A comprehensive and compelling archaeological Baedeker to Precolumbian Florida that addresses a complex subject in straightforward, no-nonsense language that both scholars and lay readers will find refreshing."--Peter A. Young, editor-in-chief, Archaeology "Milanich is easily Florida's most unconventional and widely read archaeologist. He presents a well-told story of soli-tary Ice Age hunters lurking on dark sinkhole ledges to spear giant tortoises; of the uniquely preserved wooden art objects from thousand-year-old fishing villages; and of the elaborate ritual games of those agricultural chiefdoms who met and defeated the first Spanish Conquistadors. . . . A vivid and thoughtful interpretation of twelve millennia of human experience in the Sunshine State."--David Brose, Royal Ontario Museum and University of Toronto This record of precolumbian Florida brings to life the 12,000-year story of the native American Indians who lived in the state. Using information gathered by archaeological investigations, many carried out since 1980, Jerald Milanich describes the indigenous cultures and explains why they developed as they did. In a richly illustrated book that will appeal to profes-sional and avocational archaeologists, scholars, tourists, and local history buffs, Milanich introduces the material heritage of the first Floridians through the interpretation of artifacts and archaeological sites. Weaving together discoveries from such sites as the Lake Jackson mounds in the panha