Susie Reams
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Beginning near Thomasville, Ga., close to the Florida state line, is the mighty Aucilla River.
On the banks of this river, historians have documented some of the first settlements of Floridians, making the Aucilla River one of the most treasured areas to archaeologists in North America.
The Aucilla River got its name from an ancient Timucua village, whose people were also called Aucilla. In ancient maps that documented historical Florida, it is called the “Ocilla” River.
The Aucilla River is 89 miles long, begins in Georgia and flows through on the eastern border of Jefferson County to the Gulf of Mexico. The Aucilla River has small rivers that break off and flow into Madison and Taylor County. The river disappears underground and reappears in several places on the southern part of Jefferson County.
Divers who have explored the waters and caves of the Aucilla River have found many significant human artifacts and bones to animals that have been extinct for over 10,000 years.
The oldest mastodon tusk found in North America, dated back to 14,550 years ago, was found in Jefferson County's Aucilla River.
There is one of the most extended pieces of ivory found in the Aucilla as well as stone knives that the Native Americans used a long time ago. Divers have also found other mastodon tusks in the Aucilla River waters, some which bear the carvings of ancient people.
The black water of the Aucilla River saved and preserved most of the bones and Native American artifacts which are dated back thousands of years ago. The dark water is due to the fact of the lack of oxygen underwater.
All the new findings in the Aucilla River of the last 20 years have changed the mindset of many archeologists. There is proof that states that this river could have been the area where the Paleoamericans first entered the Americas. When archeologist finds artifacts or bones that are possibly dated back to a different area in the world, the archeologists have to break down and reanalyze their historic worldview, and reevaluate what they have believed for over a decade.
Just last year in July, this writer was able to meet world-renewed archeologists Andy Hemmings and Jessica Hale, both of whom were working with the Aucilla River Institute (ARI).
During the two weeks of this archeology research, this writer had the opportunity to participate in the research and exploration of the Aucilla River alongside their team.
Jefferson County's G-FAST provided equipment and boats for the team to do their research and prepared lunch for the crew. My most favorite part was working on the screen, looking for anything that could possibly be bones or artifacts hidden underwater.
I live near the Aucilla River on Blue Lake. Our property is, also, close to the area where Hernando de Soto fought the Native Americans in the early 1500s.
An archaeology-themed conference will be held at the Monticello Opera House this weekend by the ARI. Titled “Old Stories, New Discoveries,” this conference will discuss archeology, forensic archeology, history, geomatics, paleobotany and physical anthropology. The conference's scheduled speakers are Glen H. Doran (a professor of anthropology at FSU), Robert Austin (a 40-year professional archaeologist), Willet A. Boyer, III (a historical Florida archaeologist), Andy Hemmings (a Florida trained archaeologist and Paleoindian expert) and Michael Waters (a professor of anthropology and director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M University).
This conference, which will have plenty of relevance with the Aucilla River, is free and open to the public and will be held from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4.
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