It is also why the site could become one of the most important de Soto archaeological locations in the Southeast.

THE LIMITS OF THE EVIDENCE

A responsible article must also explain what the discovery does not prove.

The artifacts do not allow researchers to reconstruct every conversation.

They do not identify every individual.

They do not prove that every event in the Spanish chronicles happened exactly as written.

They do not erase uncertainty about the precise route.

Archaeological interpretation is always open to refinement.