The early Holocene environment is reminiscent of what is present at the Aucilla River today. The Florida Department of Natural Resources describes this area as being composed of a number of vegetative communities. On the higher banks of the river, hardwood forests are present, while cypress swamps dominate the low-lying areas. Most of the river corridor is undeveloped. Many of the lands adjacent to the river are owned and managed by various state agencies as wildlife refuge and management areas.
Private landowners account for the balance.
All animals that have been identified in the prehistoric collections are present today in the environment, except Equus . As a result of this study, some questions have been answered, but many remain for future research. Since this is an isolated study for this time frame, more faunal collections, pollen analyses, and hydrological studies are needed to support the proposed paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. I am also identifying, analyzing, and quantifying faunal remains from the Little River Rapids Site that were excavated as part of Mark Muniz' thesis project. The data collected from this study will be added to the existing knowledge of faunal remains at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary, and afford us a more holistic view of the Aucilla River area.