Water from Stone

Archaeology and Conservation at Florida's Springs

Jason O'Donoughue

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

University Press of Florida
02 December 2025

History of the Americas; Archaeology; Limnology (freshwater); Conservation of the environment; The Earth: natural history general

Series: Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

Southern Anthropological Society James Mooney Award

An archaeological study of Florida's springs that shows the importance of springs to Florida's people over thousands of years.

Throughout their history, Florida’s springs have been gathering places for far-flung peoples. In Water from Stone, Jason O’Donoughue discusses the genesis of springs and their role as sites of habitation, burials, ritualized feasting, and monument building for Florida’s earliest peoples.

O’Donoughue moves beyond a focus on the ecological roles of springs and the popular image of springs as timeless and pristine—approaches taken by many archaeologists and conservationists. Instead, he foregrounds the social and historical importance of springs and their ongoing use as gathering places that draw people for ritual purposes even today. This archaeological viewpoint creates a bridge between past and present, encouraging conservation efforts that focus on the intrinsic value of springs as places of personal experience and social interaction with deep historical significance. To save the springs, O’Donoughue argues, we must recognize the relevance of the past to the problems Florida’s artesian springs face today.

A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

By: Jason O'Donoughue
Imprint: University Press of Florida
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 13mm
ISBN: 9780813081380
ISBN 10: 0813081386
Series: Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 02 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jason O’Donoughue is an archaeologist at the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research in Tallahassee. He is coeditor of The Archaeology of Events: Cultural Change and Continuity in the Pre-Columbian Southeast.