The Page-Ladson Site is a significant archaeological site located in the big bend region of Florida. In the Aucilla River, near the town of Lamont

< home # store # services # articles # game # app #contact >

The site lies submerged under 9 m of water
It is in, a segment along the Aucilla river. In a midchannel sinkhole. The site is about 11.5 km inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

It is well-known for providing some of the earliest evidence of human habitation in North America, dating back approximately 14,500 years
The site is significant because it challenges previous assumptions about the timing and nature of human migration into the Americas.

Conducting research on ancient river systems. The site was discovered in 1983 by archaeologists Dr. Jim Dunbar and Dr. David Webb
In the 1990s, excavations began. Revealing a wealth of archaeological materials and evidence of early human activity.

It is known for its well preserved stratigraphic layers
Sediments was found to contain chert and tool artifacts, with animal remains. Providing clear chronological sequence of human occupation. Humans were present here, during the late pleistocene. When megafauna would have roamed.

PL has yielded a variety of artifacts, including stone tools, flint knapping debris, and projectile points
Tools are characteristic of paleo technology. And, notably, researchers found a Clovis point. Indicating people were hunting large game, such as mammoths and mastodons.

The site has provided evidence of extinct megafauna, including remains of mastodons and other large animals

Because of the post 13000 year date. It is known as pre-clovis
Providing evidence humans were present in north America potentially before we previously thought. Findings contribute to early understanding human adaptation, as well as the interaction with megafauna in the prehistoric Florida environment.

Archaeological work continues today
The site has become a focal point for studies on early human history in North America. It contributes valuable data to the broader discussion of human migration and adaptation during the last Ice Age.

The Page-Ladson Site is a critical archaeological site in Florida. It provides some of the earliest evidence of human activity in North America. Its well-preserved artifacts associated with megafauna remains contributes to our understanding of early north American cultures. Including their interactions with the environment, during the late Pleistocene.

Bibliography:

Brown, Robin C. (1994). Florida’s First People: 12,000 Years of Human History. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. ISBN 1-56164–032-8.

Dunbar, James S. (2006). “Paleoindian Archaeology”. In S. David Webb (ed.). First Floridians and Last Mastodons: the Page–Ladson Site in the Aucilla River. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. pp. 403–435. ISBN 978-1-4020-4325-3.

Halligan, Jessi J.; Waters, Michael R.; Perrotti, Angelina; Owens, Ivy J.; Feinberg, Joshua M.; Bourne, Mark D.; Fenerty, Brendan; Winsborough, Barbara; Carlson, David; Fisher, Daniel C.;Stafford, Thomas W.; Dunbar, James S. (13 May 2016). “Pre-Clovis occupation 14,550 years ago at the Page–Ladson site, Florida, and the peopling of the Americas” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4928949). Science Advances. 2 (5): e1600375. Bibcode:2016SciA….2E0375H (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016SciA….2E0375H). doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600375 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fsciadv.1600375). PMC 4928949 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4928949). PMID 27386553 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27386553).

Staff (13 May 2016). “New evidence that humans settled in southeastern US far earlier than previously believed” (http://phys.org/news/2016-05-evidence-humans-southeastern-earlier-previously.html). Phys.org.

Mihlbachler, Matt. “Mastodon dung (It’s a dirty job but…..)” (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/aucilla9_1/mastadondung.htm). Aucilla River Times (Newsletter of the Aucilla River Prehistory Project). Florida Museum of Natural History.

Leave a Reply

error: Content is protected !!

Discover more from

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading