Preliminary Cultural Resource Assessment Survey of the Avon Park Air Force Range, Polk and Highlands Counties, Florida

A preliminary cultural resource assessment survey was conducted of the 106,210 acre Avon Park Air Force Range (APAFR) in Polk and Highlands Counties, Florida. The purpose of the survey was to provide base level data on the types, distribution, and potential significance of archaeological and historic period sites located on the APAFR. An extensive literature search and a systematic field survey were conducted by Piper Archaeological Research, Inc. A total of 37 archaeological sites were located and recorded. The sites range in date from the Paleo-Indian period (ca., 10,000-6500 B.C.) to the first two decades of the 20th century and include prehistoric dirt and shell middens, lithic and sherd scatters, and a possible sand mound, as well as two Third Seminole War fort sites, historic period homesteads, turpentine camps, and cattle camps and facilities. Nine of these sites have been assessed as potentially significant and are, therefore, potentially "'- eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. A preliminary archaeological sensitivity map was developed as a planning tool to aid the Air Force in managing their cultural resources. Prehistoric and historic period sites were most often found to be associated with oak hammock and sand pine/oak scrub communities within 400 meters (1312 feet) of fresh water or a fresh water marsh/swamp.

Some of the information in this tDAR metadata record was migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. In 2013, Digital Antiquity curators, working for the USAF obtained a digital copy of the report and added to the metadata in the record and uploaded the digital file of the report. Most NADB-R records consist of a document citation and other metadata but do not have the documents themselves uploaded.