By Kathleen Gilmore Weedon Island Preserve, located on the eastern coast of the Pinellas peninsula, is not just a rich coastal system, but also abundant in cultural legacy. For over 10,000 years, people have made Weedon Island their home and have enjoyed its lands and waters. Throughout this time, many changes have been made to…
Kendal Jackson and Bob Austin have been pulling together archaeological and geological data on Tampa Bay in an effort to develop a predictive model for submerged Indigenous sites in Tampa Bay. The project is being funded by a grant the Felburn foundation and several private donations. The accompanying map is a preliminary predictive model showing…
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF TAMPA BAY During the 1960s & 1970s, local avocational archaeologists collected Paleoindian (ca. 11,000 years ago) through the Late Archaic (ca. 4500 years ago) artifacts from along the bay shore and from spoil and oyster shell dredged from Tampa Bay. Marine geologists have shown that a large spring-fed, freshwater lake…
AWIARE is planning an exciting new archaeology summer camp at Weedon Island Preserve designed for children 7-11 years old who are interested in exploring the past. The camp is conducted by professional archaeologists and allow kids to experience archaeology first-hand through activities, experiments, hikes, and an excavation. The summer camp is designed for children with…
March 23 – 27, 2026 Experience hands-on archaeology at Weedon Island Preserve, one of Florida’s preeminent archaeological sites. Work with professional archaeologists and researchers to uncover clues about the culture and lifeways of the early people who inhabited the Tampa Bay region. You will contribute by: Assisting AWIARE researchers in excavation, recording data, screening sediment,…
Be a part of International Archaeology Day with youth activities at Weedon Island Preserve. AWIARE will lead a special Youth Workshop on Ancient Pottery that is for youth ages 6 and up. Learn to make pottery like the ancient people who once lived at Weedon Island. Over 1,000 years ago, early potters made coiled pots out…
Broad-scale Excavations at Sarabay: Piecing Together the Layout of a Timucuan Town Keith Ashley, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Florida This past summer (2023) the University of North Florida (UNF) completed its fourth consecutive field school in what we believe is the center of the Mocama community of Sarabay. In addition…
Dr. J. Michael Francis: “Lost Voices from St. Augustine’s Parish Archive” Join us for the final event in our celebration of Florida Archaeology Month with a talk from Dr. J. Michael Francis. Dr. Francis will introduce attendees to the oldest surviving parish records in the United States which come from St. Augustine, FL. He will…
Beer – A Global Journey Through the Past and Present Dr. John Arthur, Ph.D., USF, St. Petersburg Ancient and contemporary beers from the Near East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas document the remarkable influence Indigenous beers have had in shaping the development of food production, state level societies, and is an essential food for…
A history professor known for his groundbreaking research and archival work on early Spanish Florida has been appointed to the Florida Historical Commission (FHC) by Governor Ron DeSantis. Michael Francis, the Hough Family Endowed Chair of Florida Studies at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, was named to the commission along with four…