It was not conserved and is in poor shape, but it is displayed at the nature center in Marathon. Historic documents say the Calusa then set fire to Mound Key and fled the island, which also prompted the Spanish to leave. 8, 9). The immensity of the kings house, as well as the huge shell mounds and the canals required large amounts of labor and mechanisms to mobilize and to organize that labor that he thinks are indicative of a lower class that worked at the behest of the Calusas elites. Hence, the Calusa are sometimes called the Shell People / Indians. AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. Lucy Fowler Williams is Keeper of Collections for the American Section. The fort is the only Spanish structure built atop a shell mound in Florida. You could hire a shaman and pay for his services. Many smaller tribes were constantly watching for these marauding warriors. Join CJ as he discusses: The origins of the Calusa Their physical description Their society, hierarchy, and religion Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods. Read More. Engineering the courts required an intimate understanding of daily and seasonal tides, hydrology and the biology of various fish species, said Thompson. Southeastern Archaeology, 33(1), 124. 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. 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. The architectural remains of the kings house were relatively easy to find, but difficult to interpret at first, Marquardt said. Marquardt, William H. (2004). Tabby was later used by the English in their American colonies and in Southern plantations. 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. (904) 665-0064. [26], For more than a century after the Avils adventure, there was little contact between the Spanish and Calusa. When Pedro Menndez de Avils visited in 1566, the Calusa served only fish and oysters to the Spanish. Approximate Calusa core area (red) and political domain (blue). The best information about the Calusa comes from the Memoir of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, one of these survivors. [3] Some Archaic artifacts have been found in the region later occupied by the Calusa, including one site classified as early Archaic, and dated prior to 5000 BC. How was the Calusa Indian nation organized? Since it seems to be working, many people still believe in the legend. The people who constructed Fort San Antn de Carlos had to adapt to Mound Keys unique conditions, researchers said. Florida's climate had reached current conditions and the sea had risen close to its present level by about 3000 BC. During Menndez de Avils's visit in 1566, the chief's wife was described as wearing pearls, precious stones and gold beads around her neck. They were one of the first tribes in South Florida and they settled near Biscayne Bay in the present-day Miami area. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? [4], The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. It is believed that Calusa translated to mean "Fierce People". 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. [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. The Calusa (said to mean fierce people ) are a Native American tribe that once inhabited the southwestern coast of Florida. [15], The Calusa wore little clothing. Philadelphia, PA 19104 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. The Calusa and their legacy: South Florida people and their environments. "Calusa". Image by Pat Payne for American Archaeology. The Calusa people based most of their diet on seafood. The University Museum has an exceptional collection of artifacts from the Calusa site at Key Marco, Florida. In April of that year he made landfall and, calling this new territory La Florida, claimed it for the Spanish Crown. Fowler Williams, .Lucy"The Calusa Indians: Maritime Peoples of Florida in the Age of Columbus" Expedition Magazine 33.2 (1991): n. pag. Add an answer. In addition, elaborate rituals with synchronized singing and processions of masked priests were also carried out on that occasion. Instead, they fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. They are a tribe. Study guides. Among other things. These Indians were so unfriendly that this was one of the first tribes that Spanish explorers wrote home about in 1513. 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. By about 500 BC, the Archaic culture, which had been fairly uniform across Florida, began to devolve into more distinct regional cultures. The Calusa Domain. Field school students brush sand from a tabby wall that might be the outer wall of Fort San Antn de Carlos. 9). In a report from 1697, the Spanish noted 16 houses in the Calusa capital of Calos, which had 1,000 residents. See answer (1) Best Answer. 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. Calusa influence may have also extended to the Ais tribe on the central east coast of Florida. At the time of European contact in the 16th and 17th centuries, the historic Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture. The missionaries recognized that having a Calusa man cut his hair upon converting to Christianity (and European style) would be a great sacrifice. 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. Large earthen mounds and ridges, accessed by canals, are believed to have been associated with Calusa ritual. Among most tribes in Florida for which there is documentation, the women wore skirts made of what was later called Spanish moss. Archaeologists have been able to take a closer look at one of the United Kingdoms most famous shipwrecks. 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). Later periods in the Caloosahatchee culture are defined in the archaeological record by the appearance of pottery from other traditions. They also cored sediments on and off the island to help describe and date environmental changes during the sites occupation. Artist's conception of town chief at the Calusa town of Tampa (present day Pineland) (Art by Merald Clark.) Dominican missionaries reached the Calusa domain in 1549 but withdrew because of the hostility of the tribe. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2004. Each human had three souls, present in his shadow, his reflection in water and in the pupil of his eye. 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. 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. Unlike other Indian tribes, the Calusa did not make many. Calusa Religion Birdseye View of Calusa The sun deity appears to have been a universal creator. 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. They left 1,700 behind. We could not anticipate the extraordinary preservation of organic materials down below the water table, Marquardt noted. He struck an uneasy peace with their leader Caluus, or Carlos. Was this German silver mine really defended by two Roman forts and a line of "spike defenses? The Calusa tribe lived along the Gulf Coat and inner waterways; their homes were built on stilts with roofs made from Palmetto leaves; these homes had no walls. 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. 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. 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. This site is believed to have been the capital of the Calusa, as well as its military stronghold and ceremonial center. 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. According to Menendez, in 1566 the town of Calos contained a central mound where special masks were kept and where human sacrifices were made. Their main waterway was the Calooshahatchee River, which means River of the Calusa. Photo source: Moving to Tampa, Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida, 2002. Request Answer. "Well, every indigenous group around the country has its own unique history and and accomplishments, but I guess what has interested archaeologists and anthropologists generally is that the Calusa managed to become very complex, politically complex," said Marquardt. The priests wore carved masks, which were at other times hung on the walls inside a temple. They fished and hunted for their food and would catch things like: mullet, catfish, eels, turtles, deer, conchs, clams, oysters, and crabs. Calusa Protective Spell-Tampa This piece of folklore came from my co-worker, who grew up in Tampa, Florida. The Calusa Indians. By Paul Brinkmann. "The Calusa: A Stratified, Nonagricultural Society (With Notes on Sibling Marriage)." 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. Senquene succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. Different tribes had different names for the sport including . Could we find unequivocal architectural evidence that Mound Key was the Calusa capital town, as had long been suggested? 314 Palmetto Street, Jacksonville 32202. Did the Calusa farm? The Spanish careened one of their ships, and Calusas offered to trade with them. Cushings excavations brought to light at least 23 wooden masks and figureheads. 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