Crystal River Archaeological State Park, Citrus County FL, 2009

GETTING IT

“I get it,’’ I say, meaning: I see the sense in this green 14-acre mound complex on the Crystal River. Facing the curving blue water I grasp how the layout served as a ceremonial and burial site for 1500 years.

That’s when the archaeologist tells me, essentially: You’ve got it all wrong. “These were aquatic people,’’ he says. “They didn’t farm; they fished. And they came in canoes, on a highway of water. You’re looking at this from the land.’’

“I see,’’ I say, not seeing. Absorbing my losses I turn inland, thinking: “Is this what they mean by ‘paradigm shift?’”

Next: Ormond Mound, Volusia County, FL 2007