the calusa tribe

Because of their reliance on shellfish, they accumulated large shell middens during this period. What formation processes resulted in the complex of mounds and other features there? A reconstruction of a Calusa home and terraces, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. ( Public Domain ), Featured image: Calusa people fishing. These massive, rectangular structures built of shell and sediment enclose large areas on both sides of the mouth of Mound Keys great canal, a marine highway nearly 2,000 feet long and about 100 feet wide that bisects the island. This site is believed to be the chief town of the Calusa, where the leader of the tribe, Chief Carlos lived. However, no evidence of plant food was found at the Wightman site. "Calusa". Most complex societies depend on one or more staple crops and on the ability to distribute a surplus. They were a very innovative and prosperous tribe, and had a number of traditions that set them apart from other tribes in the area. The 8th Annual Calusa Heritage Day, which will take place this weekend, will offer an assortment of activities for everyone to enjoy while learning about the Calusa Indians. C enturies before countries such as the United Arab Emirates and China started building islands, the Calusa Indians living in southwest Florida were piling shells into massive heaps to construct their own water-bound towns.. One island in particular, Mound Key, was the capital of the Calusa kingdom when Spanish explorers first set foot in the area. "Chapter 10. The event will be held . 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. According to eyewitness accounts, in 1566 over 4,000 people gathered to witness ceremonies in which the Calusa king made an alliance with Spanish governor Menndez de Avils. [Online]Available at: http://www.calusalandtrust.org/who_were_the_calusa/who_were_the_calusa.htm, Ripley, K., 2016. They built their homes on stilts and wove Palmetto leaves to fashion roofs, but they didn't construct any walls. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. 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. 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. Their estimated population in 1650 was 3,000 living in 50 villages. Exploring Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida 2002. Artifacts related to fishing changed slowly over this period, with no obvious breaks in tradition that might indicate a replacement of the population. Artifacts such as shell tools, weapons, and ornaments are on display in many Florida history museums. 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. Native Americans enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment in the form of sports, games, music, dance, and festivals. (*) denotes earlier century Calusa language records. However, they would suffer the same fate as many of the other Native American tribes. Explorers reported that the Calusa attacked their ships that were anchored close to shore. In an effort to reconnect the community to the waterways, Calusa Waterkeeper, a nonprofit clean water advocacy group, is kicking off the inaugural The Big Calusa, a recreational, educational and cultural family friendly week long festival next week. In 1711, the Spanish helped evacuate 270 Indians, including many Calusa, from the Florida Keys to Cuba (where almost 200 soon died). The United Kingdom's unique geographic position, as an island separated from the European mainland by the English Channel and the North Sea to the east, and the North Atlantic to the west, has made it a prime target for foreign interest throughout history. The Calusa are said to have been a socially complex and politically powerful tribe, and most of southern Florida was controlled by them. The drove back multiple conquistadors and had control of nearby tribes. In his second voyage, Ponce de Leon received a poisoned arrow that hounded his tight and he died in Cuba the same year in 1521.His decease is attributed to Calusa people. What traditions did the Calusa tribe have? The Franciscans established a mission there in the late 17th century, but the Calusa evicted them after a few months time. The Calusa were well established, with a population of several thousand. 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. [2], Juan Rogel, a Jesuit missionary to the Calusa in the late 1560s, noted the chief's name as Carlos, but wrote that the name of the kingdom was Escampaba, with an alternate spelling of Escampaha. After suffering decimation by disease, the tribe was destroyed by Creek and Yamasee raiders early in the 18th century. 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. 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. They used spears to catch eels and turtles. By the year 1600, they were carrying on regular trade with Havana, Cuba. Historical documents indicate that by the mid-1700s, the dwindling Calusa population had fled to Cuba, or the Florida Keys. These Indians controlled most of south Florida. Omissions? "Florida Indians of Past and Present", in Carson, Ruby Leach and, Goggin, John M., and William C. Sturtevant. Diseases would ravage their population and force . The Calusa: "The Shell Indians" The Calusa (kah LOOS ah) lived on the sandy shores of the southwest coast of Florida. Fontaneda lived with various tribes in southern Florida for the next seventeen years before being found by the Menendez de Avils expedition. They collected materials for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating and sediment samples for archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological analysis. The women and children learned to catch shellfish like conchs, crabs, clams, lobsters, and oysters. As his father, the preceding king, was also known as Carlos, he is sometimes called Carlos II.Carlos ruled over one of the most powerful and prosperous chiefdoms in the region at the time, controlling the coastal areas of southwest . The chief's house was described as having two big windows, suggesting that it had walls. The chief also married women from subject towns and allied tribes. 