Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee (OVIASC)

The Sexton Site (8IR01822) is situated on a slightly elevated limestone hammock in Indian River County, Florida. Extensive geophysical prospection, shovel probing, and subsequent block excavations in 2019 revealed the presence of a midden with a possibly contiguous seasonal village or hamlet of probable Woodland age (ca. 500 BC – 16th century AD). Nine hundred ninety-two ceramic sherds were recovered, including St. Johns Plain, Dunn’s Creek Red, and sand-tempered plain wares. Petrographic analyses of a sample of this assemblage are being undertaken at the CCA-BW, in partnership with the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee (OVIASC) and the project PIs, Dr. James Adovasio (Senator John Heinz History Center) and Dr. Kyle Freund (Far Western Anthropological Research Group).

This is one of the first petrographic studies from this region of Florida, highlighting various aspects of pottery manufacture from the procurement of raw materials to pyrotechnology. When contextualized within the broader framework of previously studied localities in the area, this project has the potential to make an important contribution to the interpretation of past human behaviour and prehistoric lifeways in south Florida and beyond.