Indigo Snakes in north Florida
Indigo release ’24: Cola River, Zooniverse, and 41...
Wild born indigo snakes found at Apalachicola Bluffs...
2023 Update On The Reintroduction Of Eastern Indigo...
Latest Indigo Snake Release the Largest at Apalachicola...
Searching for Indigo Snakes in the Apalachicola Bluffs...
Snakes, Eagles, & Gopher Tortoises at the E.O....
The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • Secrets of the Seep: A Voyage into the Mysteries of Ocean Carbon
    • Finding the First Floridians: Underwater Archeologists Uncover Florida’s Prehistory
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • Wasps of North Florida: The Bad, the Ugly, and the (yes, really) Good
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Category:

Archaeology, Paleontology, History, and Indigenous Cultures

This category combines a few different scientific disciplines to create an understanding of all the forces that shaped the wild spaces in our area before European settlers developed and clearcut land.  This is a landscape that took millions of years to create, and only a couple of hundreds of years to radically change.  These stories compliment our coverage of ecosystem and watershed restoration efforts, where humans are trying to recreate what had once existed.

Our natural north Florida landscape contains many links to this area’s ancient past. Rivers like the Wacissa and Aucilla, for instance, are full of Paleo-Indian archaeological sites. One of those sites, the Aucilla’s Page Ladson, was recently dated to 14,500 years ago. This is earlier than people had been thought to have been in Florida, and is challenging notions about human migration into the Americas. Florida waterways may contain further clues to the early settlement of our continent.

We also explore more contemporary indigenous people, looking at native groups present during the first European contacts with our area to today. This allows use to try and paint a picture of how people lived and developed culture over the millennia.  By learning how people lived on our natural landscape over this time, we can create a fuller picture of what our ecosystems looked like in a time before they were altered by clearcutting and development.

In some cases, Florida waterways expose fossils from millions of years ago, as we saw along the Apalachicola River at Alum Bluff.

 

  • ArcheologyNative CultureRivers and Streams

    Underwater Archeology in Florida Part 1 | Silver River Mammoths

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 26, 2017
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 26, 2017

    We head under the Silver River in search of mammoth bones. Underwater archeology in Florida …

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  • Apalachicola River and BayArchaeology, Paleontology, History, and Indigenous CulturesEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and Streams

    A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River | Shark Fossils and Rocks

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 9, 2017
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 9, 2017

    The upper Apalachicola River has geology like no other in Florida. Geologist Harley Means reads …

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  • Ecology in Art & LiteratureFarms and AgricultureHistoryThe Red Hills of Florida & Georgia

    Eluster Richardson | Painting Life on a Red Hills Tenant Farm

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 14, 2016
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 14, 2016

    Eluster Richardson recreates scenes from his childhood, as he paints watercolors of tenant farm life …

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  • EcoAdventuresEcology in Art & LiteratureHistoryLakesThe Red Hills of Florida & Georgia

    Cycling Monticello’s Historic Canopy Roads

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 13, 2016
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas April 13, 2016

    We cycle down canopy roads through historically black communities in Monticello. Dr. Flossie Byrd recounts …

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  • Archeology

    Is Artifact Collecting a Threat to Archeology?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 4, 2016
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas February 4, 2016

    We talk to archeologists against legislation that would allow amateurs to collect artifacts in Florida …

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  • ArcheologyNative Culture

    Amateur Archeologist vs. Looter: A Matter of Context?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 6, 2015
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 6, 2015

    The perception of artifact collectors varies: are they citizen scientists or looters? Amateur archeologists are …

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  • ArcheologyAucilla/ Wacissa WatershedNative CultureRivers and Streams

    Underwater Archeology | Excavating the Wacissa River

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 22, 2015
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 22, 2015

    Archeologists scuba dive the Wacissa River to uncover artifacts that could be 12,000 years old …

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  • ArcheologyAucilla/ Wacissa WatershedNative CultureRivers and Streams

    Archeology on the Wacissa: Solving Underwater Mysteries

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 17, 2015
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 17, 2015

    Volunteering on Wacissa River excavations led to a Tallahassee man entering a Ph.D. program at …

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  • Archaeology, Paleontology, History, and Indigenous CulturesAucilla/ Wacissa WatershedEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and StreamsThe Red Hills of Florida & Georgia

    Canoeing the Aucilla: A Red Hills River Steeped in History

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 27, 2015
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 27, 2015

    The Aucilla River’s black waters hide archeological treasures, having served Floridians for thousands of years. …

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  • Archaeology, Paleontology, History, and Indigenous CulturesAucilla/ Wacissa WatershedEcoAdventuresKayak and Canoe AdventuresRivers and Streams

    Paleo River Adventure on Slave Canal

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 19, 2013
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas June 19, 2013

    Slave Canal has been a popular Florida kayak and canoe destination for, I don’t know, …

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iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

iNaturalist


View robdv’s observations »

Most Recent

  • Life on the Ocean Floor, and Why It’s a Hard Place to Explore | Coast to Canopy Episode 3
  • Methane and Microbes at the Ocean Floor | The Science of Secrets of the Seep
  • A History of Fire in Tree Rings | Coast to Canopy Episode 2
  • No Mow March & Rewilding in North Florida | Coast to Canopy Episode 1
  • Mining Bees: The Docile Bees Making Mounds on Your Lawn

The WFSU Ecology and Education teams at the UF/IFAS Leon County Extension Open House and Plant Sale, May of 2025. Photo by Clara Mullins.

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The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • Secrets of the Seep: A Voyage into the Mysteries of Ocean Carbon
    • Finding the First Floridians: Underwater Archeologists Uncover Florida’s Prehistory
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • Wasps of North Florida: The Bad, the Ugly, and the (yes, really) Good
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources