William R. Royal

William R. Royal
Birth nameWilliam Robert Royal[1]
Born(1905-03-16)March 16, 1905
Bay City, Michigan
DiedMay 8, 1997(1997-05-08) (aged 92)
Ashes interred
Warm Mineral Springs, Florida
27°3′32″N 82°15′39″W / 27.05889°N 82.26083°W / 27.05889; -82.26083
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Air Force
RankLieutenant colonel
Spouse(s)Shirley E. Royal
Other workUnderwater diver and amateur archeologist

Lt. Col. William Robert Royal (March 16, 1905 – May 8, 1997)[2] was an American scuba diver in the United States Air Force and amateur archeologist. In 1959, Royal and Eugenie Clark found archaeologically, pale-ontologically, and geologically significant artifacts and human bones from at least 30 individuals in Little Salt Spring and Warm Mineral Springs.[3] A partially burned log found in association with some of the human bones was radiocarbon dated to about 10,000 years ago. If the bones were the same age as the log, then the bones were the oldest known evidence of human occupation in Florida at the time.[4][5]

  1. ^ Michigan, Births and Christenings Index, 1867-1911
  2. ^ Luer, George M. (March 1998). "William R. Royal". The Florida Anthropologist. 51 (1). Florida Anthropological Society: 47–48. ISSN 0015-3893. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  3. ^ "Florida spring confirmed as 10,000 year old early man site | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  4. ^ Burgess, Robert F. (1999). "Dive into the Past (Part I)". The Cave Divers. Locust Valley, New York: Aqua Quest Publications. pp. 167–182. ISBN 1-881652-11-4. LCCN 96-39661.
  5. ^ Royal, William; Clark, Eugenie (October 1960). "Natural Preservation of Human Brain, Warm Mineral Springs, Florida". American Antiquity. 26 (2). Society for American Archaeology: 285–287. doi:10.2307/276213. JSTOR 276213. Retrieved August 20, 2013.