Home > Photos > Native American > Crystal River State Archaeological Site	Site Map

Gallery: Crystal River State Archaeological Site

Click on a thumbnail photo to view the full picture.

	Temple Mound "A" at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site. This mound was once 30 feet high, 182 feet long, and 100 feet wide. It was probably built around A.D. 600, during the time known as the Weedon Island period. The Crystal River site is believed to have been continuously occupied from 200 B.C. to about A.D. 1400.
	Observation deck on top of Temple Mound "A."
	The center of the Crystal River site features a broad plaza.
	The site is surrounded by smaller mounds. Some of the mounds are middens (the accumulation of shellfish and other refuse). Other mounds used for burial were constructed of white sand.
	Mound at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.
	Mound at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.
	Mound at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.
	Mound at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.
	Mound at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.
	Stele I at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site. This is one of two stelae believed to have been placed at the site around A.D. 440.
	Another view of stele I.
	Stele I includes a trace of a face once carved into it. A sign at the site gives an explanation. "The face in the stone. Time and weather have nearly erased it. The stone is called a stele and was part of an arrangement of sand, shell and stone that formed a giant solar calendar. The face may be that of a sun god."
	Close-up view of the face carved in Stele I at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.

 

 

Exploring Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2002.