Summary: The Nature Coast has been home to people thriving off its bounties for thousands of years. Before the condos and commercial fishermen, the pre-colonial fisherfolk living along Florida’s north-central Gulf Coast created vibrant and large communities and left some of the most significant archaeological sites in Florida. Archaeologists have come to understand these communities were far more than just people harvesting oysters, but were cosmopolitan centers of trade in a network that stretched as far north as the Great Lakes. From Chassahowitzka to the Big Bend, in this presentation, we will discuss how the Indigenous people left behind evidence of their complex and dynamic cultures still seen today.