Irma, which made landfall Sept. 10 on Marco Island, left behind piles of debris, flooded streets and wrecked homes all over Southwest Florida, tearing apart vulnerable lives that are still not back to normal.

But as some hurricane victims look to the future, archaeologists have their eyes on what they think could be unearthed pieces of an ancient Calusa Indian past in the root balls of downed trees at the Otter Mound Preserve on Marco.