Native American activists in Miami are calling for an archaeological dig on a site due to be developed into a series of residential towers to be halted out of respect for the human remains that have been discovered there.
A number of artifacts dating back 7,000 years—around the time that what would later become the Old Testament Bible was being assembled, according to historical estimates—were found on a parcel of land in the city off Brickell Avenue, near the mouth of the Miami River.
However, members of the American Indian Movement of Florida have said they would rather the site be preserved rather than turned into condos.
Will Pestle, a professor of bioarchaeology at the University of Miami, told news outlet WPLG on Monday that the site was “older than the pyramids. It is older than the colosseum in Rome. This is a site that has great antiquity.”