Spring Origins

This chapter addresses Miller’s hypothesis that the onset of spring flow led to the inception of shell mounding during the Mount Taylor period (7400–4600 cal BP) in the St. Johns River valley. It argues that spring flow has been treated as an ecological founding event by archaeologists. After discussing the concepts of “event” and “non-event” as they are used here, it discusses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based modelling of pressure within the Floridan Aquifer that approximate pre-modern conditions. Following this, the archaeological and paleohydrological records of two springs—Salt and Silver Glen—are presented. This work indicates that springs began flowing far earlier than previously thought and that the onset of spring flow was likely discontinuous and time-transgressive across the valley. It is therefore argued that the onset of spring flow was not, in itself, a significant event that precipitated rapid changes in human lifeways in the region.