The 8,000-Year-Old Cemetery Found Beneath A Florida Pond — And The Human Brain Tissue Still Preserved Inside The Skulls

Palynologists — specialists in ancient pollen — worked on reconstructing the vegetation history of the site.

Textile specialists analyzed the woven fabric fragments.

Faunal analysts identified the animal remains.

Botanists examined the plant materials.

And molecular biologists at the University of Florida — particularly the team associated with William Hauswirth — worked on the extraordinary project of extracting and analyzing ancient DNA from the preserved brain tissue.

This kind of multidisciplinary collaboration was not new in archaeology by 1984, but the specific combination of specialties required at Windover — and the coordination needed to manage the simultaneous analysis of material so fragile and so diverse — was exceptional.

The physical logistics of the excavation were also complex.