The textile finds from Windover deserve extended attention, because they represent something that the archaeological record of the Western Hemisphere had essentially never previously contained.

Eighty-seven fragments of handwoven fabric were recovered from the Windover excavations.

These are not simple twisted cordage or knotted fiber — they are woven textiles, produced on the same fundamental principle as any woven fabric from any culture in any period: threads passing over and under each other in a regular pattern to create a stable, flexible material.

The fibers used appear to have been primarily palm fiber — likely from sabal palm, which is native to Florida and produces leaf fibers that can be processed into thread for weaving.

The weaving represented in the Windover textiles involves multiple techniques, suggesting that this was not a single type of fabric but a range of textile traditions, including at least seven distinct weave patterns identified by the specialists who analyzed the fragments.