MIAMI – In 1998 during the construction of a Miami high-rise on the confluence of Biscayne Bay and the Miami River, at a site called Brickell Point, workers discovered a perfect circle that would change the history of the city forever. It became known as the Miami Circle, a prehistoric archaeological site that transformed the area, attesting to a 2,000-year-old indigenous history dating long before then Miami’s centennial.
Archaeologist Robert S. Carr, who was at that time, the Director of Miami-Dade’s Historic Preservation Division, conducted the initial review of the site and excavation. He concluded that the Miami Circle “may be of national significance as it is believed to be the only cut-in-rock prehistoric structural footprint ever found in eastern North America.”
Indeed, 20 years later, the Miami Circle is the only known prehistoric feature of its kind in the eastern United States.
The Circle consists of a perfect circular arrangement of 24 postholes cut into the limestone bedrock. The circle is approximately 38 feet in diameter, and the postholes are about 2 feet deep each. The postholes may have supported a roof or canopy but the Circle’s purpose is still not clear.
It was likely built by the Tequesta people, who inhabited the area for over 2,000 years before the arrival of Europeans. Carbon dating of wood found on the site confirmed the age of the Circle.
The Tequesta were an Indigenous society, and the Miami Circle is thought to have been a ceremonial site. More importantly, the Miami Circle proved unequivocally that enduring settlements with permanent structures were present in South Florida. Prior to the Miami Circle’s discovery, many individuals, including scientists, believed that the South Florida weather and the area’s propensity for flooding and hurricanes made permanent settlements impossible.
The Miami Circle. [Photo Credit: Marc Averette CCA 3.0]
The site of the Miami Circle is also premium waterfront real estate on a world-class level. It is in the famed Brickell financial district overlooking Biscayne Bay and the Port of Miami and is easily connected to every part of the city by car, rail, or boat. Miami-Dade County paid US$26.7 million for the property to preserve the site then.
The Miami Circle is a now National Historic Landmark, and it is one of the most important archaeological sites in Florida. It also remains buried to protect it, though a waterfront park with interpretative information exists at the site. The park is managed by HistoryMiami Museum.
But intact archeological deposits were found over 70% of the two-acre site suggesting that the Tequesta had built more, much more, and possibly for much longer.
The property development company, The Related Group, easily Miami’s largest condo developer founded by famed art collector Jorge M. Pérez, bought two nearby sites on the Miami River in Brickell where they were planning to build a French luxury crystal maker Baccarat-branded shiny new condo tower and part of a three-tower development project that includes a luxury hotel. It cost Related Group $104 million in 2013.
The riverside site was examined by archeologists as preparations began for construction. What they found was nothing short of mind-blowing: items dating back 7,000 years.
To put that timeline in perspective, the archaeological findings suggest the Miami site pre-dates the Pyramids of Giza and cities like Nineveh in Mesopotamia. The site would be a contemporary of Stonehenge and Brú na Bóinne.
“It’s a phenomenal site. It would completely change everything we know about archaeology in Miami and South Florida,” said Sara Ayers-Rigsby, director of the Florida Public Archaeology Network.
Last Tuesday, Miami’s Historic & Environmental Preservation Board was inundated with requests to halt the project from Indigenous leaders, community activists, and professors. The Board held it public meeting to determine whether the site should have a historical designation.
The Related Group wanted to press on with the project. They asked the Board to delay its vote until more archeological evidence can be gathered. Developers like Related Group have also been profoundly aware of this area’s archeological richness. They said that they had consulted the Miccosukee Tribe about the development bringing them some fierce backlash, not just to delay the project but to stop it completely.
Iris Escarra, https://t.co/xNsUKXeBUW an attorney representing Related Group at this meeting, walked #HEPB members through the company’s property acquisition, permitting, tribal consultation, and archeological preservation processes. https://t.co/q0sF0CHGWl pic.twitter.com/QDmLuQa5VG
— Christina Boomer Vazquez, M.S. (@CBoomerVazquez) April 4, 2023
“My people continue to fight every day against the systemic attempts of erasure,” said Betty Osceola at the Board meeting. Osceola organized a prayer walk at the site with the Taino Confederation on March 18 that was attended by 200 people from all religious traditions who prayed to the Miami River.
Nevertheless, some stood with the Related Group. “I have seen what Related Group can do for the city,” a project supporter and opponent of historic designation said. They claimed thousands of jobs would be sacrificed, noting that allowing the development would alleviate Miami’s housing shortage, a questionable argument given the likely cost of the condos.
