The next Jacksonville Historical Society program

On the 450th anniversary of Jean Ribault’s departure
from Harve de Grace, France, for his voyage to
North Florida, the Jacksonville Historical Society presents:

When Worlds Collide: The Mocama and French Perspectives

Keith H. Ashley, Ph.D. and Robert L. Thunen, Ph.D

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

6:30 p.m. reception - 7 p.m. presentation

at Old St. Andrew’s - 317 A. Philip Randolph Boulevard

Professors at University of North Florida’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Dr. Robert Thunen and Dr. Keith Ashley direct and coordinate the UNF Archaeology Research Lab. A Faculty Fellow and Lab Director, Dr. Thunen’s archeological excavations include Big Talbot Island, the Timucuan Preserve, Black Hammock Island and the search for Ft. Caroline. Dr. Ashley’s research and excavations range from 4,000 year old shell middens along the Atlantic Coast to Creek Indian Villages of Central Alabama. He is noted for research on the “contact-era” Mocama-speaking Timucua of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. Dr. Thunen and Dr. Ashley are currently involved in projects to locate the actual site of Ft. Caroline. The Mocama of North Florida, Ribault’s arrival at the “River May,” and the professor’s search for Ft. Caroline highlight the presentation.

This program is free and open to the public…more information at 665-0064.

Free parking and security on duty. Guests are welcome!

Did You Know: Facts about the Native Americans of Jacksonville?

Did you know that Native Americans first visited the Jacksonville area some 10,000 years ago and began living here permanently around 6000 years ago?

Did you know that the largest shell ring (monumental architecture consisting mostly of piled oyster shell) along the entire Atlantic coast was built by natives on Fort George Island some 4500 years ago? These same Indians were also among the first in North America to make fired clay pottery.

Did you know that the natives living along the lower St. Johns River and on the barrier islands to the north constructed large sand mounds and participated in far-reaching trade networks that brought copper, mica, galena, and other stone artifacts to Florida from locations throughout eastern North America?

Did you know that the Mocama-speaking Timucua of northeastern Florida were among the first natives of mainland North America to be described by Europeans?

Did you know that the Mocama lived in Spanish Missions near the river’s mouth during the seventeenth century? These missions were built nearly two centuries before those in California.

Did you know that the Spanish missions of northeastern Florida were destroyed by British forces in 1702? The natives, however, escaped and fled to St. Augustine? After a brief return in 1703, natives abandoned the Jacksonville area in 1705, never to return again.

Unfortunately, few people are aware of these important facts and milestones in the history of Jacksonville.

For more information, call 904-665-0064