"Solstice Feasts and Other Gatherings"

Cover of the magazine of the Florida Historical Society

Adventures in Florida Archaeology, the magazine of the Florida Historical Society, recently included an article by Dr. Ken Sassaman about Shell Mound. Dr. Sassaman is the  Hyatt and Cici Brown Professor of Florida Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida.

The article, "Solstice Feasts and Other Gatherings",  updates the understanding of life at Shell Mound in earlier times, and provides a window to better appreciate what we observe when we visit today.

He mentions the involvement of his many graduate students, the support of the Refuge staff for this research and in preserving the site. There is even a mention of the role of Friends in helping develop the interpretive panels for the Shell Mound trail. The photo below is from the article.

Photo from Solstices Feasts and Other Gatherings, 2019 Adventures in Florida Archaeology. Topographic map shows the locality of Shell Mound with 3-D inset (lower right) of the C-shaped ridge and open plaza. Image by the author and Terry Barbour from both open-access LiDAR data and higher-resolution LiDAR data provided by GatorEye

The Shell Mound Trail now includes the area of the "plaza", which is clearly visible in the inset in the above photo. This area was not previously part of the trail. Refuge staff members, Larry Woodward, Vic Doig, Daniel Barrand, Jason Coates, and Shell Mound volunteer Ron Black expanded the trail through the plaza and built a boardwalk over the section that floods from time to time. Friends helped with the preparation of the interpretive panels.