Mound Key Archaeological State Park is a shell midden mound in the Estero Bay that is estimated to have been inhabited over 2,000 years ago. Additionally, it has been pointed out that tribute was sent to this chief from other tribes in south Florida. Furthermore, new diseases such as smallpox and measles were introduced into the area by European explorers. The Calusa painted their bodies on a regular basis, but there was no report of tattooing among them. They believed in three superior beings, one controlled the weather, the others ruled the welfare of the tribe and warfare. They recovered various types of Spanish artifacts such as majolica ceramics, hand-wrought nails and spikes, a bale seal and olive jar sherds, as well as native artifacts. The Calusa battle Spain over conversion. The Legend of the Calusa Many people believe that the Calusa made a trip to Cuba in their canoes and traded with the Mayans. The Calusa were descended from people who had lived in the area for at least 1,000 years prior to European contact, and possibly for much longer than that. The rich and relatively stable coastal ecology of southwest Florida provided an abundance of marine lifenumerous kinds of fish, shellfish, and sea mammalsthat was capable of supporting a large human population. Be notified when an answer is posted. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. The Calusa used the canals to travel by canoe from their villages and ceremonial centers to coastal trading posts. 2). What was the Calusa religion? Researchers have previously hypothesized the watercourts were designed to hold fish, but this was the first attempt to study the structures systematically, including when they were built and how that timing correlates with other Calusa construction projects, Marquardt said. The Calusa were a Native American tribe that inhabited the southwest coast of Florida. Mound Key was thought to be the seat of the powerful Calusa kingdom, and recent archaeological research there has confirmed it was in fact the capital and also revealed the extent of ancient landscape alteration, monumental construction and engineering ingenuity that allowed the Calusas population to grow to an estimated 20,000 without reliance on agriculture. The Calusa tribe once numbered around 50,000 people, and Tampa was one of their largest towns. They were a fierce, independent tribe that lived in southwest Florida as early as 2,000 years ago. It seems a sad demise for such a powerful . The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. The Calusa men were tall and well built with long hair. For the purposes of this research project I will compare and contrast three specific categories for each tribe in order to show how they were either similar or different from one another. The Southeast is one of 10 culture areas that scholars use to study the Indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada. The researchers used ground penetrating radar and LiDAR to locate and map the forts structures, which they then partially excavated. Warriors killed all the adult men. ( Public Domain ). It is based on the Creek and Mikasuki (languages of the present-day Seminole and Miccosukee nations) ethnonym for the people who had lived around the Caloosahatchee River (also from the Creek language). In April of that year he made landfall and, calling this new territory La Florida, claimed it for the Spanish Crown. Known as the "Shell Indians", the Calusa are . Judging from the email I get, there are a lot of people out there trying to learn about traditional Native American religion and spirituality these days. As Cushing noted and as more recent studies have revealed, they dug extensive waterways or canals (sometimes as large as 4 feet deep, 20 feet wide, and 3 miles long) that crossed Key Marco and the rest of the region. People began creating fired pottery in Florida by 2000 BC.[3]. Marquardt quotes a statement from the 1570s that "the Bay of Carlos in the Indian language is called Escampaba, for the cacique of this town, who afterward called himself Carlos in devotion to the Emperor" (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor). The Calusa made bone and shell gauges that they used in net weaving. [Online]Available at: http://floridahistory.org/indians.htm, Marquardt, W. H., 2014. The women were responsible for work around the house, like cooking and raising the children. The first recorded contact between the Calusa and Europeans was in 1513, when Juan Ponce de Len landed on the west coast of Florida in May, probably at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, after his earlier discovery of Florida in April. Historical documents indicate that by the mid-1700s, the dwindling Calusa population had fled to Cuba, or the Florida Keys. American Archaeology cover, featuring Florida Museum illustration by Merald Clark. People commonly occupied both fresh and saltwater wetlands. Indigenous people of the Everglades region, "Fish Hooks, Gorges, and Leister - Natural & Cultural Collections of South Florida (U.S. National Park Service)", Evidence for a Calusa-Tunica Relationship, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Calusa&oldid=1140745100, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Language articles with unreferenced extinction date, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bullen, Adelaide K. (1965). Marquardt, William H. (2004). Descriptions of the principal town of Calos, probably located on