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C-1 • Qb "nowNP8 Form 1040p & 40 til United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval Na. tae$ -Dore Section number L Page -3-- Indian River Narrows Cultural Resource District Numerous middens once lined the banks of the Indian River lagoon, but many of them have been destroyed over the last century for use of their materials for construction projects or because they were located where building was to occur. At the turn of the century, one of the area's largest midden mounds --similar to the type described by Bartram --existed on the west bank of the Indian River directly across from Orchid Island. The mound, known as Barker's Bluff, was located at the south side of what is now the town of Sebastian and is described as once being 1009 feet long, 440 feet wide and "higher than the tallest cabbage palms." The mound was destroyed when its shell, sand, and other material were quarried away for roadlill in the early 1900s after a railway was built to its base (Lockwood 1975:3,15). Similarly, another substantial prehistoric shell midden found on Orchid Island itself was used for construction material in the building of the Jungle Trail in 1926 (Stanbridge 1995:7). The prehistoric people of the area likely practiced some controlled bunting to clear areas for habitation and to rid the hammocks of understory which prevented easy movement, and possibly to encourage the cultivation of certain plants. Burning groundcover not only clears the land for a number of uses but also enriches the soil with carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients (See Cooke et al. 1996:107; Larsen et al. 1996: 163-164). Large grassy areas were noted by Spanish explorers in Florida as early as the sixteenth century and were maintained by Indian burning (Sauer 1971:42). Charcoal is a commonly noted component of subsurface excavations on Orchid island and elsewhere. Though agriculture was practiced prior to the arrival of Europeans in Florida by some Indian cultures, it was not consistently practiced in all parts of the peninsula. Although most Indian cultures in Florida are known to have extensively used certain native plant species for food and materials, it appears from existing evidence that the people living in the Indian River area were foragers and did not practice agriculture as tribes did in northern Florida (Milanich 1994:253) and therefore were not altering their surrounding environment in the same way as other tribes did. This is evident in the known sites in the area. The Pregnant Turtic Site (8111831), Snratt Creek Site 1 and 2 (8111832, 8IR832a), Mangrove Site (8111833), and the Fishing Flat 2 Site (8SR848a) represent repeatedly used eh.,11psitcs containing sc;attewd oyster shell and fish vcrtcbra. tic; cvidence of agrieultusai practice has yei been found. The introduction of European animal species began to disrupt the local environmental balance in Florid i as early as the sixteenth century with the introduction of cattle (Bus tatlrus), pig (Sirs seruja), goat (Capra hircus). sheep (Ovis aries), and horse. The gazing of these animals spread the seeds of non-native plants through the deposition Af excrement and allowed other native species of plants to thrive unnaturally because they were not a source of forage. The seeds of non-native plant species took root rapidly when European livestock brake and turned uie soil through their grazing and rooting activities. Pigs are known to have been brought to Florida as livestock as early as 1539 with the Hernando de Soto expedition (Ewen 1989:118) and because they multiply rapidly often ran wild as nuisaii.'c aniwais at mhcr Spanish ---effienients (Reagan !989:51-52). It is likely thtit t (Ohid Island was allecied by feral European domesticated animals soon after contact given the number of explorations and shipwrecks in the area. Also, the introduction of these animals caused an artificial competition for food resources with native