found in Florida.
orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-
panhandlesearch0608jan06,0,1046554.story
OrlandoSentinel.com
Panhandle park holds treasures for archaeologists
A survey team unearths artifacts and what may be a cave painting in
Falling Waters State Park.
Jeremy Morrison
Panama City News Herald
January 6, 2008
CHIPLEY
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Kristy Mickwee is in a hole. But she is in no hurry to climb out; this
hole has yielded treasure. "Most of it came from this lighter area,"
she said, pointing out the different layers of earth with her spade.
Mickwee is part of a University of West Florida archaeology team
surveying 168 acres of the Falling Waters State Park in Chipley.
During the past few weeks, the team has dug the park full of "shovel
tests" in search of Native-American artifacts. Fieldwork was extended
because of the bountiful findings.
"I think I would have had problems prying them out of here," said John
Phillips, an archaeologist with the UWF Archaeology Institute.
Phillips was excited about the opportunity to dig in Chipley. He said
he thinks the inland areas of Florida, particularly in the Panhandle,
have not received the attention they deserve compared with more
archaeologically popular coastal sites.
"The Piney Woods area of Florida needs a little bit of attention," he
said. "There's a story to tell here."
Clues to the past
Part of that story was spread over a park picnic table: precious
antiquities stashed in plastic bags, each meticulously labeled,
holding clues to the past.
"When we get these counted, I guarantee it's gonna be 300," said Chris
Mickwee, Kristy's husband and the UWF graduate student overseeing the
Falling Waters fieldwork.
Inside the plastic bags are bits of ceramic pottery and arrowheads, ho-
hum items each passing century has deemed increasingly precious.
Perhaps indistinguishable to the untrained eye, these artifacts help
archaeologists map history.
"Prehistoric ceramic styles change like Detroit changes car styles,"
Phillips said.
He holds up various pieces, each hailing from a different stratum of
time. The artifacts range from 1,000 to 1,500 years old.
The people who crafted these finds are not too different from modern-
day man. For example, they enjoy the same camping spots; many of the
artifacts were in what currently are state park campsites.
"I like to establish continuity from the past to the present,"
Phillips said, adding that the park's namesake, a 100-foot waterfall,
probably was as big an attraction centuries ago as it is today. "It's
an ideal spot for people to come."
The archaeology survey also turned up some more recent relics: a Civil
War-era grist mill, the remnants of an oil well from 1919 and "Barry's
Wine Shop," left over from the 1890s railroading days.
"What do you do when you work on the railroad? You probably play
cards, have a drink and beat somebody up," said Scott Sweeney, a park-
service specialist at Falling Waters. "It was called Barry's Wine, but
it was probably more like what you'd find out in the woods."
Sweeney was the catalyst for this survey. The park specialist
contacted UWF 15 months ago. More than $45,000 in state grants
followed.
"Part of our job is to interpret the state park," Sweeney said. "If we
don't know what's here, it's kind of hard to interpret."
The findings of this survey will be used to learn more about the
area's early inhabitants. That information will be used to create
interpretive displays in the park.
"It's going to allow us to understand a little bit more about why
people were here and what they were doing," Phillips said of the
survey. "People are crying for information about their past."
Surprise find
But the team saw something at Falling Waters, a mystery no one
involved with the archaeological survey has been able to wrap their
heads around.
"The cave drawing is up in the air," Phillips said hesitantly.
"What we have is some amorphous things; I'm not ready to say it's cave
painting. It may be; we certainly haven't ruled that out."
Off the beaten path, requiring one to climb, crawl and squeeze, are
the questionable amorphous smears of red. If it is weathered graffiti,
it's disappointing on several levels, but if it is a cave painting,
it's amazing on just as many, the team said. No other cave paintings
have been found in Florida.
"One of our rangers happened upon that a couple of months ago and
said, 'Oh, by the way, there's something on one of the walls down
there,' " Sweeney recalled.
The UWF team went to investigate but was unable to draw any concrete
conclusions. Samples are being studied.
"Whatever it is," said Chris Mickwee, "there's nothing else like it
down there."
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