Sally
Beach Fanatic
From Walton Sun
If you?ve been saving a piece of rock you found out in the backyard or a funny shaped piece of flint that caught your eye along the shoreline, you will have an opportunity next Thursday to find out what that shapely piece of stone might be.
The South Walton Community Council is hosting an event for locals to bring in any artifacts or bones they have found to be examined at by archaeologist Gregory Mikell at the Coastal Branch Library Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
?We are doing this to educate the area.? said Anita Page, executive director of the SWCC. ?We had the idea to learn more about the archeological history of South Walton. And it would be fun to have an interactive meeting so people can bring in what they found to see what they have.?
Mikell can tell what and how old items found in the area are.
Stone arrowheads can be found in Walton County, but Mikell said they weren?t necessarily used for arrows.
?Many stone arrowheads weren?t arrowheads at all. They were used for spears, darts and larger bladed tools. Stones were also used as knifes and scrapers to clean animal hides,? Mikell said.
The stone for the tools and weapons were imported from tribes in southern Alabama and Georgia. American Indians of Walton County traded shells for stones, the archeologist said. ?Stone tools have a life,? he said. ?At different
stages of their life they serve different purposes. Stone wears down and breaks.?
American Indians didn?t waste stone even if it broke. They just made the stone into something else they could use, Mikell said.
?You can find Indian culture along the rivers, shoreline and bay. They were mostly hunters and fishermen,? said Jean Lucas, president of the Emerald Coast Archeological Society.
Some parts of the American Indian culture are off limits for people to probe around in. Burial mounds can not be intruded into, Mikell said.
?State of Florida has laws against disturbing any human burial site that applies to modern and historic sites,? Mikell said. ?It?s a felony to disturb a burial site in Florida.?
A mound (called a midden) on Mack Bayou Road was used for trash, said local historian Chick Huettel. It is three to four feet high and is in the shape of a half moon.
The midden is full of shells and is between 3,000 to 5,000 years old, Mikell said. It was originally part of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The resort gave the mound back to the Creek Nation.
?(The SWCC) is excited about the richness of the archeological sites, they add to the uniqueness of the area,? Page said. ?It is a whole new facet of South Walton. We think of the beaches, coastal dune lakes and the forest, but we also have a whole new rich heritage.?
If you?ve been saving a piece of rock you found out in the backyard or a funny shaped piece of flint that caught your eye along the shoreline, you will have an opportunity next Thursday to find out what that shapely piece of stone might be.
The South Walton Community Council is hosting an event for locals to bring in any artifacts or bones they have found to be examined at by archaeologist Gregory Mikell at the Coastal Branch Library Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
?We are doing this to educate the area.? said Anita Page, executive director of the SWCC. ?We had the idea to learn more about the archeological history of South Walton. And it would be fun to have an interactive meeting so people can bring in what they found to see what they have.?
Mikell can tell what and how old items found in the area are.
Stone arrowheads can be found in Walton County, but Mikell said they weren?t necessarily used for arrows.
?Many stone arrowheads weren?t arrowheads at all. They were used for spears, darts and larger bladed tools. Stones were also used as knifes and scrapers to clean animal hides,? Mikell said.
The stone for the tools and weapons were imported from tribes in southern Alabama and Georgia. American Indians of Walton County traded shells for stones, the archeologist said. ?Stone tools have a life,? he said. ?At different
stages of their life they serve different purposes. Stone wears down and breaks.?
American Indians didn?t waste stone even if it broke. They just made the stone into something else they could use, Mikell said.
?You can find Indian culture along the rivers, shoreline and bay. They were mostly hunters and fishermen,? said Jean Lucas, president of the Emerald Coast Archeological Society.
Some parts of the American Indian culture are off limits for people to probe around in. Burial mounds can not be intruded into, Mikell said.
?State of Florida has laws against disturbing any human burial site that applies to modern and historic sites,? Mikell said. ?It?s a felony to disturb a burial site in Florida.?
A mound (called a midden) on Mack Bayou Road was used for trash, said local historian Chick Huettel. It is three to four feet high and is in the shape of a half moon.
The midden is full of shells and is between 3,000 to 5,000 years old, Mikell said. It was originally part of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The resort gave the mound back to the Creek Nation.
?(The SWCC) is excited about the richness of the archeological sites, they add to the uniqueness of the area,? Page said. ?It is a whole new facet of South Walton. We think of the beaches, coastal dune lakes and the forest, but we also have a whole new rich heritage.?