OLD VERO ICE AGE SITES COMMITTEE INC

OVIASC, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIAN RIVER STATE COLLEGE, IS TAKING A YEAR AWAY FROM EXCAVATIONS TO DOCUMENT, PUBLISH, AND DISPLAY WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND IN FOUR YEARS OF RESEARCH AT THE CELEBRATED OLD VERO SITE (8IR009). GENERALLY SPEAKING, FOR EACH HOUR OF EXCAVATION, ATTENDANT RESEARCH, ANALYSES, AND WRITE UP TAKE 15 HOURS. IN SHORT, IT IS NOT WHAT YOU FIND BUT WHAT YOU FIND OUT THAT MATTERS. AN ARCHAEOLOGIST'S DUTY TO THE DISCIPLINE AND TO ITS BENEFACTORS IS TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED, AND HOW ANY SITE FITS INTO THE LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND BROADER CONTEXT. THE OLD VERO SITE IS DIRECTED BY ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S BEST EARLY MAN ARCHAELOGISTS, DR. J.M. ADOVASIO. THE EXCAVATIONS AT THE OLD VERO SITE WERE MONITORED ON A DAILY BASIS BY DR. C.A. HEMMINGS, A RENOWNED FLORIDA EARLY MAN SPECIALIST. THE EXCAVATION SEASON IN THE STUDY AREA USUALLY EXTENDS FROM JANUARY THROUGH JUNE WITH ANALYSES CONTINUING YEAR-ROUND. THE OLD VERO PROJECT AND RELATED RESEARCH IS FUNDED JOINTLY BY DONATIONS TO OVIASC AND MATCHING GRANTS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA'S DIVISION OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION. THE OLD VERO SITE WAS FIRST EXCAVATED CA. 100 YEARS AGO BY THEN FLORIDA STATE GEOLOGIST DR. E.H. SELLARDS. THE RECENT EXCAVATIONS HAVE SUGGESTED A HUMAN PRESENCE AT THE OLD VERO SITE THAT MAY BE 13,000 TO 14,000 YEARS OLD, MAKING IT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EARLY MAN SITES IN THE COUNTRY. OVER 500 SUPPORTERS HAVE HELPED FUND THE PROJECT, 250 LOCAL VOLUNTEERS HAVE WORKED AT THE SITE, AND 1,000 PEOPLE TOURED THE EXCAVATION EACH OF THE LAST THREE SEASONS. EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS AND SITE TOURS HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO A WIDE RANGE OF SCHOOL STUDENTS. DR. ADOVASIO AND DR. HEMMINGS, PLUS OTHER NOTABLE ARCHAEOLOGISTS, HAVE GIVEN TALKS TO AT LEAST 5,000 INTERESTED CITIZENS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND HAVE ALSO OFFERED PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONFERENCES. THE OLD VERO SITE CONTINUES TO RECEIVE NATIONAL PUBLICITY ON A REGULAR BASIS.