Dr. Judith Bense

Santa Rosa–Swift Creek is a Middle Woodland culture located on the northern Gulf Coast in northwestern Florida. The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the available information on Santa Rosa– Swift Creek as of 1994. This overview will include a description of the Santa Rosa–Swift Creek culture area, the general artifact assemblage, chronology, site types, and settlement patterns. Next, within this larger cultural context, I will present preliminary results of investigations at a single-component Santa Rosa–Swift Creek site, Bernath Place, in the Pensacola Bay system as an example of a fairly typical small settlement site of this period.

Excerpt - Archeology in the Americas is entering a new era in which the attitudes of both archeologists and the public toward archeological sites must be refined. Archeologic.al resources are being destroyed at an alarming rate and could well be largely eliminated if nothing is done to stem the waves of destruction. Archeolog sts are in the same position as environmentalists of 30 years ago, who realized that the country's water, soil, and air were being polluted at an alarming rate. The red flags are up for archeology. Preservation methods that affect the roots of the problem, justification of archeology, public education, and new funding sources must be developed.