SOUTHEAST—The Archaeological Conservancy recently transferred ownership of its two tracts of the Byrd Hammock site in Wakulla County, Florida, to the Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. The tracts were acquired by the Conservancy in 2014 and 2015 and are a total of three acres. They are two of three tracts that encompass the Byrd Hammock site—a multi-component site with two burial mounds and two circular villages often referred to as shell rings or ring middens. Shell rings are circular and semicircular deposits of shell, bone, soil, and other artifacts. They contain the remains of the plants and animals the site’s occupants used for food and tools. The main occupations were the Woodland period cultures known as Swift Creek and Weeden Island. These post-Archaic groups are found in parts of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia and are characterized by the appearance of elaborate ceremonial complexes, mound burials, permanent settlements, population growth, increasing reliance on cultigens, and increasing sociopolitical complexity.
The Byrd Hammock Site has been the location for numerous field schools, research projects, and hurricane damage mitigations. The largest tract of the site was donated to St. Marks Wildlife Refuge several years ago. St. Marks Wildlife Refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge plans to transfer the two Conservancy parcels over to the wildlife refuge, and the recent transfer of the Conservancy’s property to the Friends group is an important step in ensuring the entire site is permanently preserved within the refuge.
