Brevard County, 1982. Construction had just begun on a new housing development amid a quiet, unassuming swamp across from Windover Pond when a backhoe operator made a gruesome discovery—several skulls in the bucket of his machine.
Concerned about a possible mass homicide, investigators were called. But these remains would prove to be far from recent. In fact, they predated the birth of Christ by 5000 years, the building of the pyramids by 3000 years, and 2000 years before the construction of Stonehenge—and would provide revolutionary insight into the lifestyle and culture of prehistoric Native Americans.
A total of 168 bodies, ranging from men of women aged infancy to 60 years, were excavated from the pond over the span of two years. The been ritually interred over a period ranging from around 1,300 years ago in a type of water burial under a layer of peat, which so perfectly preserved the remains that brain matter, grave goods, stomach contents and even textiles had been remained intact. They had remained undisturbed for over 7000 years!
Most of these bodies were buried in a fetal position, on their left sides, and with their heads toward the West. Upon death, they would have been wrapped in a blanket, pushed underwater, and then pinned down in the graves by sharpened stakes.
Comparisons were made of the hydrogen footprint of these human remains to those of native animals found in the bog, which proved that the Windover people did not live in the surrounding area and were nomadic.
This was remarkable as many Stone Age burials happened simply where and when the individual died, rather than being taken to a sacred burial place or cemetery. That meant that the Windover people placed great significance on the pond, likely believing the water to act as a portal to the afterlife.
Belief in an afterlife is further evidenced by their ritual preparation of the bodies and offering of grave goods such as jewelry and tools like atlatls. Children and teenagers were buried with more of these offerings than adults, indicating they were highly valued.
The burials at Windover Pond were also able to reveal new insight into the community care offered by this Stone Age Hunter-Gatherer tribe to their sick, elderly, or otherwise infirmed.
Among the dead was the skeleton of a 15-year-old with spinal bifida and a missing foot. He would have likely been paralyzed below the waist and would have required lifelong care since birth. Other bodies included elderly afflicted with arthritis, and a man with a spear in embedded in his pelvis. Some bodies also showed evidence of healed injuries or death from combat.
The discovery of textiles, jewelry, weaponry, and evidence of community care and belief in an afterlife was also important as it proved that these people were more sophisticated than once thought.
Further investigative research was able to determine that these people indeed were DNA descendants of the first people to migrate from Asia over the Bering Strait into the Americas, possessing the rare maternal haplogroup X, and using the DNA evidence plus facial reconstruction techniques, scientists were able to re-create the faces of several female skulls excavated from the site, which allows us to truly look into the eyes of one of the earliest Floridians!
A few more interesting facts about the Windover Pond site—the hollow gourds found there are some of the earliest evidence of this vegetable’s use as storage in North America. Aside from wear-and-tear on their teeth due to sand in their diet, they had no cavities and were extremely healthy.
In fact, many of them were over six feet tall! Since their stomach contents were so well preserved, we can even see what kind of food they lived off of: a delicious and nutritious diet consistent mainly of deer, possum, raccoon, fish and shellfish, birds, wild grapes, elderberries, and prickly pear cactus
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