Mound Island in Estero Bay (roughly 50 kms north of Key Marco), were first recorded by Spanish missionaries in 1586. Now, there is a lot of garbage and misinformation on the Internet no matter what . The Calusa had an established religion and practiced human sacrifice, and many temples were found built upon mounds. The CalusaPeople of the Estuary. In a report from 1697, the Spanish noted 16 houses in the Calusa capital of Calos, which had 1,000 residents. A team has uncovered the foundations of a large dwelling and this is As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. For me, the work has been absolutely fantastic and since we began it has been one discovery after another, said Thompson. Historically located in northwest Florida, the Apalachee were allied with the Spanish, but maintained their autonomy through political and social traditions. While there is no evidence that the Calusa had institutionalized slavery, studies show they would use captives for work or even sacrifice. 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.. By about 500 BC, the Archaic culture, which had been fairly uniform across Florida, began to devolve into more distinct regional cultures. The Shell People. Although he did not know much about the history of the Calusa Indians, what he did know was the legend in Tampa that the Calusa Indians cast a spell to keep them safe. By contrast, at an inland site, Platt Island, mammals (primarily deer) accounted for more than 60 percent of the energy from animal meat, while fish provided just under 20 percent. When the Spanish explored the coast of Florida, they soon became the targets of the Calusa, and this tribe is said to have been the first one that the explorers wrote home about. Expedition Magazine. Some of the "Spanish Indians" (often of mixed Spanish-Indian heritage) who worked at the fishing camps likely were descended from Calusa.[29]. The drove back multiple conquistadors and had control of nearby tribes. This use of marriages to secure alliances was demonstrated when Carlos offered his sister Antonia in marriage to the Spanish explorer Pedro Menndez de Avils in 1566. Calusa Religion Birdseye View of Calusa The sun deity appears to have been a universal creator. Although each tribe and region was different, the division of labor between men and women was generally similar across most of the Native American tribes. Their main waterway was the Calooshahatchee River, which means River of the Calusa. Among most tribes in Florida for which there is documentation, the women wore skirts made of what was later called Spanish moss. [13][11] Artifacts of wood that have been found include bowls, ear ornaments, masks, plaques, "ornamental standards", and a finely carved deer head. Such hierarchy and inequality are generally characteristics of societies that practice agriculture, he observed. Their gods were living all around them. 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. Missions to the Calusa, edited and translated by John H. Hann. Indeed, given the results of recent research, they are now considered one of the most politically complex groups of non-agriculturalists in the ancient world. 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. It is recorded that in that year, the Calusa chief formed an alliance with the Spanish governor, Menndez de Avils. They were descendants of Paleo-Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida approximately 12,000 years ago. The Caloosahatchee Region". These Indians were so unfriendly that this was one of the first tribes that Spanish explorers wrote home about in 1513. They were one of the first tribes in South Florida and they settled near Biscayne Bay in the present-day Miami area. Add an answer. Despite the social complexity and political might that the Calusa attained, they are said to have eventually went extinct around the end of the 18 th century. The people who constructed Fort San Antn de Carlos had to adapt to Mound Keys unique conditions, researchers said. They arrived in seven vessels and climbed to the peak of Mound Key, a 30-foot-high, human-made island of shells and sand, to greet the king. The Tequesta Indians were a tribe of eastern Florida, closely connected with the Ais. An anonymous account mentions an autumn ceremony in which dancers wore animal masks (Coggin and Sturtevant 1964). The Calusa may have been the only ancient people in North America who established a kingdom without practicing agriculture. [9] There is also evidence that as early as 2,000 years ago, the Calusa cultivated a gourd of the species Cucurbita pepo and the bottle gourd, which were used for net floats and dippers. At some point of time in their history, this tribe discovered that there was a wealth of fish in the waters, and began to exploit this resource. The National Geographic has reported that archaeologists have discovered an ancient Native American kings house in Florida. It is likely there are descendants of the Calusa living among the Native American people of Florida and in Cuba today., In terms of Mound Key, much more can be learned about the Spanish fort and mission, the relations between the Calusa and the Spaniards and the earlier, pre-contact occupations of the island, Marquardt said. Their sophistication and fierceness enabled them to resist Spanish domination for some 200 years. It is documented that their power and influence extended over . The Beast with an insatiable Hunger for Human Flesh, Film Footage Provides Intimate View of HMS Gloucester Shipwreck, Top 8 Legendary Parties - Iconic Celebrations in Ancient History, The Spanish Inquisition: The Truth Behind the Black Legend (Part II), The Spanish Inquisition: The Truth behind the Dark Legend (Part I), Bloodthirsty Buddhists: The Sohei Warrior Monks of Feudal Japan, Caesars Savage Human Skewers Unearthed In German Fort, The Red Taj Mahal and the Dutch Hessings of India. 