Springs Eternal

This chapter begins with discussion of the contemporary tensions and debates surrounding springs, including barriers to their conservation and the framing of the past in media coverage and springs conservation narratives. It then draws on entanglement theory to summarize the preceding chapters and examine the ways that springs are caught up with geological, hydrological, social, economic, and political forces. It argues that conservation can be fruitfully enhanced by an archaeological sensibility that draws attention to springs’ historical significance and to the remnants of the past still visible in the present. Indeed, the archaeological and historical significance of springs should be intrinsic to their value today. It further argues that there is continuity between past and present practice, with springs functioning as gathering places that draw people for ritual purposes. This continuity provides a bridge spanning the chasm of time and demonstrating the relevance of past experience to modern conundrums.

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.

Smoke on the Water

This chapter introduces the book and gives an overview of the importance of Florida’s springs, the threats facing them in the 21st century, and the ways that springs have typically figured into archaeological narratives. In particular, it discusses the role of springs in the inception of shell mounding during the Mount Taylor period (7400–4600 cal BP) in the St. Johns River valley of northeast Florida. It has long been argued that the onset of spring flow, itself a result of Holocene sea-level rise, created the necessary ecological conditions for human exploitation of molluscs and the deposition of their shells in mounds and middens. The chapter provides a preliminary critique of this model, discusses the major arguments of the book, and closes with an outline of the remaining chapters.

Springs on the Move

This chapter expands the scope of inquiry to other springs, both within and outside the St. Johns River valley. It presents the results of archaeological reconnaissance at Silver Springs. The artifacts recovered during this survey include an abundance of lithic debitage and tools, far outstripping the known assemblages from other springs in the region. Raw material suitable for the production of flaked stone tools is absent in the St. Johns River valley. The chapter uses least-cost modelling to examine the optimal pathways for the movement of toolstone from source areas in western peninsular Florida to Silver Springs and three sites in the St. Johns River valley with ample lithic assemblages. This is done to evaluate the hypothesis that Silver Springs and places like it were gateways or conduits for the movement of people and objects into the valley. The proposed least-cost paths are evaluated with lithic provenance and debitage data.

Sacred Spring

This chapter begins to sketch an alternative interpretation of the use and significance of springs in Florida. It deals exclusively with Silver Glen Springs, site of the largest freshwater shell mounds in the St. Johns River valley and greater American Southeast. It considers whether Silver Glen Springs was considered sacred in the past and whether all springs might have an inherent sanctity. Silver Glen went through several transformations over its history but throughout was the focal point of regional gatherings that persisted for several millennia and reached impressive scale. Since the earliest inhabitation of the region, springs have drawn people in and been the focus of gatherings big and small. Foregrounding the sociality of springs draws attention away from their physical parameters, but the two are recursively linked. If springs have been considered sacred, it is a consequence of both their physicality and the history of sociality they manifest.

Springs Geology

This chapter reviews the geological context of Florida’s springs and the St. Johns River valley. This provides a basis for understanding the abundance of springs in Florida and the forces that drive their geographic distribution and hydrology. The chapter begins with a sketch of the geologic history of the Florida Platform and the formation of the karst Floridan Aquifer system, with emphasis on those events and processes relevant to springs. This is followed by a discussion of the environmental factors affecting spring flow and how these were impacted by global and regional climatic changes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Finally, it discusses the geomorphology of the St. Johns River valley and the springs that feed into it.