The Nature Coast has supported thriving communities for thousands of years. Long before the arrival of condos and commercial fishermen, pre-colonial fisherfolk along Florida’s north-central Gulf Coast established vibrant, large communities, leaving behind some of Florida’s most significant archaeological sites. Archaeologists have discovered that these communities were not just oyster harvesters but cosmopolitan trade centers in a network that reached as far as the Great Lakes.
From Chassahowitzka to the Big Bend, this presentation will explore how Indigenous people left behind evidence of their complex and dynamic cultures, which we can still observe today.