Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. Figuring out how to shore up the walls of wooden buildings using a very early kind of tabby architecture is impressive and represents creative thinking and ingenuity in an unfamiliar and challenging setting, said Marquardt. These Indians controlled most of south Florida. Many Calusa were captured and sold as slaves. Towns throughout south Florida sent tribute to the Calusa king. The other two souls left the body after death and entered into an animal. The men of the Calusa are recorded to have been powerfully built, and let their hair grow long. Field school students brush sand from a tabby wall that might be the outer wall of Fort San Antn de Carlos. 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. The Calusa may have been the only ancient people in North America who established a kingdom without practicing agriculture. [8], The Calusa caught most of their fish with nets. 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. 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). Even at this early date, they were already noted among the tribes for the golden wealth which they had accumulated from the numerous Spanish wrecks cast away upon the Keys in the passage from the south. The Calusa were a Native American tribe that lived hundreds of years ago on the island that is now Mound Key Archaeological State Park. Dominican missionaries reached the Calusa domain in 1549 but withdrew because of the hostility of the tribe. 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. Shell mounds are hills of discarded seashells, which the Calusa created by depositing the shells of marine creatures they had eaten. The Tequesta (tuh-KES-tuh) were a small, peaceful, Native American tribe. The archaeology of the Calusa is important worldwide in that it illustrates the development of very pronounced hierarchy, inequality, monumentality and large-scale infrastructure by hunter-gatherer-fisher societies, said Chris Rodning of Tulane University, who was not involved with this research. Mollusk shells and shark teeth were used for grating, cutting, carving and engraving. 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Salvaged goods and survivors from wrecked Spanish ships reached the Calusa during the 1540s and 1550s. The Calusa are considered to be the first "shell collectors." When Pedro Menndez de Avils visited the capital in 1566, he described the chief's house as large enough to hold 2,000 without crowding, indicating it also served as the council house. 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. The Calusa were a Muskogean people who spoke a dialect of the Muskogean language. The Calusa men were tall and well built with long hair. The Calusa were a Native American people who lived in what is now the southern U.S. state of Florida. They built massive mounds of shells and sand, dug large canals, engineered sophisticated fish corrals, held elaborate ceremonies, created remarkable works of art, such as intricately carved wooden masks and traversed the waters in canoes made from hollowed-out logs. Such hierarchy and inequality are generally characteristics of societies that practice agriculture, he observed. There is evidence that the people intensively exploited Charlotte Harbor aquatic resources before 3500 BC. Its construction is made entirely of shells and clay. Calusa, North American Indian tribe that inhabited the southwest coast of Florida from Tampa Bay to Cape Sable and Cape Florida, together with all the outlying keys. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. 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 Calusa people were an important tribe of Florida. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. The Calusa Indians were originally called the "Calos" which means "Fierce People". [13][11] Artifacts of wood that have been found include bowls, ear ornaments, masks, plaques, "ornamental standards", and a finely carved deer head. Well take a look at a few such legends, including those among the Choctaw and the Comanches of the United States down to the Manta of Peru. 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. The first phase of work included the creation of a detailed topographic map of the island using LiDAR, which gave archaeologists information about its structures and geography. 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. During the 16th century they defended their shores from a succession of Spanish explorers. A diorama of a Calusa chief in the Florida Museum of Natural History. The capital of the Calusa, and where the rulers administered from, was Mound Key, near present day Estero, 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. People began creating fired pottery in Florida by 2000 BC.[3]. It is recorded that in that year, the Calusa chief formed an alliance with the Spanish governor, Menndez de Avils. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world ( Art by Merald Clark. They were the largest and most powerful tribe in Florida at the time of first contact with Europeans. (Public Domain ). However, we can make some estimates based on what we know about their culture and the environment in which they lived. The Calusa. He was also attacked by the Calusa. [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 also made fish traps, weirs, and fish corrals from wood and cord. ), Recommended Books, Videos & Places to Visit. One of the most important ceremonies was the Green Corn Dance, which was held to celebrate the harvest. People commonly occupied both fresh and saltwater wetlands. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Slaves occupy the lowest level in Calusa society. One illustration of the sophistication of the Calusa can be found in eyewitness accounts of an event in 1566. You will be redirected to the LC Catalog start page shortly, or continue by clicking the following link: LC Catalog Although the Calusa tribe was once extremely powerful (defeating the Spanish on numerous occasions) and technologically advanced (building canals . The Calusa relied more on the sea than on agriculture for their livelihood. Because of their reliance on shellfish, they accumulated large shell middens during this period. The missionaries recognized that having a Calusa man cut his hair upon converting to Christianity (and European style) would be a great sacrifice. They made a type of flatbread called tortillas, which they ate with their meals. In 1711, the Spanish helped evacuate 270 Indians, including many Calusa, from the Florida Keys to Cuba (where almost 200 soon died). Warriors killed all the adult men. The Spaniards witnessed elaborate rituals with synchronized singing and processions of masked priests. This article is good but it does not provide any data related to the status of the Calusa people at the first arrival of Spaniards in 1513 leaded by Juan Ponce de Leon, its "discoverer". [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. When the Spanish arrived in Florida in the early 16 th century, the Calusa were already in possession of a complex centralized government. The Calusa also used spears, hooks, and throat gorges to catch fish. When Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain in 1763, the last remnants of the tribes of South Florida went to Cuba. One example of a shell mound can be found at a site known as Mound Key at Estero Bay in Lee County. Their linguistic affiliation is not certain. The Calusa were also known for their artistry. Additionally, it has been suggested that the population of this tribe may have reached 50000 people at one point of time. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The chief's house, and possibly the other houses at Calos, were built on top of earthen mounds. Spanish admiral Pedro Menndez de Avils (1519-1574) by Francisco de Paula Mart (1762-1827) ( Public Domain ). Native Americans enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment in the form of sports, games, music, dance, and festivals. This lasted until about 1750, and included the historic Calusa people. 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. A dozen words for which translations were recorded and 50 or 60 place names form the entire known corpus of the language. That the people intensively exploited Charlotte Harbor aquatic resources before 3500 BC. [ 3 ] the 16! 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