This week researchers from the University of Florida published findings from an archaeological project that sheds new light on what life was like in North America before Christopher Columbus arrived.

Using drones to scan the coastline of northwestern Florida, researchers discovered evidence of a settlement dated between 900 to 1200 AD.

They discovered evidence of a settlement that could have supported between 200 and 300 people, who they believe worked to create one beads and decorative ornaments from shells that played an important role in Mississippian culture at the time.

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Researchers from University of Florida discovered an ancient village on Raleigh Island in northwestern Florida, which they believe dates between 800 and 1200 AD

The settlement was discovered on Raleigh Island, halfway between Tampa and Tallahassee on Florida’s northwestern coast, just outside the Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge.

The drone that discovered the settlement was equipped with a LiDAR system, according to a report by ArsTechnica.

LiDAR sends out light rays and then measures the differences in how those rays are reflected back from the environment to create a three-dimensional image of the terrain.

The team, led by University of Florida anthropologist Terry Barbour, identified at least 37 residential spaces, marked out by rings of oyster shells and postholes that suggest load-bearing structures.

When researchers arrived onsite, they found a wide array of tools and other artifacts buried two feet to two and a half feet beneath the surface.

Researchers found a number of sophisticated tools and artifacts at the dig site, including pieces of polished pottery, drills that could have been used on shells, and several different kinds of marine shell beads

Those included pottery fragments, charcoal, and remnants of drills and stone polishing tools, which they believed to have been used in creating beads and a variety of other decorative objects that were popular at the time.

‘What we have here is a settlement at the source of this raw material at the time when marine shell was starting to become a heavily demanded social item,’ Barbour said.

The site was discovered by using a drone equipped with LiDAR (pictured above), which uses light rays to create an 3D image of terrain.

‘The fact we have strong evidence of bead manufacture at a site with equally impressive architecture to guide us in understanding how production was organized socially makes this place really special, and as of now the only place like it we are aware of.’

The beads were most often made from the shell of lightning whelks, a medium to large mollusk common to the area.

The shells were used to make beads, decorative throat covers, cups, and embellishments for clothing, which have been found all across America, including as far north as Cahokia in Illinois.

Cahokia is home to an elaborate system of earthen mounds believed to have been the site to an ancient city created by Mississippian people.

Readings from the drone's LiDAR showed dozens of interconnected rings made with oyster and clam shells, suggesting the boundaries of residential structures

Based on the number of different ring structures found on the ground, researchers believe the settlement could have supported between 200 and 300 residents who gathered various marine shells and processed them into beads and other decorative objects

The exact role of the beads and other shell-derived items isn’t fully understood, but Barbour told Ars Technica that it is ‘very likely that the process of making some of these shell objects themselves carried spiritual and religious prescriptions and connotations that meant the individual needed to be a specialist or priest.’

‘By controlling the process of making shell objects, beads included, elites could control certain meanings and narratives surrounding beads and other objects that they were producing.’