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. Artist's conception of town chief at the Calusa town of Tampa (present day Pineland) (Art by Merald Clark.) Although many others survived the shipwreck, only Fontaneda was spared by the tribe in whose territory they landed. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world (Art by Merald Clark.) The Penn Museum respectfully acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape. Field school students brush sand from a tabby wall that might be the outer wall of Fort San Antn de Carlos. The 2017 excavations were really exciting for a number of reasons, Thompson said. Franciscan friar Fray Lopez, director of the unsuccessful 1697 mission attempt, described the Calusa temples as very tall and wide, with a mound in the middle and a structure on the mound enclosed with reed mats and containing benches around the walls. The Spanish were used to dealing with natives who farmed and who provided the Spanish with some of their food. It has been speculatively identified as Calusa in origin. Later periods in the Caloosahatchee culture are defined in the archaeological record by the appearance of pottery from other traditions. The finds tell us of Calusa fishing techniques, of the tools used to produce their wooden carvings, of architecture, ceremonialism, and daily life. Want this question answered? //-->. The first phase of work included the creation of a detailed topographic map of the island using LiDAR, which gave archaeologists information about its structures and geography. They were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. "The Calusa: A Stratified, Nonagricultural Society (With Notes on Sibling Marriage)." -written by Glenn Emery. The Calusa are said to have been the descendants of Palaeo-Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida about 12000 years ago. Little is known about Calusa religion. Hostilities erupted, and the Spanish soldiers killed Carlos, his successor Felipe, and several of the "nobles" before they abandoned their fort and mission in 1569. Typical Women's Work. It is clear the Calusa possessed an extraordinary understanding of and sensitivity to their natural environment. Five friars who stayed in the chief's house in 1697 complained that the roof let in the rain, sun and dew. [2], Paleo-Indians entered what is now Florida at least 12,000 years ago. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The plaques and other objects were often painted. The site of the excavation appears to be linked with Calusa ceremonialism and was one location at which wooden carvings, probably used in ritual, were housed. Ivar the Boneless: Viking Warrior, Ruler and Raider, The Irish Story and Legend of C Chulainn, What is Shambhala? Fowler Williams, .Lucy"The Calusa Indians: Maritime Peoples of Florida in the Age of Columbus" Expedition Magazine 33.2 (1991): n. pag. However, they would suffer the same fate as many of the other Native American tribes. The Calusa gathered a variety of wild berries, fruits, nuts, roots and other plant parts. Study guides. According to Menendez, in 1566 the town of Calos contained a central mound where special masks were kept and where human sacrifices were made. 9). The Calusa used wooden dugout canoes to aid them in fishing and for transport. 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. It has been proposed that as fishing was a less time-consuming means of obtaining food than hunting and gathering, the Calusa were able to devote more time to other pursuits, such as the establishment of a system of government. By the early 1600s the Calusa returned to Mound Key and reestablished their capital. By the early 19th century, Anglo-Americans in the area used the term Calusa for the people. The story of the Calusa during the Spanish occupation of La Florida is a complicated one, said Thompson. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. For hundreds of years, the Calusa built a society that had its own government, a religion, and adaptation to the environment that is quite impressive. At the time of first European contact, the Caloosahatchee culture region formed the core of the Calusa domain. The process of shaping the boat was achieved by burning the middle and subsequently chopping and removing the charred center, using robust shell tools. The Calusas were one of the few North American Indian tribes who were ruled by a hereditary king. "They had an established religion. Spanish admiral Pedro Menndez de Avils (1519-1574) by Francisco de Paula Mart (1762-1827) ( Public Domain ). They had three specific deities that they believed their cacique interpreted for. The Calusa also made fish traps, weirs, and fish corrals from wood and cord. 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.. When combined with historical and archaeological documentation, Cushings finds from Key Marco teach us about the Calusa Indians around the time of contact. The Calusa have long fascinated archaeologists because they were a fisher-gatherer-hunter society that attained unusual social complexity, said William Marquardt, curator emeritus of South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography at the Florida Museum of Natural History. 