JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida students are pulling pieces of history from the banks of the St. Johns River — unearthing pottery from indigenous people who lived in the Jacksonville area more than 1,000 to 2,000 years ago.
The dig is part of a six-week archaeology field course on an island on the north side of the St. Johns River, running from May through late June.
Ancient pottery found in Jacksonville’s backyard
UNF archaeology student Liliana Betancourt described one of her finds during the dig.
“An orange sherd — orange is some of the oldest in North America. It dates back to 2500 BCE to about 500 BCE,” Betancourt said.
Some pieces belong to a style known as Swift Creek pottery, identifiable by thin lines pressed into the clay before firing. The markings were made intentionally.
“Those are from wooden paddles they used to stamp over the clay before they fire it,” one researcher explained.
Other fragments show even more personal details. Betancourt pointed to a piece of sand-tempered plain pottery that still bore the maker’s touch.
“There are some small finger marks — you can see where the person was running their fingers through it to make it,” she said.
Even the uneven coloring on some pieces tells a story: the fires used to heat and shape the clay may have burned unevenly, leaving behind a natural record of the process.
Learning archaeology in the field
Associate Professor of Anthropology Keith Ashley has led the UNF dig school for years. He said the goal goes beyond finding objects.
“We are really trying to understand the indigenous history of the Jacksonville area and northeast Florida,” Ashley said. “So every summer we find a place to excavate to learn about different time periods — with a deep indigenous history that goes back more than 13,000 years.”
Ashley noted the current site had limited testing in the 1990s, but researchers wanted more samples to better understand the area.
“We are in week five of a six-week course, so students out here are learning how to do archaeology in the field,” he said.
A passion that keeps students coming back
For some, one dig is not enough. Victoria Hayes, a UNF PhD student who also works with the American Conservation Experience, is on her fifth year participating in the field school.
“The first time I did it, I kind of fell in love with archaeology,” Hayes said. “It’s a very rewarding experience being out here in the dig and helping with lab analysis.”
After fieldwork wraps up, students bring what they find back to a lab for further analysis — learning to identify, catalog, and preserve each piece.
Preserving Jacksonville’s indigenous past
Researchers say the site holds roughly 3,000 to 4,000 years of Native American history. Scientists believe the people who lived here hunted a variety of animals but focused primarily on fish and shrimp. They also created fiber-tempered pottery — some of the oldest found in Florida.
The work happening along the St. Johns River is helping preserve Jacksonville’s indigenous past so future generations can learn from it.