For Native Americans, rivers were highways, and along the Apalachicola River, one site that served as a major hub of activity was the Chattahoochee Landing.

The Chattahoochee Landing site sits strategically at the junction of two major rivers that form the Apalachicola, making long distance trade and communication possible between many different ancient cultural groups.

The most visible feature at this site is a group of Indian mounds, built over a millennium ago, and used probably up until 1700.

Dr. Nancy White from the University of South Florida has studied this site and others in the area for over 30 years. She theorizes that these mounds were not used as high status burial grounds, but instead were raised platforms used as places to hold sacred ceremonies and to keep homes above floodwaters.

Over the years, erosion and modern human activities have destroyed four of the seven mounds that once stood at this site, leaving remnants of only three for further study about these lost cultures.

Written, narrated, and produced by the University of West Florida, the Florida Public Archaeology Network, and WUWF Public Media.