Key Marco

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Key Marco was an archaeological site on Marco Island, Florida excavated in 1896 by Frank Hamilton Cushing of the Smithsonian Institution. Cushing recovered more than 1,000 wooden artifacts from the Key Marco site, the largest number of wooden artifacts from any prehistoric archaeological site in the eastern United States. These artifacts are described as some of the finest prehistoric native American art in North America. The original site was completely excavated and refilled, and is now under a housing subdivision.

The Key Marco site was a small muck pond, covering less than an acre. The conditions in the muck preserved the wood and other objects, including those made with bone, fiber, gum, rawhide and gut. Objects of stone, shell and pottery were also found in the pond.

A great variety of artifacts were found in the pond, including bowls, mortars and pestles, spears, atlatls, cords, ropes, nets, net floats, fishhooks, carved clubs, wooden tablets and plaques, wood ear spools, realistically carved animal heads and carved and painted masks. Many of the wooden objects, besides the masks, had been painted, and the colors were still vivid when the objects were first removed from the muck.

At the time Key Marco was excavated, techniques for preserving wood and other fragile materials removed from the muck had not been developed. The colors on the painted objects quickly faded, and many objects quickly deteriorated. Fortunately, a photographer was with excavation party, and photographed all of the objects soon after they were removed from the pond. Watercolors where also prepared showing the colors of the painted objects.

Dating the Key Marco finds has been a problem. No record of the stratification of the objects was kept, so that they cannot be placed in sequence. There is no sign of European trade goods or influence in the finds. Radiocarbon dating did not exist at the time of excavation. Radiocarbon dating of objects that been handled and stored away from their original environment for long periods may not be reliable. In the 1960s an attempt to radiocarbon date some objects yielded a date of 1670 AD. A second attempt in 1975 using five different objects yielded dates from 55 AD to 850 AD.

Marco Island was occupied by the Muspa tribe, corresponding to the Ten Thousand Islands district of the Glades culture. Around 1300 AD pottery and artifact styles in the Muspa area changed to become very similar to those of the Calusa tribe to the north, indicating a close alliance with or absorption by the Calusa.[1]

Some confusion may arise from the fact that in the 1980s a development company renamed the former Horr's Island as "Key Marco". Horr's Island was the location of its own significant archaeological site.

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  1. ^ MacMahon and Marquardt. P. 6

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