in clusters, in five or six episodes of short duration that were scattered over a thousand years. Thirty-seven of the graves contained woven fabrics which demonstrate a relatively complex weaving technique and indicate that

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968-413: The burial itself is known as funerary art , while grave goods in the narrow sense are items produced for actual use that are placed in the grave, but in practice the two categories overlap. Grave goods in Bronze Age and Iron Age cemeteries are a good indicator of relative social status ; these wealthier graves may have included earrings, necklaces, and exotic foreign materials such as amber. Some even had

1012-434: The burial of real servants with the deceased. Similar cases of human sacrifice of slaves, retainers and wives feature in graves in (for example) the Americas, ancient Germania, and ancient Mesopotamia. Compare suttee .) Where grave goods appear, grave robbery is a potential problem. Etruscans would scratch the word śuθina , Etruscan for "from a tomb", on grave goods buried with the dead to discourage their reuse by

1056-399: The cause of death. The pelvis of one male had a bone spear point embedded in it. Others had severe skull fractures. Children and teenagers were buried with more grave goods than were adults, indicating the high value placed on children. Skeletons included one of a male aged about 15 who had spina bifida . All of his bones were found to have been fragile. One of his feet was missing and

1100-542: The coast may have been inundated by rising sea levels (one site in 15 to 20 feet of water off St. Lucie County, Florida , has been dated to 2800 BC). Starting around 3000 BC, evidence of large-scale exploitation of oysters appears. During the period 3000 BC to 1000 BC, shell rings , large shell middens that more or less surround open centers, were developed along the coast. These shell rings are numerous in South Carolina and Georgia but are also found scattered around

1144-405: The deceased in the afterlife, then favorite foods or everyday objects were supplied. Oftentimes, social status played a role in what was left and how often it was left. Funerary art is a broad term but generally means artworks made specifically to decorate a burial place, such as miniature models of possessions - including slaves or servants - for "use" in an afterlife. (Ancient Egypt sometimes saw

1188-841: The earliest evidence for vegetable container storage discovered in North America. Animal bones and shells found in the graves indicated that the people ate white-tailed deer , raccoon , opossum , birds , fish and shellfish . Windover is one of a number of Archaic period sites in Florida with underwater burials in peat. Similar burials occurred at Little Salt Spring (in Sarasota County ) 5,200 to 6,800 years ago, Bay West (in Collier County ) 5,940 to 6,840 years ago, and Republic Grove (in Hardee County ) 5,690 to 6,470 years ago. A site currently 21 feet (6.4 m) below

1232-404: The living. The tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun is famous because it was one of the few Egyptian tombs that was not thoroughly looted in ancient times. Grave goods can be regarded as a sacrifice intended for the benefit of the deceased in the afterlife . Closely related are customs of ancestor worship and offerings to the dead, in modern western culture related to All Souls' Day ( Day of

1276-491: The middle of a pond at Fort Center . Windover Pond is one of a number of sites in Florida excavated since 1970 that have led to a major reassessment of the Archaic period in Florida. Jerald T. Milanich states that Windover has provided "unprecedented and dramatic" information about the early Archaic people in Florida, and that the Windover site may be "one of the most significant archaeological sites ever excavated." The site

1320-422: The peat until the level of the burials was reached. One of the lead archaeologists compared excavating the peat to trying to dig chocolate mousse under water. Only half of the pond was excavated, with the remainder left undisturbed for future investigation. The remains found included bones of males and females of all ages from infants to about 60 years, a total of 168 individuals. The average height of adult males

1364-486: The peat. In addition, remarkably well-preserved brain tissue has been recovered from 91 skulls from the site. DNA from the brain tissue has been sequenced . The collection of human skeletal remains and artifacts recovered from Windover Pond represent among the largest finds of each type from the Archaic Period. It is considered one of the most important archeological sites ever excavated. The Windover dig site

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1408-442: The pond and called in archaeologists . Radiocarbon dating on two bones excavated from the pond by the backhoe, paid for by the developers, yielded dates of 7,210 years and 7,320 years Before Present , establishing the importance of the find. The developers changed their overall plans in order to preserve the pond and donated $ 60,000 worth of pumping equipment to drain the pond for excavation. The state approved funding to excavate

