The Iliad can provide new insights on the role of motherhood among the ancient Greek gods, and by extension, amongst ancient mortal Greek women themselves. Little is known about Calusa religion. Fish bones and scales recovered from one of the watercourts indicate the Calusa were capturing schooling species such as mullet, pinfish and herring. He struck an uneasy peace with their leader Caluus, or Carlos. Uniquely, it was powered by fishing, not farming. 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. 9). 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 The team conducted a geophysical survey of both large mounds at the site, known as Mounds 1 and 2, and then they partially excavated the areas where ground-penetrating radar had indicated the locations of features and structures. The two forms together may have indicated his transformation (Figs. Native Americans enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment in the form of sports, games, music, dance, and festivals. Perhaps a dancer wore the mask and carried the figurehead of the particular animal he was emulating (Cushing 1896). 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. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. 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. 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. Many smaller tribes were constantly watching for these marauding warriors. Florida of the Indians. The soul in the eye's pupil stayed with the body after death, and the Calusa would consult with that soul at the graveside. Their sophistication and fierceness enabled them to resist Spanish domination for some 200 years. [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. Additionally, it has been suggested that the population of this tribe may have reached 50000 people at one point of time. Though questions about the Calusa and the use of some of these artifacts remain unanswered, early eyewitness accounts and ethnohistorical research, together with new archaeological developments in Florida, enhance our understanding of the cultural context within which these objects were made and used. 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. Because of their reliance on shellfish, they accumulated large shell middens during this period. 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. The chief had many wives: one principal wife and others given to him by surrounding villages. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. "Florida Indians of Past and Present", in Carson, Ruby Leach and, Goggin, John M., and William C. Sturtevant. [4], The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. A variety of carving tools were also recovered. Like the Calusa, the Tequesta were devastated by European diseases. The Calusa remained committed to their belief system despite Spanish attempts to convert them to Catholicism. The fort is the only Spanish structure built atop a shell mound in Florida. The heir of the chief wore gold in an ornament on his forehead and beads on his legs. In the wake of conflict and European-borne disease, the Calusa were extinguished by the second half of the 18th century. 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. The Calusa were a Native American tribe that lived hundreds of years ago on the island that is now Mound Key Archaeological State Park. Calusa v. Iroquois: Religious Beliefs. Instead, they fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. The expedition was sponsored jointly by The University Museum (then the Free Museum of Science and Art) and the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution.
//-->. The Calusa artifacts discovered on Marco Island date from 300 AD to 1500 AD, prior to European contact in Florida. [16], Ceremonial or otherwise artistic masks have been discovered and were previously described by the Spanish who first encountered the Calusa. The archaeologists recovered seeds, wood, palm-fiber cordage that likely came from Calusa fishing nets and even fish scales from the waterlogged levels. Large earthen mounds and ridges, accessed by canals, are believed to have been associated with Calusa ritual. 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. /* 728x15 link ad */
The first people to live on the island were the Calusa Native Americans, who were known as a fierce people. They are a tribe. [1], Early Spanish and French sources referred to the tribe, its chief town, and its chief as Calos, Calus, Caalus, and Carlos. Return to American Indians for Children
Many Calusa are said to have been captured and sold as slaves. 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. They had lived in the region since the 3rd century BCE (the late Archaic period of the continent ), and remained for roughly 2,000 years, [1] By the 1800s, most had died as a result of settlement battles, slavery, and disease. 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. Soon after the discoveries, Donald funded archaeological mapping of . Radiocarbon dating of organic materials associated with the watercourts indicates they were built between A.D. 1300 and 1400, toward the end of a second phase of construction on the kings house. Archaeological and historical documentation reveal that Calusa society was highly structured, with individuals living in fixed settlements surrounding a large central town. Typical Women's Work. The men wore deerskin breechcloths. Unlike other Indian tribes, the Calusa did not make many. Native American tattoos
The fishing nets they used to catch food were made from palm tree fibers.
Ravaged by new infectious diseases introduced to the Americas by European contact and by the slaving raids, the surviving Calusa retreated south and east. It has also been stated that the Spanish were brought into a large temple, where they saw carved and painted wooden masks covering its walls. Calusa beliefs included a trinity of governing spirits. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? When the Spanish arrived in Florida in the early 16 th century, the Calusa were already in possession of a complex centralized government.
