a rs ana,
AN ANALYSIS OF THE PREHISTORIC HUMAN REMAINS FOUND AT THE MIAMI! CIRCLE AT

BRICKELL POINT SITE (8DA12)

ALISON A. ELGART! AND ROBERT S. CARR?

‘Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965

E-mail: aelgart@fecu.edu

Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc., 4800 S.W. 64" Ave. Suite 1 07, Davie, FL 33014

E-mail: archigcl@bellsouth.net

reentrant ee

To date, there is no evidence indicating that the Miami
Circle component of site 8DA12 contains a cemetery or any
type of mortuary component. The scant human remains
recovered during the intensive excavations in the Miami Circle
feature include two human bone elements and ten teeth or
fragments thereof. Two other human bone elements and 11
teeth or tooth fragments were uncovered throughout the
excavated area outside of the Miami Circle. No graves were
found and no area could be defined as any type of mortuary
area within the project area. Based on the remains found, there
are a minimum number of four individuals represented at the
site. In contrast, other prehistoric sites located in the area of the
Miami Circle do contain graves with many more individuals
represented.

Methodology

Field Methods

Scant quantities of human bone and teeth were recovered
from two of the three excavation operations at Brickell Point.
The first and most extensive excavation, conducted by the
Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Division and the
Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc. (AHC) during
1998 and 1999, concentrated on the Miami Circle feature, and
consisted of a grid of 57 five-foot square units. Material
collected is from both excavation units and trenches, as well as
from redeposited sediments uncovered during monitoring of the
demolition of the Brickell Point Apartments. Operation 2 of the
excavation was managed by the State of Florida during October
to November 1999. Auger tests and an excavation of an area
17 meters east of the Miami Circle were conducted at this time
(Wheeler 2004). Both of these excavations yielded some
human remains, however, collections made during Operation 3,
conducted by Randolph Widmer, produced no human remains
(Widmer 2004). All elevations were measured in feet and
tenths of feet, using the National Geodetic Vertical Datum
(NGVD) of 1929 as a datum.

Laboratory Methods

All of the cultural material recovered from the Miami Circle
were washed, sorted by category, identified, and cataloged by

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THE Frorma AwrTnenpn acer

author Elgart and two associates at the warehouse of the
Historical Museum of Southern Florida in Miami. Material
recovered during Operation 1 was cataloged as MDC, and
material from Operation 2 was cataloged as FBAR. Some
human bones and teeth had been tentatively identified during
the excavation. After faunal bone had been sorted out from
other material, author Elgart examined the unsorted faunal bone
for human bone. In units positive for human remains, all faunal
bone was examined twice. A total of 25 human elements and
teeth was identified as a result of this review process.

The whole or partial human elements recovered at 8DA12
include a patella, half of an atlas (C1), an axis (C2), and a
mandibular body fragment. Catalog numbers and proveniences
are listed in Table 1. Two elements, the axis and atlas, were
found inside the Miami Circle feature (Figure 1). The nearly
complete axis was located in the northeast quadrant of the
Miami Circle in Unit 33 and the fragmented atlas was recovered
in the adjacent unit to the west (Unit 64). The patella was
found in Trench 7, southwest of the Miami Circle, and the
mandible was a surface find in Unit 68, northwest of the Miami
Circle feature. The mandible fragment is the anterior half of a
right mandibular body with two empty but extremely worn
alveolar sockets.

Of the whole or fragmented teeth recovered at the site, 12
are molars, 5 are premolars, and 4 are incisors (Table 1). Two
of the teeth are deciduous incisors, but the rest are permanent
teeth. Three of the premolars are mandibular, and two are
maxillary. There are two lower and two upper first molars, two
lower second molars, and two upper third molars. The apices
of the roots of the two mandibular first molars (M,), the left
mandibular first premolar (P,), and the right mandibular second
incisor (I,) remain open.

A dental analysis was conducted using methods from Bass
(1995:289-307), Steele and Bramblett (1988:101-110), Buikstra
and Ubelaker (1994) and Hillson (1996). Dental nomenclature
follows Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994). Age was determined
from dental eruption and from dental wear, where possible.
Measurement standards follow Steele and Bramblett (1988:110)
and Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994). Measurements were taken
using Mitutoyo digital sliding calipers.

Chemamms amen Fis nn ene ana