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 Calusa Indians were descendants of Paleo-Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida approximately 12,000 years ago. 4 . An analysis of faunal remains at one coastal habitation site, the Wightman site (on Sanibel Island), showed that more than 93 percent of the energy from animals in the diet came from fish and shellfish, less than 6 percent of the energy came from mammals, and less than 1 percent came from birds and reptiles. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004. [24][25], In 1566 Pedro Menndez de Avils, founder of St. Augustine, made contact with the Calusa. South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Collection. It's also possible that a few were absorbed into the Seminole tribe. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. Reagan restored the Tribes to federal recognition by signing Public Law 98-481. To date no one has found a Calusa dugout canoe, but it is speculated that such vessels would have been constructed from cypress or pine, as used by other Florida tribes. [7], The Calusa diet at settlements along the coast and estuaries consisted primarily of fish, in particular pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), pigfish (redmouth grunt), (Orthopristis chrysoptera) and hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis). Little is known about Calusa religion. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. The Calusa and their legacy: South Florida people and their environments. The Chilling Mystery of the Octavius Ghost Ship, What is a Wendigo? Menndez married Carlos' sister, who took the baptismal name Doa Antonia at conversion. One of the causes of this was the raids conducted by rival tribes from Georgia and South Carolina. The Calusa knew of the Spanish before this landing, however, as they had taken in Native American refugees from the Spanish subjugation of Cuba. Some of these masks had moving parts that used pull strings and hinges so that a person could alter the look of a mask while wearing it. 10 They believed that humans had three souls, and that souls migrated to animals after death. The men of the Calusa are recorded to have been powerfully built, and let their hair grow long. What language did the Calusa speak? This answer is: Study guides. They had a reputation from being a fierce, war-like people, especially among European explorers and smaller tribes. Shells and clay were used by the Calusa to create the foundation of their cities. [14], The Calusa lived in large, communal houses which were two stories high. The Calusa lived from at least A.D. 1000 up to the middle of the 18th century in what are now southwest Floridas Lee, Charlotte, and Collier counties. Marquardt, Thompson and other University of Georgia colleagues and students began fieldwork at Mound Key in 2013, funded by the National Geographic Society. They developed a complex culture based on estuarine fisheries rather than agriculture. The Calusa (said to mean fierce people ) are a Native American tribe that once inhabited the southwestern coast of Florida. Chumash Tribe Facts: The Chumash Name Although the Calusa came to an end, some remains of their achievements can still be seen today. Engineering the courts required an intimate understanding of daily and seasonal tides, hydrology and the biology of various fish species, said Thompson. Unlike most Florida Indian tribes . The Calusas as Shell Indians The Calusas are considered to be the first "shell collectors." Shells were discarded into huge heaps. Undecorated pottery belonging to the early Glades culture appeared in the region around 500 BC. 215.898.4000. [4], The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. In 1711, the Spanish helped evacuate 270 Indians, including many Calusa, from the Florida Keys to Cuba (where almost 200 soon died). The Calusa: "The Shell Indians". . The Tequesta lived in the southeastern parts of present-day Florida. Radiocarbon dating of carbonized wood, a deer bone and a shell verified the forts mid-16th-century date. The Calusa, who had no immunity against such illnesses, were wiped out in large numbers. All his subjects had to obey his commands. Milanich, Jerald. 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. This tribe of Indians controlled most of Southwest Florida and created an elaborate network of canals, homes, and government. This change may have resulted from the people's migration from the interior to the coastal region, or may reflect trade and cultural influences. The archaeologists recovered seeds, wood, palm-fiber cordage that likely came from Calusa fishing nets and even fish scales from the waterlogged levels. In 1763, Spain ceded Florida to England and surviving Calusas were taken to Cuba. The first people to live on the island were the Calusa Native Americans, who were known as a fierce people. What did the Calusa tribe believe in? Calusa ceremonies included processions of priests and singing women. Mudlarker Finds Bronze Age Shoe on a UK Riverbank Dated 2,800 Years Old! It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. 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. 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. 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