The Related Group “feigned ignorance” wrote Dr. Pamela Geller, Dr. William J. Pestle, and Dr. Traci Ardren from the University of Miami’s Department of Anthropology in an opinion piece in The Miami Herald about the company’s defense of their project. “Historical shortcomings in local government are compounded by developers’ selective storytelling about the past. That is, only certain histories are deemed worthy of narrating and celebrating. Alternative ones are erased.” They wrote adding “Like Florida’s state legislators, real estate developers seem intent on disappearing the experiences of Black and Native Americans.”
“Anybody who buys anything along the river, especially at the mouth of the river, knows what they’re getting into,” said Ardren separately to Commercial Observer.
Pestle added, “The mouth of the Miami River, which is obviously today prime real estate, was also prime real estate a 1,000 years ago, 2,000 years ago,” Pestle said. “And now maybe more: 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 years ago.”
Dr. Ardren told TWH that in a forthcoming paper, she and colleagues argue that the Circle is the foundation of a Council House, a common feature of Indigenous settlements across the southeast.” She added that their reasoning “has to do with the design and location of the Circle as well as how important Tequesta was—all evidence points to it being the capital of a complex chiefdom that interacted with Ponce de Leon on Ponce’s first trip to FL.”
The Board voted to protect the area and demanded the Related Group submit a plan to manage the archeological findings. Unfortunately, it was only for one site at 444 Brickell Avenue. For the property located at 77 SE 5th Street: The proposal for designation was withdrawn.
The Related Group issued a statement following the vote:
The Related Group appreciates the opportunity to continue collaborating with the City of Miami and the thoughtful members of the Historic Environmental & Preservation Board regarding our Brickell area properties. We are pleased with the Board’s decision allowing us to continue the archaeological excavation of the future home of the Baccarat Residences while developing an action plan to honor the site and secure the appropriate placement of the artifacts for future study.
We also agree that the 444 Brickell Site should be celebrated and honored. We will work with the city hand in hand on the designation of the 444 Brickell site. Our efforts will continue to be transparent and inclusive. We know that working together on the preservation of archaeologically significant sites is a collaborative effort that benefits everyone.”
Jon Paul Pérez, Related Group president
It is somewhat of a pyrrhic victory, especially for Indigenous leaders. Osceola’s comments seemed to go ignored by the Board prompting The Florida Indigenous Alliance (FIA) and American Indian Movement of Florida, Inc (Florida AIM) to release a joint statement,
The FIA and Florida AIM while unsurprised find it deplorable that the testimony of Indigenous representatives-and specifically that of Betty Osceola (Miccosukee) and Martha Tommie (Seminole} were essentially ignored or given minimal credence while the testimony of Developers and Grave robbers was given the utmost respect, discretion and taken far more seriously into consideration. While numerous Indigenous representatives spoke of the humanity of the human remains being unearthed and of the objects lovingly buried with them by relatives-the Board continued to use the terms “artifacts”. While every Indigenous speaker decried the desecration of the graves and spoke of the indignity of the ancestors being stored in boxes in a storage facility. The Board listened to the Degreed Grave robbers and developers expound on how “respectful” they have been in desecrating the graves and how much money they have spent desecrating the graves. On developer even chided the Indigenous peoples that they should be happy at how respectfully the graves have been desecrated and robbed and pleased with how they plan to display the booty of their grave robbing.
The statement from FIA and AIM continued,
We found it reprehensible that the attorney for the Related Group developers boldly and openly stated in a power point presentation that they had been in direct contact with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and that Tribal government had provided permission and sanctioned the removal of human remains and associated funerary related and sacred objects. When Miccosukee citizen Betty Osceola provided text messages from the Tribe saying they had neither spoken with Related Group nor
given permission the attorney simply pivoted that they had been in touch with the State who had been in touch with the Miccosukee. Except that’s not what she said, nor is it consistent with what the Miccosukee Tribe stated.
“If you have questions about us, we are alive today. You can ask us,” said Osceola. “You don’t need to go digging in our graves and studying what we ate and how we lived. Just ask us, and we can tell you.”
Sheridan Murphy, state executive director of the American Indian Movement of Florida said “Those human remains are going to end up in a box. How many Native people are sitting in a box collecting dust right now? The time has come. Give respect, or we will take it.”
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