Spanish admiral Pedro Menndez de Avils (1519-1574) by Francisco de Paula Mart (1762-1827) ( Public Domain ). The Horsemen of Oyo were legendary warriors who served the Oyo Empire of West Africa. 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. Mound Key, an island west of Fort Myers, was the center of this large Calusa Empire. Circumstantial evidence, primarily from Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, suggests that all of the peoples of southern Florida and the Tampa Bay area, including the Tequesta, Mayaimi, and Tocobaga, as well as the Calusa, spoke dialects of a common language. He had a council which may have included one or more head priests and one or two high-ranking individuals involved in political and religious decision-making. 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. 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. It appears that the answer is their watercourts, which were discovered back in the 1890s. This answer is: Study guides. The Calusa gathered a variety of wild berries, fruits, nuts, roots and other plant parts. Calusa means "fierce people," and they were described as a fierce, war-like people. Request Answer. Approximate Calusa core area (red) and political domain (blue). One of the most popular Native American sports was lacrosse. While the Calusa managed to survive that encounter, the 250 years that followed brought intermittent contact with other conquistadors, Christians missionaries, and in later years, English and French explorer-traders who vied for the territory, often with the help of native allies. This tribe of Indians controlled most of Southwest Florida and created an elaborate network of canals, homes, and government. Did the Calusa farm? Calusa Tribe. Carlos was succeeded by his cousin (and brother-in-law) Felipe, who was in turn succeeded by another cousin of Carlos, Pedro. 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. 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. Those excavations revealed rarely preserved objects of wood, such as masks, figureheads, bowls, and tools, which survived because of the wet environment. Their gods were living all around them. We could not anticipate the extraordinary preservation of organic materials down below the water table, Marquardt noted. After each meal, these shells were put to good use as building material and tools. The missionaries recognized that having a Calusa man cut his hair upon converting to Christianity (and European style) would be a great sacrifice. For more than 200 years, South Florida's Indians resisted Spanish domination. MacMahon, Darcie A. and William H. Marquardt. Julian Granberry has suggested that the Calusa language was related to the Tunica language of the lower Mississippi River Valley. [14], The Calusa lived in large, communal houses which were two stories high. The Calusa people were an important tribe of Florida. These deposits were carefully water-screened using a series of nested screens in order to capture even the finest organic materials. Upon learning that the Spaniards did not intend to provide food, clothing, and other gifts, the Calusa rebelled, tenaciously holding to their own beliefs and practices. 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. One ritual was witnessed in which a large procession of masked men came down from a mound accompanied by hundreds of singing women (Goggin and Sturtevant 1964). Marquardt, Thompson and other University of Georgia colleagues and students began fieldwork at Mound Key in 2013, funded by the National Geographic Society. Warriors killed all the adult men. Fontaneda was shipwrecked on the east coast of Florida, likely in the Florida Keys, about 1550, when he was thirteen years old. Index of Indigenous languages
The Calusa may have been the only ancient people in North America who established a kingdom without practicing agriculture. You could hire a shaman and pay for his services. 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. [7] The contemporary archeologists MacMahon and Marquardt suggest this statement may have been a misunderstanding of a requirement to marry a "clan-sister". Radiocarbon dating of carbonized wood, a deer bone and a shell verified the forts mid-16th-century date. The Calusa was a powerful, complex society who lived on the shores of the southwest Florida coast. (904) 665-0064. After A.D. 1000, the Calusa began to grow in size and complexity, wielding their military might, trading widely and collecting tribute along those trade routes that extended for hundreds of miles. The chief is said to have entertained the governor in a building so large that it could hold 2000 people in it. [8], The Calusa caught most of their fish with nets. Apart from that, shells are said to have been used by the Calusa to make all sorts of things, including tools, jewelry, utensils, and even spearheads for fishing and hunting. 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. The Calusa used the canals to travel by canoe from their villages and ceremonial centers to coastal trading posts. 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. Historically located in northwest Florida, the Apalachee were allied with the Spanish, but maintained their autonomy through political and social traditions. What language did the Calusa speak? The Tribes' sovereignty was once again recognized and funding was restored for education, housing and health programs. The Calusa people based most of their diet on seafood. South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Collection. Add an answer. 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. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. Additionally, they had (as their name suggests) a fierce, war-like reputation. The drove back multiple conquistadors and had control of nearby tribes. Milanich, Jerald. How was the Calusa Indian nation organized? [4], Between 500 and 1000, the undecorated, sand-tempered pottery that had been common in the area was replaced by "Belle Glade Plain" pottery. They also cored sediments on and off the island to help describe and date environmental changes during the sites occupation. Before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, Indigenous peoples who lived in the same region developed similar cultural traits based on their shared natural environment. Calusa ceremonies included processions of priests and singing women. The Calusa tribe once numbered around 50,000 people, and Tampa was one of their largest towns. Among other things. 2). they did speacial dances. 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. His status was reflected by his personal adornments, which included a golden headdress and beaded leg bands (Coggin and Sturtevant 1964). They were a very innovative and prosperous tribe, and had a number of traditions that set them apart from other tribes in the area. They had three specific deities that they believed their cacique interpreted for. 