Miami Herald– Human bones found, then reburied , by a construction crew beneath State Road A1A in Pompano Beach are probably those of an adult Tequesta Indian, according to historians. The bones are anywhere from 500 to 2,500 years old.
''There is no doubt in my mind that it's a Native American,'' said archaeologist Chris Broward County Historical Commission. ''The bones were stained a brown color, which takes a long time to occur,'' he said, and the molars on the teeth found were worn flat, indicating that the diet included sand.
''The Native Americans here had a lot of sand in their diet,'' said. ``They didn't have metal tools or kitchens to wash it off.''
Fifteen bones and 24 fragments were discovered Wednesday evening in the 1400 block of South Ocean Boulevard (State Road A1A). The site is a block from Indian Mound Park, an ancient Indian burial ground used for ceremonies by the Tequestas The bones make up about 20 percent of a skeleton and the site is probably an isolated burial. A shard of prehistoric pottery also was discovered. Additional excavation around the site is unlikely, said John Maseman , director of the South Florida Conservation Center.
''We didn't see anything on either side, so the thinking is that this is an isolated body,'' Maseman Tequestas first came into contact with European colonizers in 1513. When the Spanish left in 1763, the last of the Tequestas went with them.
''They were one of the few cultures that thrived as a complex society without the use of agriculture,'' Tequestas would catch sharks, sea turtles and whales, hunt alligators in the Everglades and gather wild fruit and vegetables.
CREW LAYING CONDUIT
A construction crew from Weekley Asphalt Paving found several bones buried about four feet– deep early Tuesday morning as they were laying conduit for Florida Power & Light and AT&T cables in the area. They decided to leave the bones in the trench, fill the hole and pour cement on top. The construction crew mentioned this to the city inspector, who contacted the Broward Sheriff's Office Wednesday morning.
''I told them to park the backhoe until I got there,'' said Scott Lewis, consulting archaeologist for Broward County.
The crew then spent the day digging a hole nine feet deep on the southbound lane of A1A. After the workers left, archaeologists and deputies found remains under a water pipe.
''We were going down through those layers and didn't realize the bones [the construction worker] had seen were farther back,'' Maseman said. ``Once they started coming, every shovelful was a rib or a long bone.''
Several long bones, ribs, cranial fragments, a portion of the right mandible (lower jaw) with teeth, part of a pelvis area and vertebrae were unearthed. State archaeologist James Miller will determine what happens to the human remains, which probably will be reburied at another site.
MORE INVESTIGATION
Lewis said a further investigation would determine the age, sex, physical health and history, diet– and possibly the ethnicity of the person. ''Often we try to establish kinship with a Native American group,'' said Brenda , archaeology supervisor with the Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee.
“We would probably reinter them, seeking some guidance from a relative or tribal community that has a relationship.'' Lewis said he is proposing that the bones be buried at Indian Mound Park.
''We're waiting to see who's going to get them,'' spokesman Jim Leljedal said. ``There's some conjecture whether they will go to a state university or be buried at an Indian site located nearby.'' Construction workers filled in the hole Thursday. South Ocean Boulevard reopened about 4 p.m. Thursday.