ELGART

MIAMI CIRCLE ANIMAL FEATURES 183

 

Table 1. Prehistoric sites in Florida with recorded animal interments (entire animals only).

 
 

Broward Coun

Martin Coun
Hutchinson Island Site
(8MT37)

Nassau Coun

Palm Beach Coun

   

Sarasota Coun

beads were found parallel to the body of the alligator. The
interment dates to a Late Glades period, probably earlier than
A.D. 1300. The burial may represent a totemic relationship,
such as an “alligator clan” to which the people belonged
(Bullen and Bullen 1976).

There is at least some evidence that the Tequesta or their
ancestors ceremonially interred animals. In Miami-Dade
County, across the river from the Miami Circle, one prehistoric
dog burial in association with numerous secondary human
burials was reported from recent excavations at 8DA1I1 (Bob
Carr, personal communication, January, 2005). Farther west in
the Everglades, the Trail site (3DA33) contained a dog burial
and possible turtle burials. The dog burial was located on the
west side of the site among scattered human bones (Elgart-
Berry and Rombola 2003). In Component A (a portion of the
site apart from Component B) of the Trail site, an alligator skull
was found on top ofa pelvis of a partial human burial, and three
“whole turtle shells” were found in Component B (Coleman
1989:258, Figure 3). At the Margate-Blount site in Broward
County (directly north of Miami-Dade County), interments of
an alligator, snakes, raccoons, and turtles were uncovered in a
“ceremonial locus” separate from the habitation and mortuary
areas (Felmley 1991:68; Wheeler 1992a:95).

The other sites where animal burials were identified in

 

“ceremonial locus” with ornamental

Margate-Blount (8BD41) Glades I-III | Alligator, snakes, raccoons, turtle in
artifacts

Glades II 7 dogs within burial mound Carr and Steele
1993
Miami-Dade County

Granada site (3DAI1) Glades I-IIT_ | one dog in association with secondary | Bob Carr, Personal
human burials communication,
2005

Surfside Mound (8DA22) Glades III indeterminate animal interments next to | Lamme n.d. in
mound Felmley 1991

Trail Site (8DA33) Glades I-11] | Component B-3 whole turtle shells;
north side of Tamiami Trail: dog burial
with scattered human remains

 

 

Lighthouse Mound (8NA3) | St. Johns Ib | Dog in burial mound with many human | Moore 1896 in
and II (post | bones Mitchem, 1999
A.D. 500

 

Riviera Complex (8PB30 Glades III Entire dog and shark skeleton in midden | Wheeler 1992b

 

Palmer Site (8802) Glades TI Four dog burials and an alligator in | Bullen and Bullen
association with about 400 human burials | 1976

    
 

Felmley 1991

 
    

    
       
 

Coleman 1989;
Elgart-Berry and
Rombola 2003

 
 

        
    

southern Florida contain “simple interments” (Table 1) as the
burials do not seem to be ceremonial or dedicatory interments.
In Palm Beach County, a dog and shark were interred within a
midden context at the Riviera Complex (8PB30) (Wheeler
1992b:6).

Thus far, no dedicatory interments have been recorded at
Florida sites. The three animal interments uncovered at the
Miami Circle are undoubtedly unusual, but do they signify
ritual burial by the Tequesta?

Bottlenose Dolphin Cranium. Dolphin post-cranial bones
within refuse are not uncommon in Florida sites. Common
dolphin (Delphinus delphis L.) bones were found at the Glades
IlI-period Surfside site in Miami-Dade County (Willey
1949:79-83), which is roughly contemporaneous with the
Miami Circle dolphin cranium. However, not much is known
about this find, because the dolphin bones were reported with
the other faunal remains, and no further information on them is
presented. Atlantic bottlenose dolphin bones were found at
Green Mound in Volusia County, which is located eight miles
south-southeast of Daytona Beach (Bullen and Sleight
1960:31). The site dates to the St. Johns II to Ill periods, and
the remains, of which there were few, were found in a midden