People Have Been in Northeast Florida for 7,500 years

People Have Been in Northeast Florida for 7,500 years. Faver-Dykes State Park. Archaeologists have pieced together an understanding of life in Florida before Europeans arrived. Humans were here as early as 13,000 BC. Through time, their lifeways changed because of climate, food availability, and traits introduced by other groups., Early Coastal People , People lived in this region by 7,500 BC but not on the coast. They moved seasonally, depending on small game nuts, mollusks and wild plants for food. By 4,000 years ago, people lived along the St. Johns River and next to coastal tributaries and lagoons., Before 1565 , Between 500 BC and 1565, regional people began to live in large, permanent settlements. They hunted, collected wild foods, and fished. Eventually, they grew corn, beans, and squash. They built large sites near water, and developed complex social and political systems with established leaders., After 1565 , In the 1500s Europeans arrived in North Florida and encountered the Timucuans, who were strong and impressive, and had established political and trade networks. Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his followers stayed in a Timucuan village in present day St. Augustine when they arrived in 1565., Spanish settlers brought European diseases to North Florida, and without immunities, most Native Americans died. Their cultures were changed forever, and many who remained were forced to work for the Spanish newcomers, helping to build the town. Gradually their cultures completely disappeared. , , (captions) , Archaic Period sites can be identified by the presence of large, stemmed spear points., Whelk shell scooping tool, Perforated oyster shell , St. Johns pottery , Orange fiber tempered pottery , Pottery construction methods and decorative techniques changed through time. (Orange fiber tempered, 2,000 BC - 1500 BC; St. Johns, 500 BC - AD 1565), All pictured artifacts courtesy Florida Department of State