{"id":329462,"date":"2026-07-04T19:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T19:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/329462\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T19:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T19:11:15","slug":"miamis-ancient-tequesta-past-lies-buried-beneath-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/329462\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami&#8217;s ancient Tequesta past lies buried beneath the city"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_03IndigenousMiami.JPG\"   width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" title=\"The circular foundation of an ancient Tequesta dwelling carved into limestone bedrock was preserved in an open corner of the Met Square building in downtown Miami, but there is no sign marking it or explaining what it is.\" alt=\"A circular foundation of an ancient Tequesta dwelling is displayed at The Met Square building on Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Miami, Fla. Downtown Miami is home to several sites of significant indigenous historical importance, reflecting the region's deep roots long before the city's modern development.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        The circular foundation of an ancient Tequesta dwelling carved into limestone bedrock was preserved in an open corner of the Met Square building in downtown Miami, but there is no sign marking it or explaining what it is.<\/p>\n<p>                Carl Juste<\/p>\n<p>            cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n<p>Did you know that many of the skyscrapers of Brickell and downtown Miami sit atop the remnants of a civilization that thrived along the Miami River for more than 5,000 years? Recent discoveries at construction sites have renewed calls to preserve what\u2019s left of the native Tequesta people\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"Follow nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/article312622348.html\">FULL STORY: Miami\u2019s forgotten ancient past is hiding beneath a Joe &amp; the Juice. Yes, really<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are key takeaways:<\/p>\n<p>The Tequesta people lived along the Miami River some 2,000 years ago, with a reach extending from Palm Beach County to the Florida Keys and into the Everglades. Evidence of their village and burial sites now lies entombed beneath developments in downtown and Brickell, including the Met Miami complex that contains a Whole Foods and a Joe &amp; the Juice.Veteran archaeologist Bob Carr, who excavated the Miami Circle site, says the city\u2019s ancient history is \u201ceverywhere \u2014 underneath the streets, under the sidewalks\u201d and that residents are \u201ccompletely unconscious of this history below our feet.\u201dMiami and Miami-Dade County passed the nation\u2019s first comprehensive local archaeological preservation laws in the 1980s, requiring developers to excavate and document finds. But critics say recent discoveries have exposed gaps in the regulations.Tina Osceola, historic preservation officer for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, says preserving Native heritage is \u201ca fight to make sure we\u2019re not erased\u201d and teaches \u201ca human value that never should be lost.\u201dDeveloper Related Group has spent tens of millions on excavations at Brickell sites and agreed to exhibit finds along a planned riverwalk, but preservationists say construction is erasing evidence faster than it can be studied or displayed.<\/p>\n<p>This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The circular foundation of an ancient Tequesta dwelling carved into limestone bedrock was preserved in an open corner&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-329462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}