EDITOR'S PAGE

 

This is the third Special Issue of The Florida Anthropologist
dedicated to research on the Miami Circle site. Volume 53(4),
published in 2000, presented some of the first scientific writing
on the Miami Circle site, which was discovered in 1998 in
downtown Miami and became the focus of a grass-roots effort
to save the carved limestone feature and surrounding midden
deposits from the onslaught of redevelopment in the City of
Miami. Volume 57(1-2), published in 2004, followed with
additional articles and specialized analyses about the site. With
this issue, the Miami Circle becomes one of the best studied
archaeological sites in southern Florida. Continuing the multi-
disciplinary approach begun in 2000, this issue presents an
analysis of ceramics from the site by Project Director Bob Carr,
which documents additional connections with Middle Wood-
land cultures elsewhere in Florida that were also observed in the
site configuration and studies of some of the other artifact types
from the site. Bob’s article is followed by the fascinating
research of Lori Collins and Travis Doering who used 3-D laser
scanning technology to document the features comprising the
Miami Circle and the circular features recently discovered
across the Miami River at 83DA11. Alison Elgart writes about
the animal interments from the Miami Circle—-a completely
articulated shark, a sea turtle carapace and a dolphin skull-and
places them within the context of the site, other animal burials
from Florida and the broader literature on the significance of
such burials. Ryan Wheeler and Steve Kish present their
research on the pumice artifacts discovered at the Miami Circle
and their attempt to understand the role of this volcanic, non-
local material in regional exchange systems and the possible
origins of this material. The final article, by Alison Elgart and
Bob Carr, summarizes the small collection of human remains
identified from the Miami Circle.

While research on the site continues it is worth noting the
other efforts underway to protect and interpret the site. The
Bureau of Archaeological Research revamped its website on the
Miami Circle, including many photos of the site and its arti-
facts, a virtual tour, summaries of the various research projects,
and time lines of major events in the history of the site-the
website has its own address: www.miamicirclesite.com. The
question of future management of the Miami Circle is being
addressed in a study by the National Park Service. While drafts
of the study suggest that the site may not come under federal
auspices, the Florida Division of Historical Resources has
begun discussing the possibility that the Historical Museum of
Southern Florida will assume this important role. The museum
has had a long relationship with the Miami Circle, including an
exhibit dedicated to the site and the first inhabitants of southern
Florida. If the museum assumes management of the site they
will be able to develop an interpretive plan for the site and
expand on the conceptual designs presented in the National
Park Service study. Part of the bid to make the Miami Circle
part of the National Park Service included a nomination as a

National Historic Landmark. While initially meeting with some
resistance, this effort has produced a thematic study of the
Tequesta Indians and their ancestors that can be used to
nominate sites as Natioanl Historic Landmarks or for listing on
the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a successful
landmark designation for the Mud Lake Canal-a prehistoric
canoe canal located deep in the Florida Everglades. Much of
the research present here and in previous Special Issues on the
Miami Circle have been crucial in the landmark nomination.
The Florida Division of Historical Resources also continues its
plan to replace the deteriorating seawall at the site, a compli-
cated process that involves countless permits from federal,
state, county and local entities, as well as considerable sums of
money. The Division has maintained a steadfast commitment
to this project, despite the many obstacles regarding a major
construction project in downtown Miami. A visit to downtown
Miami today gives a vastly different impression than it would
have eight years ago when the Miami Circle was first discov-
ered. Many buildings from 20 to 50 years ago have succumbed
to new construction, including the IconBrickell rising next to
the Miami Circle parcel and the Epic, located across the river
where the funky old DuPont Plaza used to sit. A lot of this
construction has brought new archaeological digs and new
discoveries. Hopefully we will read about them all in future
issues of The Florida Anthropologist.

Perhaps it is auspicious that this issue, dedicated to the
Miami Circle, also will be my final as Editor of The Florida
Anthropologist. I began my tenure as Editor in December,
1999 just as I was finishing fieldwork for the state-sponsored
investigation of the Miami Circle. Serving as editor has been
a lot of work but also a great honor; I have enjoyed working
with the FAS board members, contributors and reviewers, as
well as the kind folks at Durra-Print and Capital City Mailing.
Keith Ashley and Dan Hughes were great in their role as Book
Review Editor and my friend and colleague George Luer was
always ready to lend a hand with editing and general encourage-
ment. Members of the Florida Anthropological Society should
be very proud of our journal—it would not be possible without
their continued support. I am proud that I can add my name to
the list of editors and I am also a little sad to give up my role as
Editor. It is, however, with great pleasure that I introduce
Deborah Mullins and Andrea White who have volunteered to
serve as Co-Editors of The Florida Anthropologist.

With family roots deep in the southeast, Deborah R. Mullins
is a proud Cracker from Deland, Florida who began her training
in archaeology over a decade ago by contacting (i.e.: politely
harassing) long time FAS member and avocational archaeolo-
gist Dorothy Moore for volunteer opportunities in Deborah's
home county of Volusia. One dirt parking lot, one series of
shovel tests, and one scattered shell midden later, and she was
hooked. Deborah took her B.A. in Anthropology at the
University of Florida and her M.A. in Historical Archaeology

 

VoL. 59(3-4)

THE FLORIDA ANTHROPOLOGIST

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2006