( Public Domain ). They were skilled fishermen and their economy was based on fishing and shellfish. The Spanish documented four cases of known succession to the position of paramount chief, recording most names in Spanish form. Honestly, we have explored a very small sample of Mound Key and other nearby island sites., ln the next couple of years, Thompson added, Id like to return to Mound Key to look more closely at the fort and its structures to really delve into Calusa-Spanish interactions.. The Calusa were more powerful in number . 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. The Calusa were a mound-building people. At the time of European contact in the 16th and 17th centuries, the historic Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture. Marquardt and Victor Thompson of the University of Georgia are co-directing research at Mound Key, which has a complex arrangement of shell midden mounds, canals, watercourts and other features. 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. Their art was heavily influenced by their environment, and many of their creations featured marine motifs. 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). They practiced human sacrifice of captives, scalped and dismembered their slain enemies, and were repeatedly accused of being cannibals. 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. Inside a great temple, they observed walls covered by carved and painted wooden masks. This site is believed to be the chief town of the Calusa, where the leader of the tribe, Chief Carlos lived. The Calusa strongly resisted two Spanish mission attemptsone in 1566 and another in 1697and persisted in many . The level of southwest Florida political complexity is noteworthy because they depended for food mainly on fishing, hunting, and gathering. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. 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. The Calusa are said to have been a socially complex and politically powerful tribe, and most of southern Florida was controlled by them. Environmentalists and conservation groups protect many of these remaining shell mounds. They defended their land against other smaller tribes and European explorers that were traveling by water. [20][21], A few vocabulary examples from Granberry's work are listed below:[22]. The Calusa men were tall and well built with long hair. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. Could we find unequivocal architectural evidence that Mound Key was the Calusa capital town, as had long been suggested? The Calusa tribe was first mentioned by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. Later periods in the Caloosahatchee culture are defined in the archaeological record by the appearance of pottery from other traditions. 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. Supported in part by a grant from National . Different tribes and regions had their own games and traditions. The men wore their hair long. The men of the Calusa are recorded to have been powerfully built, and let their hair grow long. The Carolinan colonists supplied firearms to the Creek and Yemasee, but the Calusa, who had isolated themselves from Europeans, had none. They were experts in fishing, and they also grew crops and raised animals. Hardwood forests covered the land and the climate was . This page was last edited on 1 April 2023, at 04:02. The most powerful ruler governed the physical world, the second most powerful ruled human governments, and the last helped in wars, choosing which side would win. The Calusa, who had no immunity against such illnesses, were wiped out in large numbers. [26], For more than a century after the Avils adventure, there was little contact between the Spanish and Calusa. 150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time? What happened to these fierce sailing Indians? The Calooshahatchee River, which means "River of the Calusa," was their main waterway. The Caloosahatchee Region". The Calusa king Caalus, perched high on his throne in his grand house, watched as Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the first governor of La Florida, arrived with his entourage. Florida Museum artifact photos by Jeff Gage. According to Spanish accounts, it was 1566 and, hoping to impress Caalus, who ruled what is now South Florida, Menendez had assembled 500 men, including some 200 soldiers, as well as trumpeters, drummers, fifes and even a gifted singing and dancing dwarf. The plaques and other objects were often painted. 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 chief also married women from subject towns and allied tribes. The Calusa: "The Shell Indians" The Calusa (kah LOOS ah) lived on the sandy shores of the southwest coast of Florida. The Calusa were a very successful tribe, and had a number of traditions that set them apart from other tribes in the area. It appears that the answer is their watercourts, which were discovered back in the 1890s. The Calusa also used spears, hooks, and throat gorges to catch fish. Other tribes farmed the land in their territories, but the Calusa tribe fished along coastal waters. The Tequesta lived in the southeastern parts of present-day Florida. Calusa influence may have also extended to the Ais tribe on the central east coast of Florida. The Calusa Indians did not farm like the other Indian tribes in Florida. Their estimated population in 1650 was 3,000 living in 50 villages. When Spaniards arrived in southwest Florida in the sixteenth century, they encountered a populous, sedentary, and politically complex society: the Calusa. This class was supported by commoners, who provided them with food and other material goods. Openings in the berms likely allowed the Calusa to drive fish into the enclosures for short-term storage, and then they closed those openings with nets and wooden gates. ), Calusa influence extended over most of south Florida in the sixteenth century, Artists conception of the Calusa kings house in 1566 (Art by Merald Clark. Seeing the work of the Calusa in these materials first-hand were really exciting moments for us.. Re-entering the area in 1614, Spanish forces attacked the Calusa as part of a war between the Calusa and Spanish-allied tribes around Tampa Bay. According to some authorities their territory also extended inland as far as Lake Okeechobee. (Art by Merald Clark. The Calusa were also very warriors. They were known for their skill in battle, and they were able to successfully resist the Spanish and other European settlers who attempted to invade their territory. [Online]Available at: http://www.sanibelhistory.org/calusa_history.htm. 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Escampaba may be related to a place named Stapaba, which was identified in the area on an early 16th-century map. The Calusa were a Native American people who lived in what is now the southern U.S. state of Florida. In. Tabby was an Old World concrete consisting of lime from burned shells mixed with sand, ash, water and broken shells. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Directly beneath the chief was the nobility. Exploring Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers, Florida Center for Instructional Technology. The signing will provide an opportunity for the public to meet Joseph, an independent scholar of Florida history, and discuss his novel, which tells of the history of the Calusa Indians, who once took up residence on . No records of the language remain other than a few place names in Florida, so it is unknown which language family Calusa might have belonged to. However, it is likely that they were eventually assimilated into other tribes in the area. The two largest native groups were the Timucua and the Calusa. During the Calusa's reign the Florida coastline extended roughly 60 miles further into the Gulf of Mexico. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. Around A.D. 1250, the area experienced a drop in sea level that, according to research team member Karen Walker, collections manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History, may have impacted fish populations enough to have prompted the Calusa to design and build the watercourts. Towns throughout south Florida sent tribute to the Calusa king. The Calusa kingdom had an estimated 20,000 people and ranks among the most politically complex groups of hunter-gatherers of the historic world. ), Recommended Books, Videos & Places to Visit. The Calusa tribe was a Native American tribe that lived in what is now southern Florida. 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. Marquardt, Thompson and other University of Georgia colleagues and students began fieldwork at Mound Key in 2013, funded by the National Geographic Society. The Calusa case also illustrates remarkably sophisticated engagements with, and long-term large-scale management of, coastal and estuarine environments.. Undecorated pottery belonging to the early Glades culture appeared in the region around 500 BC. Relying on aquatic resources, the Calusa developed into a powerful, tributary chiefdom prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century, and occasionally expanded their reign to include other southern Florida tribes. Tracking the Calusa: A Retrospective. 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