Ceramics

NPS Photo

Two types of pottery were found at the Anhinga Trail site: Glades Plain and Glades Tooled. At many archeological sites ceramics are the most common artifact found, but at Anhinga Trail fewer than 50 pieces of pottery were found.

The Glades Plain pottery type was made by Native Americans in south Florida beginning about 2500 years ago and lasted until European contact in 1513. This undecorated pottery ranges from black to reddish orange in color.

NPS Photo

The Glades Tooled pottery type was made by Native Americans between 1350 and 1500. This pottery was decorated by pressing a dowel into the rim of the pot before it was fired. Glades Tooled ceramics usually were made as shallow bowls.

NPS Photo

Several pieces of pottery had soot residue on them. Some of this soot was carefully scraped off two pottery pieces and radiocarbon dated. The soot on one fragment dated to about 1300 years ago, and the soot on the other fragment dated to about 1,160 years ago. These dates fall within the timeframe for the dates on bone tools.

Archeology at Anhinga Trail

Anhinga Trail Collections

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  Socketed Bone Points

  The Anhinga Trail collection contains 96 socketed bone and antler points.

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  Fish Hooks, Gorges, and Leister

  Fish could be caught individually with hooks, gorges, and spears or could be caught in groups using nets or fish weirs.

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  Wood Objects

  Artifacts made from wood often decay long before archeologists excavate sites.