Yat Kitischee – Midden

The word midden refers to the accumulation of refuse in and around living areas. There are actually two different kinds of midden. A “kitchen midden” is a refuse pile usually of shell but also containing animal and fish bones, broken artifacts, and other things that people have intentionally discarded. It is similar to today’s dumps and landfills. A “village midden” consists of food remains, broken tools and implements, and other debris that accumulate gradually in a living area. Portions of village middens may also contain intentionally discarded refuse, often in discrete locations such as trash pits. At one time, not very long ago, shell middens and shell mounds were often scraped up and used as road-fill. Many old roads in Florida contain prehistoric shell, bone, and artifacts from these middens.