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. The Calusa persisted for another century in isolation, but eventually succumbed to slave raids by Creek Indians from the north and exposure to diseases they brought. On that trip, Juan and his mates are said to have been attacked by the Calusa Indians, a large and fearsome group of natives who made their living from the sea. The Tequesta (tuh-KES-tuh) were a small, peaceful, Native American tribe. The Calusa were a Native American tribe that inhabited the southwest coast of Florida. The Penn Museum respectfully acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape. One of the most notable traditions of the Calusa was their use of shell mounds. The Spanish careened one of their ships, and Calusas offered to trade with them. In a feat of organized labor that was also suggestive of their expansive trade network, the Calusa appear to have brought pine wood to the island from elsewhere in Florida to build the dwelling. 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 Calusas as Shell Indians The Calusas are considered to be the first "shell collectors." Shells were discarded into huge heaps. Slaves occupy the lowest level in Calusa society. The Calusa also made fish traps, weirs, and fish corrals from wood and cord. 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. 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. ed. 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. While there is no evidence that the Calusa had institutionalized slavery, studies show they would use captives for work or even sacrifice. The Calusa were a tribe of Native Americans known as the "Shell Indians" and some of the first Floridians. They established a complex, centralized government, constructed a canal system, the beginnings of organized religion, and the creating of many art forms. For a long time, societies that relied on fishing, hunting and gathering were assumed to be less advanced, said Marquardt. The Calusa and their legacy: South Florida people and their environments. Conversion would have destroyed the source of their authority and legitimacy. Credit: Florida Museum of Natural History ). The Calusa people's diet consisted mainly of fish and shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico and its many waterways. Since it seems to be working, many people still believe in the legend. Among most tribes in Florida for which there is documentation, the women wore skirts made of what was later called Spanish moss. Calusa means "fierce people," and they were described as a fierce, war-like people. The archaeologists were surprised to discover the Spanish used a primitive shell concrete known as tabby to stabilize the wall posts of their wooden structures. They began preliminary investigations of the fort, which was located on Mound 2 and housed one of the first Jesuit missions established in the U.S. The courtyard was drained and cleared, exposing house posts, fishing nets, shell tools, bowls and drinking vessels, weapons, canoes, pottery, and extraordinary wooden masks and animal figureheads (Fig. The chief's house was described as having two big windows, suggesting that it had walls. The Calusa kingdom was eventually devastated by European diseases as well as slave raids by enemy tribes. Their territory ranged from Tampa Bay south to the Ten Thousand Islands and as far east as Lake Okeechobee. 5,8,4) traveled this year, in an unprecedented loan of the Key Marco material, to the National Gallery of Art where they were exhibited as part of the Columbian Quincentenary exhibition, Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. These figureheads will be on display in Philadelphia through 1992 in the Main Entrance of The University Museum. Calusa political influence and control also extended over other tribes in southern Florida, including the Mayaimi around Lake Okeechobee, and the Tequesta and Jaega on the southeast coast of the peninsula. Senquene succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. At the time of European contact in the 16th and 17th centuries, the historic Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture. 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. [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. (Cushing was an anthropologist with the Bureau of American Ethnology, and was well known for his pioneering work at Zuni Pueblo.) Certain ceremonies were performed to seal the alliance (and perhaps also as a display of the might of the Calusa), and was witnessed by over 4000 people. 01 Mar 2023 , 3260 South Street
It is believed that Calusa translated to mean "Fierce People". Tabby was later used by the English in their American colonies and in Southern plantations. However, they would suffer the same fate as many of the other Native American tribes. ( Public Domain ). Although the Calusa came to an end, some remains of their achievements can still be seen today. Mollusk shells and shark teeth were used for grating, cutting, carving and engraving. While thousands of Calusa people were enslaved, about 270 people, including Calusa nobles, escaped to the Keys where, after the last raid by the Creeks on May 17, 1760, the surviving 60-70. 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. 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. While archaeologists in Florida have recovered several village sites of Calusa habitation, including burial mounds, shell ridges, canals, and plazas, The University Museums 1896 excavations at Key Marco provided extraordinary clues to our understanding of Calusa ceremonialism and daily life. A Calusa alligator head carved out of wood, excavated at Key Marco in 1895, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. (1993). Milanich, J. T. (2004). Menndez married Carlos' sister, who took the baptismal name Doa Antonia at conversion. Many of them are trying to do this on the Internet. ( Public Domain ). 4 . Many smaller tribes were constantly watching for these marauding warriors. In. 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. The explorers soon became the targets of the Calusa attacks. Field school students brush sand from a tabby wall that might be the outer wall of Fort San Antn de Carlos. Tamara Jager Stewart is the assistant editor of American Archaelogy and the Conservancys Southwest region projects director. 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. They had a reputation from being a fierce, war-like people, especially among European explorers and smaller tribes. By the early 19th century, Anglo-Americans in the area used the term Calusa for the people. They believed in three superior beings, one controlled the weather, the others ruled the welfare of the tribe and warfare. Different tribes had different names for the sport including . Engineering the courts required an intimate understanding of daily and seasonal tides, hydrology and the biology of various fish species, said Thompson. The shell mounds are an example of these remains. 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. While a few Calusa individuals may have stayed behind and been absorbed into the Seminole, no documentation supports that. They were one of the first tribes in South Florida and they settled near Biscayne Bay in the present-day Miami area. Around 1983, Donald found remains (ancient pottery and burial mounds) of Calusa Indians on some of his property, Josslyn Island. While estimates vary, their population probably numbered between 4,000 and 10,000. Some of the survivors were sent to Cuba by the Spanish, while others may have merged with other Floridian Indians and eventually joined the Seminole tribe. To help describe and date environmental changes during the sites occupation them trying. That the answer is their watercourts, which were two stories high, hunting and gathering assumed... 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