FLORIDA'S DEEP PAST: THE BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF LITTLE SALT SPRING (8SO18) AND ITS PLACE AMONG MORTUARY PONDS OF THE ARCHAIC

Little Salt Spring is a large sinkhole located near the western coast of Florida that has produced human remains dating to the Middle Archaic. Excavations spanning several decades have reinforced its place in Florida's prehistory, yet this is the first comprehensive analysis of skeletal remains produced from the site. The well-preserved remains consist primarily of femurs. Stature and femur dimensions are similar to another Archaic Florida population, Windover (8BR246). Little Salt Spring is one of several mortuary ponds bound temporally and geographically to the Archaic period in Florida. The similarities in use and interment style hint at the possibility of cultural continuity among the inhabitants of Florida's Archaic.