Ancient Civilization Uncovered!

Ancient Civilization Uncovered!. . In 1934, laborers at the Fountain of Youth began work to cultivate a citrus grove here on the property. Almost immediately, a shovel thrust unearthed a cluster of human bones. The sheriff was called and it was soon determined that neither the graves, nor the bones, were recent. Local archaeologists contacted the Smithsonian Institution, which sent specialists to St. Augustine from Washington, D.C. Ultimately, after preliminary analyses and digs, the effort shifted into a full-scale archaeological investigation that would continue for the next five years. By the time the digs were completed and reports filed, 94 Christian burials of indigenous peoples were uncovered, studied, and documented. Virtually overnight, the Fountain of Youth Park became a historical site of unprecedented depth based upon irrefutable evidence. What exactly is meant by the term "indigenous Christian burials"? The Indians who occupied these grave sites were converts of the Catholic Mission efforts in St. Augustine. Upon their deaths they were buried in a ritualistic manner that emphasized their conversions, even as they lay in the grave. Their remains were positioned to reflect their new faith, including the crossing of arms and the prone, flat-on-their-backs placement of the corpses. Upon further investigation, it became evident that there were two ancient burial grounds involved. M.W. Sterling of the Smithsonian states that "it is quite probable that the historic Indian village here was located on the same ground as an earlier prehistoric one..." One interesting note about the digs is that the remains of the pre-Columbian-era burials show evidence of healthier teeth! This letter by M. W. Sterling signifies the extreme importance that was placed on this project in Washington, D.C. Not only had the nation's leading archaeologists at the Smithsonian Institution come to St. Augustine to examine the remains of one set of ancient burials, but they discovered there were even older native burials that pre-dated the arrival of Europeans. As Vernon Lamme, the first State Archeologist of Florida and frequent visitor to this site, stated in his letter of October 25, 1935: , "The conclusion must be reached that the lower or earlier burials must have been made several centuries before the landing of Ponce de Leon in 1513... There is a possibility that the earlier prone burials may be found under the entire property."