Florida Indian Mounds

[newnan man]

Visited some local mounds accessible by airboat yesterday. On one mound these teeth were scattered around wash out by recent heavy rains. We left the where they were. I hope others do to.
Pottery shards by the thousands. My friend has found 3 worn out points on other trips but that is fairly rare. I have more pics I will try to post.

 

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[fishstick]

People still collect but now we never see the finds or know where they came from. Some law abiding citizens now have a criminal record for selling what they thought were legal artifacts. One poor fellow committed suicide over the issue.

That's sad!!!!

 

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[tonykidd]

I was friends with that poor fellow. I had no idea he was even into artifacts!

There is a great story in the Tampa Tribune about how ridiculous the crackdown was/is.
North Florida arrowhead sting: What's the point? | Tampa Bay Times

To make matters worse, call an archaeologist about a find and you'll realize how uninterested most of them are, unless you know them personally. Avocationals have been responsible for the biggest finds, and always will be. The best archaeologists and anthropologists associate with avocationals and respect their opinions and expertise. It's a shame, but our hobby, or rather obsession, is being demonized for petty reasons.

 

[ECS]

During 1891-1895, archeologist Clarence Bloomfield Moore rented the steamboat ALIGATOR searching for and mapping Native American mounds on the St Johns and Oklawaha Rivers.
The ALIGATOR caught fire and sunk in Crescent Lake and was forgotten until 2008, when it was found and recovery continues to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aligator_(steamboat)

Mount Royal in Welatka on the St Johns River was one of the Native American burial mounds Moore excavated in the 1890's.
http://www.trailoffloridaindianheritage.org/o-Mount_Royal_Archaeological_Site.html

 

[Bow Only]

People still collect but now we never see the finds or know where they came from. Some law abiding citizens now have a criminal record for selling what they thought were legal artifacts. One poor fellow committed suicide over the issue.

I was friends with that poor fellow. I had no idea he was even into artifacts!

There is a great story in the Tampa Tribune about how ridiculous the crackdown was/is.
North Florida arrowhead sting: What's the point? | Tampa Bay Times

To make matters worse, call an archaeologist about a find and you'll realize how uninterested most of them are, unless you know them personally. Avocationals have been responsible for the biggest finds, and always will be. The best archaeologists and anthropologists associate with avocationals and respect their opinions and expertise. It's a shame, but our hobby, or rather obsession, is being demonized for petty reasons.

And that fellow had probably the single best collection of personal found artifacts in the SE. He never sold a single artifact.