The Caloosahatchee culture inhabited the Florida west coast from Estero Bay to Charlotte Harbor and inland about halfway to Lake Okeechobee, approximately covering what are now Charlotte and Lee counties. google_ad_client = "pub-8872632675285158";
The best information about the Calusa comes from the Memoir of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, one of these survivors. Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Len landed on the east coast of Florida and . Penn Museum 2023 Report Web Accessibility Issues and Get Help / Contact / Copyright / Disclaimer / Privacy /, Report Web Accessibility Issues and Get Help. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world (Art by Merald Clark.) Carlos was succeeded by his cousin (and brother-in-law) Felipe, who was in turn succeeded by another cousin of Carlos, Pedro. Tribute was offered in the form of prestige goods, such as feathers, mats, deerskins, food, and metals and captives recovered from Spanish shipwrecks (Hudson 1976). 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. Each human had three souls, present in his shadow, his reflection in water and in the pupil of his eye. The Spanish reported that the chief was expected to take his sister as one of his wives. ln 2017, funded by the National Science Foundation, the research team began a systematic investigation of these structures, the largest of which is about 36,000 square feet, with a surrounding berm of shell and sediment that stood about three feet high. Chumash Tribe Facts: The Chumash Name This site is believed to have been the capital of the Calusa, as well as its military stronghold and ceremonial center. The walls were covered entirely with masks colored red, white, and black (Hann 1991). Mudlarker Finds Bronze Age Shoe on a UK Riverbank Dated 2,800 Years Old! (*) denotes earlier century Calusa language records. It seems a sad demise for such a powerful . [23], The Pnfilo de Narvez expedition of 1528 and the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1539 both landed in the vicinity of Tampa Bay, north of the Calusa domain. 2013-09-27 21:18:35. The Apalachee Tribe was among the most advanced and powerful Native American people in Florida. South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Collection.
For a long time, societies that relied on fishing, hunting and gathering were assumed to be less advanced, said Marquardt. The "nobles" resisted conversion in part because their power and position were intimately tied to the belief system; they were intermediaries between the gods and the people. Marquardt, W. H. (2014). Marquardt notes that the Calusa turned down the offer of agricultural tools from the Spanish, saying that they had no need for them. 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. 215.898.4000. The missionaries recognized that having a Calusa man cut his hair upon converting to Christianity (and European style) would be a great sacrifice. Said by a Spaniard, Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, who was a captive among them for many years, to mean "fierce people," but it is perhaps more probable that, since it often appears in the form Carlos, it was, as others assert, adopted by the Calusa chief from the name of the Emperor Charles V, about whose greatness he had learned from Spanish prisoners. Milanich, J. T. (2004). Directly beneath the chief was the nobility. It has been speculatively identified as Calusa in origin. Mollusk shells and shark teeth were used for grating, cutting, carving and engraving. (Public Domain ). 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. Nets were woven with a standard mesh size; nets with different mesh sizes were used seasonally to catch the most abundant and useful fish available. Fish stored in the watercourts likely fed the workers who built the massive palace. He was aware, however, of the magnitude of his findings: the remains of a highly organized maritime society whose members performed elaborate rituals and whose artists possessed remarkable abilities in wood carving. A new tribe that entered Florida either from the islands or the north at the start of the Christian Era, the Calusa dominated South Florida with their statute, skills, and brutality. Calusa Protective Spell-Tampa This piece of folklore came from my co-worker, who grew up in Tampa, Florida. The canals were maintained until the mid-1700s, when the tribe disappeared from . 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. [20][21], A few vocabulary examples from Granberry's work are listed below:[22]. In a report from 1697, the Spanish noted 16 houses in the Calusa capital of Calos, which had 1,000 residents. So, we needed information on large-scale architecture, the timing and tempo of shell midden mound formation and the timing of large-scale public architecture., Florida Museum illustration by Merald Clark. Engineering the courts required an intimate understanding of daily and seasonal tides, hydrology and the biology of various fish species, said Thompson. Native Americans enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment in the form of sports, games, music, dance, and festivals. Calusa means "fierce people," and they were described as a fierce, war-like people. THE CALUSA INDIANS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. 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.
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. -written by Glenn Emery. 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. The Carolinan colonists supplied firearms to the Creek and Yemasee, but the Calusa, who had isolated themselves from Europeans, had none. The Caloosahatchee Region". [15], The Calusa wore little clothing. Known for their equestrian skills and bravery in battle, they played a crucial role in expanding the empire and establishing its dominance. When combined with historical and archaeological documentation, Cushings finds from Key Marco teach us about the Calusa Indians around the time of contact. The chief also married women from subject towns and allied tribes. Marquardt, Thompson and other University of Georgia colleagues and students began fieldwork at Mound Key in 2013, funded by the National Geographic Society. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world (Art by Merald Clark.) The Calusa wove nets from palm-fiber cord. We began with a basic set of questions, said Marquardt. The Calusa knew of the Spanish before this landing, however, as they had taken in Native American refugees from the Spanish subjugation of Cuba. The men and boys of the tribe made nets from palm tree webbing to catch mullet, pinfish, pigfish, and catfish. The Southeast is one of 10 culture areas that scholars use to study the Indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada. Florida of the Indians. 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. These Indians were so unfriendly that this was one of the first tribes that Spanish explorers wrote home about in 1513. By the early 19th century, Anglo-Americans in the area used the term Calusa for the people. 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. Soon 20 war canoes attacked the Spanish, who drove off the Calusa, killing or capturing several of them. Additionally, it has been pointed out that tribute was sent to this chief from other tribes in south Florida. 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. They also claimed authority over the tribes of the east coast, north to about Cape Canaveral. Different tribes had different names for the sport including . When used for fishing or travel from one point to another, these canals must have provided protection from the wind (Blanchard 1989). When the Spanish arrived in Florida in the early 16 th century, the Calusa were already in possession of a complex centralized government. A Calusa alligator head carved out of wood, excavated at Key Marco in 1895, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. 314 Palmetto Street, Jacksonville 32202. A Calusa /s/ [s] sound is said to range between a /s/ to a // sound. Philadelphia, PA 19104
Rogel also stated that the chief's name was Caalus, and that the Spanish had changed it to Carlos. The Legend of the Calusa Many people believe that the Calusa made a trip to Cuba in their canoes and traded with the Mayans. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. It was not conserved and is in poor shape, but it is displayed at the nature center in Marathon. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. (2004). The Spanish departed and returned to Puerto Rico. (1964). The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. Missions to the Calusa, edited and translated by John H. Hann. One of the most notable traditions of the Calusa was their use of shell mounds. Wiki User. Understanding the Mysterious Kingdom of Shambhala, Dont Cross the Kobolds: Mischievous Spirits of European Folklore, The Curious Apparitions of Pagan Goddesses to the German Knights Templar, The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend Part I, The Gristhorpe Man: A Bronze Age Skeleton with a Story to Tell, The Origins of Human Language: One of the Hardest Problems in Science, Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System, A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire. The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. A reconstruction of a Calusa home and terraces, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. 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