The research team uncovered a network of post holes and foundation trenches that indicate a large structure measuring about 80 feet long and 65 feet wide covered the summit of the islands highest hill. The drove back multiple conquistadors and had control of nearby tribes. . It was during this time that the team located the Spanish fort Fort San Antn de Carlos, named for the Catholic patron saint of lost things that historic documents said was built near Caalus house in 1566. This was made with clay containing spicules from freshwater sponges (Spongilla), and it first appeared inland in sites around Lake Okeechobee. Mound Key, an island west of Fort Myers, was the center of this large Calusa Empire. Ivar the Boneless: Viking Warrior, Ruler and Raider, The Irish Story and Legend of C Chulainn, What is Shambhala? But our work over the past 35 years has shown the Calusa developed a politically complex society with sophisticated architecture, religion, a military, specialists, long-distance trade and social ranking all without being farmers.. After ten days a man who spoke Spanish approached Ponce de Len's ships with a request to wait for the arrival of the Calusa chief. A dozen words for which translations were recorded and 50 or 60 place names form the entire known corpus of the language. In addition, elaborate rituals with synchronized singing and processions of masked priests were also carried out on that occasion. By the early 19th century, Anglo-Americans in the area used the term Calusa for the people. Archaeological techniques were not very well defined in Cushings day, and though he took detailed notes of his findings, information on the stratigraphy of the site was not recorded. Detailed analysis and AMS dates led us to the realization that the structure went through at least three phases of building activity over several centuries, the earliest phase dating to around A.D. 1000.. Are there any Calusa people left? How was the Calusa Indian nation organized? Native American tribes [19], Little is known of the language of the Calusa. Florida Museum of Natural History Florida and Georgia archaeologists have discovered the location of Fort San Antn de Carlos, home of one of the first Jesuit missions in North America. In 1521 Ponce de Len returned to southwest Florida to plant a colony, but the Calusa drove the Spanish out, mortally wounding Ponce de Len. Well-preserved nets, net floats, and hooks were found at Key Marco, in the territory of the neighboring Muspa tribe. [Online]Available at: https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/sflarch/research/calusa-domain/, floridahistory.org, 2016. 6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding, Built to Last: The Secret that Enabled Roman Roads to Withstand the Passage of Time, More than a Dozen Mysterious Prehistoric Tunnels in Cornwall, England, Mystify Researchers, 4,700-Year-Old Tavern Serves Up Surprises in Ancient Lagash, Iraq, Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera Part I, Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations, The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures Part I, Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures Part I, The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription, Chinese Votive Sword Found in Georgia suggests Pre-Columbian Chinese travel to North America, First humans in Florida lived alongside giant animals, Rare coin hoard worth $1m discovered by treasure hunters off the coast of Florida, Juan Ponce de Len and his Search for the Fountain of Youth, http://www.sanibelhistory.org/calusa_history.htm, Archaeologists Verify Location of Elusive Spanish Fort at Florida's Mound Key, Ingeniously Engineered Watercourts Fueled Floridas Calusa Kingdom, Grand Ceremonial House of the King of the Calusa People Has Been Located in Florida. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! Montauk Archaeologists have long pondered how the Calusa could have grown to a population of some 20,000 and dominated such a vast region without relying on agriculture. This now makes three southwest Florida sites with wet-site preservation of such items as wood, cordage and netting: the Pineland Site Complex, Key Marco and now Mound Key.. The Chilling Mystery of the Octavius Ghost Ship, What is a Wendigo? The Calusa Tribe had a large population and were well-organized. We began with a basic set of questions, said Marquardt. Fowler Williams, .Lucy"The Calusa Indians: Maritime Peoples of Florida in the Age of Columbus" Expedition Magazine 33.2 (1991): n. pag. 314 Palmetto Street, Jacksonville 32202. The Calusa king, or head chief, was an absolute ruler. 10 They believed that humans had three souls, and that souls migrated to animals after death. Later periods in the Caloosahatchee culture are defined in the archaeological record by the appearance of pottery from other traditions. Archaeology, 57(5), 4650. The Jesuit Menendez noted that in the early hours of the morning, Carlos would sit on a stool with his people around him to discuss the ideas presented by the missionaries. Schell, Rolfe F. 1,000 years on Mound Key; the story of the Caloosa Indians on . Excavation of the watercourts yielded artifacts like cordage that are not normally preserved at archaeological sites. Darcie A. Macmahon and Dr. William H. Marquardt, an expert on the Calusa, have written a fascinating book that brings to life a group of people who disappeared from Florida in the 1700s. [15], The Calusa wore little clothing. Fish bones and scales recovered from one of the watercourts indicate the Calusa were capturing schooling species such as mullet, pinfish and herring. Calusa beliefs included a trinity of governing spirits. The finds tell us of Calusa fishing techniques, of the tools used to produce their wooden carvings, of architecture, ceremonialism, and daily life. People commonly occupied both fresh and saltwater wetlands. It's also possible that a few were absorbed into the Seminole tribe. South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Collection. Large earthen mounds and ridges, accessed by canals, are believed to have been associated with Calusa ritual. When Pedro Menndez de Avils visited the capital in 1566, he described the chief's house as large enough to hold 2,000 without crowding, indicating it also served as the council house. Cord was also made from cabbage palm leaves, saw palmetto trunks, Spanish moss, false sisal (Agave decipiens) and the bark of cypress and willow trees. Tabby, also called tabbi or tapia, is made by burning shells to create lime, which is then mixed with sand, ash, water and broken shells. The archaeologists recovered seeds, wood, palm-fiber cordage that likely came from Calusa fishing nets and even fish scales from the waterlogged levels. The Calusa Indians did not farm like the other Indian tribes in Florida. Native Americans of the California Coast: The Chumash By Damian Bacich The Chumash are a widespread group of California native people who lived along the southern