Protecting And Preserving Ancient Sites At Risk From Sea-Level Rise In Florida
"Long before condominiums lined the shoreline in Miami Beach, before air
conditioning, many thousands of years before Columbus, people lived along Florida's coastline."
"Archaeologists say the remains of their settlements are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels as a result of climate change."
"In Florida's Palm Beach County researchers are planning how best to protect and preserve the ancient sites most at risk from rising seas."
"One of the sites is at a county park in Boca Raton where the playground and the public beach are the main attractions."
"Most visitors are unaware that it's also one of the oldest settlements in America."
"'Basically under our feet is where the site is,' archaeologist April Watson says as she ducks under branches and sweeps away leaves."
Thousands of years ago, this was part of an extensive village complex.
"'This particular spot is a shell midden,"' Watson says. 'Basically they were eating. They got a lot of shellfish, giant coquina which takes diving. They're about 18 feet down. And then as time went on, they were mostly going for oysters.'"