What We Learned at the Old Vero Site (8IR009), Vero Beach, Florida: 2014–2017

ABSTRACT

Intensive excavations and attendant analyses conducted at the Old Vero Site (8IR009) from 2014 to 2017 have revealed a long and complex stratigraphic succession which dates from ca. 30,000 years ago to the present. The excavations have documented not only 195 species of plants and animals but also a human presence which extends back to at least 7500 radiocarbon years ago and, perhaps, earlier. Terminal Pleistocene extinction dates are provided on several taxa as well as observations about the environments within which they lived. Evidence of previously undocumented anthropogenic activities is also offered, including a very tentative late Pleistocene tapir kill as well as later Archaic utilization(s) of this venerable site.

KEYWORDS:

• Vero
• Florida
• excavation
• stratigraphy
• context

Acknowledgements

The excavation of the Vero site was supervised in 2014 and 2015 by A. E. Marjenin and C. Andrew Hemmings under the direction of J. M. Adovasio. Additional field assistance and consultation was provided by J. L. Yedlowski and F. J. Vento. The 2014 and 2015 field crews consisted of B. C. Wells, M. D. Way, J. E. Badams, S. K. Warthen, P. C. Rohrer, A. S. Brown, J. S. Duggan, S. M. Heuer, D. E. Ehrlich, S. E. MacMahon, A. S. Piven, K. P. Flor-Stagnato, L. A. Urana, J. L. McMurtry, J. S. Bailey, K. R. Crumpler, S. M. Martz, E. S. Hein, A. H. Bell, C. M. Summa, and L. E. Osmialowski. Assistance was also provided by M. Harris, J. Vest, K. Johannesen, M. L. Farley, Z. D. Nason, S. A. Martin, B. F. Fenerty, University of Central Florida volunteers, and numerous Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee (OVIASC) volunteers.

The 2016 excavation was supervised by C. Andrew Hemmings with the assistance of J. Duggan and J. Higley under the direction of J. M. Adovasio. The 2016 crew consisted of J. Wolfgram, L. Smith, R. Rosencrance II, A. Gutierrez, S. Majors, M. Lewallen, R. Gerstner, J. McMurtry, A. Plivin, and C. Proudman. Additional field assistance was provided by F. J. Vento, as well as volunteers from Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee (OVIASC).

The 2017 excavation was supervised by C. Andrew Hemmings with the assistance of J. Duggan, J. Higley, and A. Piven under the direction of J. M. Adovasio. The 2017 crew consisted of J. McMurty, A. Quinn, J. Wolfgram, C. Proudman, D. deBoer, Z. Nason, V. Nguyen, K. O’Connor, and C. Summa. Photography and mapping work were provided by David Ulloa and Dee McHenry of Valeo Films, as well as W. B. Fisher of Pinnacle Measurement Systems. Additional field assistance was provided by F. J. Vento as well as volunteers from OVIASC.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

J. M. Adovasio, PhD, DSc, Director of Archaeology, Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA. Previously, he held various academic positions at Youngstown State University, University of Pittsburgh, Mercyhurst University, and Florida Atlantic University. His research interests include prehistoric technology, especially basketry and textiles; early humans in North America; the Archaic (Mesolithic) stage in the Old and New World, including subsistence, demography, technology, settlement patterns, etc.; Quaternary paleoecology and geoarchaeology; and research methodology in the excavation of caves and rockshelters.

C. A. Hemmings received his Anthropology degrees from the University of Arizona (BA 1991), and the University of Florida (MA 1999, PhD 2004). Current research interests include the technological and subsistence adaptations to the Pleistocene New World by its first human arrivals. Of particular interest are the non-analogous biotic communities of plants and animals that were encountered by the First Americans that were severely rearranged by the time of the Younger Dryas. Andy is also a collector of old beer cans and historic breweriana.

F. J. Vento received his PhD in Geology and MS in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. From 1982 to 2014 he was a Professor of Geology in the Pennsylvania State University System. His research and consulting work have focused primarily on landform and soil geomorphology and the effects of climate change on fluvial and coastal systems as they relate to archaeological resources. Dr Vento has taught and worked throughout the US as well as southern Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

J. S. Duggan received his BA in Anthropology from the University of Georgia where he specialized in classical cultures and technology in archaeology. After starting his graduate career at Mercyhurst University, he transferred to Florida Atlantic University and is currently completing his MA thesis in Archaeology. He currently works for KCI Technologies Inc as a mobile LiDAR, 3D imaging, and UAV mapping specialist. His interests are in 3D imaging and how its unique visualization attributes can ultimately change how we understand archaeological sites.

J. H. Higley is an Archaeological Technician for the Allegheny National Forest. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Archaeology and a Minor in History from Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA. Since graduating in 2014, she has worked in the Federal and public sectors within the Park Service, Forest Service, and academic institutions. Jessica's professional interests are historical archaeology and, after experience in the field, cultural resource management, and architectural archaeology.