California coast and the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. In the winter of 1896, Frank Hamilton Cushing began archaeological excavations in southwest Florida. The Caloosahatchee Region". At the top of the hierarchy was the chief, who had control over the life and death of his subjects, and was believed to have the ability to communicate with the spirits. Five friars who stayed in the chief's house in 1697 complained that the roof let in the rain, sun and dew. Unlike most Florida Indian tribes . Marquardt, W. H. (2014). One illustration of the sophistication of the Calusa can be found in eyewitness accounts of an event in 1566. New Evidence Shows Humans Were Using Bows and Arrows in 52,000 BC. The fort was obviously a massive presence on Mound Key, both in scale and as an example of European culture, but it appears that native food procurement, living arrangements and much of Calusa daily life continued with only minimal changes, said archaeologist Traci Ardren of the University of Miami, who was not involved with the teams work. Mollusk shells and shark teeth were used for grating, cutting, carving and engraving. The Calusa also used spears, hooks, and throat gorges to catch fish. Cushings excavations took place along the coast. They believed in three superior beings, one controlled the weather, the others ruled the welfare of the tribe and warfare. It was during this phase of research that the team located and documented the massive kings house, showing it was indeed every bit as impressive as Spanish accounts, which claimed it was large enough to accommodate some 2,000 people. For a long time, societies that relied on fishing, hunting and gathering were assumed to be less advanced, said Marquardt. Among other things. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world (Art by Merald Clark.) They were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. It's also rich with the history and culture of the Calusa Indians, the Native Americans who preceded us, even if their footprints are a bit blurry. Historic documents say the Calusa then set fire to Mound Key and fled the island, which also prompted the Spanish to leave. The Calusa are said to have been a socially complex and politically powerful tribe, and most of southern Florida was controlled by them. However, archeological digs on Sanibel Island and Useppa Island have revealed evidence that the Calusa did in fact consume wild plants such as cabbage palm, prickly pear, hog plum, acorns, wild papaya, and chili peppers. The Spanish careened one of their ships, and Calusas offered to trade with them. The Calusa battle Spain over conversion. Known as the "Shell Indians", the Calusa are . In the 1700's, infectious diseases, slaving raids and attacks by Creek and Yamasee Indians who were supplied with guns by the English, decimated the Calusa population. Many of them are trying to do this on the Internet. It is believed that Calusa translated to mean "Fierce People". But Widmer argues that the evidence for maize cultivation by the Calusa depends on the proposition that the Narvez and de Soto expeditions landed in Charlotte Harbor rather than Tampa Bay, which is now generally discounted. [8], The Calusa caught most of their fish with nets. The Calusa made bone and shell gauges that they used in net weaving. The Calusa wove nets from palm-fiber cord. Soon after the discoveries, Donald funded archaeological mapping of . Chumash Tribe Facts: The Chumash Name The ancestors of the Calusa are said to have survived by hunting prehistoric animals such as woolly mammoths and giant tortoises, and collecting fruits and other edible plants. "Chapter 10. [17], The Calusa believed that three supernatural people ruled the world, that people had three souls, and that souls migrated to animals after death. The Calusa: "The Shell Indians". At least three of the animal figureheads were found in close association with wooden humanlike masks which Cushing understood to represent the human form of that animal. The Calusa tribe lived along the Gulf Coat and inner waterways; their homes were built on stilts with roofs made from Palmetto leaves; these homes had no walls. Menndez married Carlos' sister, who took the baptismal name Doa Antonia at conversion. From the time of European contact until their ultimate demise from conflict and illness around 1770, the Calusa successfully resisted, albeit with considerable bloodshed, intermittent efforts by Spanish missionaries to convert them to Christianity. People began creating fired pottery in Florida by 2000 BC.[3]. Their immune systems lacked antibodies to fight off European diseases. The Shell People. At the time of the excavations Cushing did not know the name or precise age of the Indians whose world he had discovered. Calusa v. Iroquois: Religious Beliefs. This site is believed to have been the capital of the Calusa, as well as its military stronghold and ceremonial center. They had three specific deities that they believed their cacique interpreted for. A Calusa alligator head carved out of wood, excavated at Key Marco in 1895, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. ARTIFACTS & OBJECTS Racoon tail Fish bladder ear decorations Body tattoos Wood spear with bone tip Shell bead necklace Shell pendant Shell bead bracelet Bald Eagle Diseases would ravage their population and force . Return to our menu of Native American cultures One of Cushings crew members, Wells M. Sawyer, was an artist and photographer; he painted lifelikewatercolors and took field photos of many of the specimens as they came from the mud. 2013-09-27 21:18:35. On Key Marco, among numerous mounds and ridges of earth and shell, he discovered a courtyard submerged in mud and bound by walls of conch shells. The Calusa used the canals to travel by canoe from their villages and ceremonial centers to coastal trading posts. Among most tribes in Florida for which there is documentation, the women wore skirts made of what was later called Spanish moss. From the time of European contact until their ultimate demise from conflict and illness around 1770, the Calusa successfully resisted, albeit with considerable bloodshed, intermittent efforts by Spanish missionaries to convert them to Christianity. They were occupying this land and engaging in commerce, culture, religion, politics and family life . -written by Glenn Emery. Salvaged goods and survivors from wrecked Spanish ships reached the Calusa during the 1540s and 1550s. Index of Indigenous languages And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there existcountless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts thathave yet to be discovered and explained. The Spanish A research project has finally solved an archaeological mystery in America . Cushings excavations brought to light at least 23 wooden masks and figureheads. Dominican missionaries reached the Calusa domain in 1549 but withdrew because of the hostility of the tribe. 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