Is Miami’s early history worth saving?

The most ancient evidence of the existence of people living in our area — including shards of pottery and axes, and spearheads older than the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt — is being dug up and put in boxes, according to the Feb. 9 Miami Herald story “A major archaeological discovery was made on the Miami River. Was it kept ‘under wraps’?”

These early people survived, fished, gleaned from our river and bay waters, hunted deer and alligators for meat. They wove fronds, used plants for medicines and made pottery and weapons.

Because there is invaluable information with where and how these items are situated, will architects working with the owners and developer record all the artifacts?

Will the developer, The Related Group, pay for an interactive museum exhibit (on the site and of comparable size), and staff it for the next 100 years?

We travel around the world to learn about ancient cultures but destroy early evidence of an ancient culture when we discover it here at home.

The original people of the Miami River should be known by every school child, Miami resident and visiting tourist.

We need local archaeologists like Bob Carr, preservationists like

Becky Matkov and Ruth Jacobs, the children of Miami’s public and private schools, the architectural students, and all the volunteers, sign holders, Seminole and Miccosukee dancers, elders, and the hundreds of others who got alarmed, got excited and got to work 25 years ago to save what is now known as the Miami Circle National Historic Landmark.

Our early history is important.

Will today’s people of Miami speak up to save it? – Yvonne Thibaudeau Moyer, Miami Shores