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. Ravaged by new infectious diseases introduced to the Americas by European contact and by the slaving raids, the surviving Calusa retreated south and east. Calusa beliefs included a trinity of governing spirits. Map of Calusa territory in Florida. The Big Calusa Festival is an ambitious creation to get the community out for a fun week of recreation, culture and cleanup, organizers sai. This page was last edited on 1 April 2023, at 04:02. [Online]Available at: http://www.sanibelhistory.org/calusa_history.htm. For a long time, societies that relied on fishing, hunting and gathering were assumed to be less advanced, said Marquardt. The Calusa king had the power of life and death over his subjects and was thought by them to be able to intercede with the spirits that sustained the environments bounty. One shell mound site is Mound Key at Estero Bay in Lee County. Artifacts such as shell tools, weapons, and ornaments are on display in many Florida history museums. Among most tribes in Florida for which there is documentation, the women wore skirts made of what was later called Spanish moss. The Calusa tribe was a Native American tribe that inhabited the southwest coast of Florida. The Calusa Indians were originally called the "Calos" which means "Fierce People". 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. Known as the first shell collectors, the Calusa used shells as tools, utensils, building materials, vessels for domestic and ceremonial use and for personal adornment. The fact that the Calusa were fishers, not farmers, created tension between them and the Spaniards, who arrived in Florida when the Calusa kingdom was at its zenith, Thompson said. Their sophistication and fierceness enabled them to resist Spanish domination for some 200 years. 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. This article first appeared in the magazines fall 2020 issue. The Caloosahatchee Region". One of the most important ceremonies was the Green Corn Dance, which was held to celebrate the harvest. The researchers used ground penetrating radar and LiDAR to locate and map the forts structures, which they then partially excavated. ), Artists conception of town chief at the Calusa town of Tampa (present day Pineland) (Art by Merald Clark. The Calusa men were tall and well built with long hair. Calusa Indians. ( Public Domain ). By the late 1700s, enemy tribe attacks reduced the strength of the proud Calusa tribe. 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. During the Calusa's reign the Florida coastline extended roughly 60 miles further into the Gulf of Mexico. And to what extent does the occupational and architectural history speak to broader issues of Calusa complexity? The Calusa spoke a dialect of the Muskogean language family. No Zamia pollen has been found at any site associated with the Calusas, nor does Zamia grow in the wetlands that made up most of the Calusa environment. Conversion would have destroyed the source of their authority and legitimacy. 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. Inside a great temple, they observed walls covered by carved and painted wooden masks. 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. They defended their land against other smaller tribes and European explorers that were traveling by water. Pottery distinct from the Glades tradition developed in the region around AD 500, marking the beginning of the Caloosahatchee culture. The Calusa kingdom was eventually devastated by European diseases as well as slave raids by enemy tribes. . 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. It is recorded that in that year, the Calusa chief formed an alliance with the Spanish governor, Menndez de Avils. This site is believed to be the chief town of the Calusa, where the leader of the tribe, Chief Carlos lived. The Spanish left less description on what the Calusa women wore. The Calusa gathered a variety of wild berries, fruits, nuts, roots and other plant parts. [Online]Available at: http://floridahistory.org/indians.htm, Marquardt, W. H., 2014. Marquardt, William H. (2004). Seeing the work of the Calusa in these materials first-hand were really exciting moments for us.. Fontaneda was shipwrecked on the east coast of Florida, likely in the Florida Keys, about 1550, when he was thirteen years old. One of the most notable traditions of the Calusa was their use of shell mounds. Instead of planting crops in sand, they created fishing nets with palm tree webbing and spearheads from shells found on the shallow ocean floor or shore line. A number of smaller groups called the Tampa Bay area home. Historic documents say the Calusa then set fire to Mound Key and fled the island, which also prompted the Spanish to leave. The Calusa people were an important tribe of Florida. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). All available connections to the LC Catalog are currently in use. The Calusa were also known for their artistry. The two largest native groups were the Timucua and the Calusa. [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. 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. We could not anticipate the extraordinary preservation of organic materials down below the water table, Marquardt noted. The Calusa are considered to be the first "shell collectors." They left 1,700 behind. The Calusa made bone and shell gauges that they used in net weaving. According to some authorities their territory also extended inland as far as Lake Okeechobee. [Online]Available at: http://www.funandsun.com/1tocf/inf/nativepeoples/calusa.html, www.sanibelhistory.org, 2016. They built canals and fish traps to help them catch fish. These Indians controlled most of south Florida. They claimed more or less authority also over the tribes of the east coast, north to about Cape Canaveral. However, their culture and influence has been felt long after their disappearance, and the name Calusa is still used to refer to the Native American people who live in the region today. The Calusa knew of the Spanish before this landing, however, as they had taken in Native American refugees from the Spanish subjugation of Cuba. Sadly, the Calusa Tribe was devastated by European diseases that were brought to their area. Instead, they fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. Some research indicates that they may have immigrated to Cuba during the 18th century as a result of recurring invasions by the Creek and the English, while other work suggests they may have joined the Seminole, who moved into Florida early in the 19th century and were later removed to Oklahoma. 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