1452-447: The pond in 1984. The work was carried out under the direction of Glen Doran and David Dickel of Florida State University . The buried bones were 6 feet (2 m) or deeper beneath the surface of the peat at the bottom of the pond, under 3 to 10 feet (3.0 m) of water. Researchers used a network of 160 wells around the pond to lower the water table enough to permit excavation of the peat. The workers used shovels and hand tools to remove

1496-493: The pond was covered by 6 feet (2 m) of water. The site was discovered in 1982 when work began on building a road across the pond in a new housing development, Windover Farms. A backhoe operator noticed several skulls in the bucket of his machine. The sheriff and medical examiner determined that the burials were not recent. The local forensic expert originally believed he was examining modern Caucasian remains. The developers, Jack Eckerd and Jim Swann, halted construction at

1540-616: The regional Poverty Point culture of the Late Archaic period, and it was part of a regional trading network across the Southeast. Across the Southeastern Woodlands , starting around 4000 BC, people exploited wetland resources, creating large shell middens . Middens developed where the people lived along rivers, but there is limited evidence of Archaic peoples along the coastlines prior to 3000 BC. Archaic sites on

1584-710: The roles are switched. The Sauromatian society's women were highly respected warriors. Their graves were full of weapons and horse trappings. When it was difficult to determine sex of the individual due to bone decay, the grave goods became the determining factor. Grave goods continue to be important in modern funerary rituals. In contemporary English and American culture, bodies may be buried with goods such as eyewear, jewelry, photographs, and letters. In addition, objects are sometimes left above ground near or on top of gravestones. Flowers are common, although visitation stones are preferred in Jewish culture. In addition, coins for

1628-486: The societal norms with regards to sex. Common binary societies had women perform duties such as mothering, processing activities, cooking, etc. and men perform duties such as hunting and fighting. These societies would bury their women with jewelry and their men with axes. The Durankulak cemetery on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast had findings to match this society structure. There are societies where

1672-612: The spectacular sighting of gold as their grave goods which contrasted from the less wealthy graves which were more deficient. Also, in a 2001 study on an Iron Age cemetery in Pontecagnano Faiano , Italy, a correlation was found between the quality of grave goods and Forensic indicators on the skeletons, showing that skeletons in wealthy tombs tended to show substantially less evidence of biological stress during adulthood, with fewer broken bones or signs of hard labor. Along with social status, grave goods also shed light on

1716-422: The stump of his lower leg had healed. As his spinal condition almost certainly meant the boy was paralyzed below the waist, this find was important for assessing the society's commitment to ensuring his survival for 15 years in a hunter-gatherer community. While some of the remains were mixed, about 100 undisturbed burials were found with fully articulated bones, in roughly the correct position and relationship in

1760-556: The surface of the Gulf of Mexico near Venice, Florida , the Manasota Key Offshore site, was discovered in 2016. It has multiple burials in multiple areas. The burial site was a freshwater peat pond when the burials occurred 7,200 years ago. At Windover, stakes were driven into the peat through fabrics wrapped around the bodies. Similar stakes were found associated with burials at Bay West, Republic Grove, and Manasota Key Offshore. The stakes may have been used to help hold

1804-399: The surrounding land. At that time the pond had a relatively thin layer of peat under a thin layer of water. The subsequent rise in sea level raised the local water table and in more recent times the pond has been fed by groundwater as well as rainfall. In 1984, the pond had a thick layer of peat, with five strata described by the archaeologists who excavated the pond. The peat in the center of

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1848-461: The world and throughout prehistory, in many cases the excavation of every-day items placed in burials is the main source of such artifacts in a given prehistoric culture. However, care must be taken to avoid naïve interpretation of grave goods as an objective sample of artifacts in use in a culture. Because of their ritual context, grave goods may represent a special class of artifacts, in some instances produced especially for burial. Artwork produced for

1892-496: Was 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm). Children constituted about half the remains. Skeletons showed the effects of disease and healed wounds, allowing forensic studies. Many bones of children showed interrupted growth, perhaps due to severe disease or malnutrition. Osteoporosis was evident in older females. Adults of both sexes exhibited a high incidence of osteoarthritis , which is another continuing problem for humans. Some skeletons showed wounds from conflict that were likely

1936-551: Was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 in recognition of this significance. Archaic period (North America) The rest of the Americas also have an Archaic Period . This classification system was first proposed by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips in the widely accepted 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology . In the organization of the system, the Archaic period followed

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