The First Arrivals

The first people of Brevard: The story of human history in Brevard begins at the end of the last ice age, more than 12,000 years ago. At that time, the world was emerging from a long, cold period, and Florida looked very different from today. A different Florida: During the ice age, sea levels were much lower — hundreds of feet lower than today — because so much water was locked up in glaciers. Florida was roughly twice as wide, with the coastline far out where the ocean is now. The Indian River Lagoon as we know it didn't exist yet; the land that's now under the lagoon was dry ground. The climate was cooler and drier, with grasslands and pine savannas instead of the subtropical forest we know. The first arrivals: The first people to reach Florida — often called Paleo-Indians — arrived at least 12,000 years ago, possibly earlier. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers who moved across the landscape following game and seasons. They hunted big animals — now-extinct creatures like mastodons, mammoths, giant sloths, and bison — using sophisticated spear-throwers called atlatls that let them launch a spear with great force. Evidence: Archaeologists have found stone spear points (like Clovis and Suwannee points) in Florida dating to this era — some in Brevard and nearby areas — showing that these early hunters were here. These points are the oldest human-made objects found in the region. These first people lived in a wild, cold, open landscape that's hard to imagine today. They were the ancestors of all the Native peoples who came after — including the Ais, who would later make the Indian River Lagoon their home.