calusa tribe religion

[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. Cushings excavations took place along the coast. 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 archaeologists were surprised to discover the Spanish used a primitive shell concrete known as tabby to stabilize the wall posts of their wooden structures. A diorama of a Calusa chief in the Florida Museum of Natural History. 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. A Calusa alligator head carved out of wood, excavated at Key Marco in 1895, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. New Evidence Shows Humans Were Using Bows and Arrows in 52,000 BC. 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. Study guides. 01 Mar 2023 , 3260 South Street 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.. 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. [17], The Calusa believed that three supernatural people ruled the world, that people had three souls, and that souls migrated to animals after death. The Calusa Indians were descendants of Paleo-Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida approximately 12,000 years ago. After the outbreak of war between Spain and England in 1702, slaving raids by Uchise Creek and Yamasee Indians allied with the Province of Carolina began reaching far down the Florida peninsula. This language was distinct from the languages of the Apalachee, Timucua, Mayaca, and Ais people in central and northern Florida. The Calusa Tribe had a large population and were well-organized. 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. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Most spectacular are 9 carved and painted animal heads, some of which were probably worn as masks or headdresses on ceremonial occasions; others probably functioned as architectural elements. However, no evidence of plant food was found at the Wightman site. It seems a sad demise for such a powerful . 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. The drove back multiple conquistadors and had control of nearby tribes. Marquardt, W. H. (2014). After Spain ceded Florida to the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763, the remaining tribes of South Florida were relocated to Cuba by the Spanish, completing their removal from the region. At some point of time in their history, this tribe discovered that there was a wealth of fish in the waters, and began to exploit this resource. While there is no evidence that the Calusa had institutionalized slavery, studies show they would use captives for work or even sacrifice. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. 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. [15], The Calusa wore little clothing. "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. Their territory ranged from Tampa Bay south to the Ten Thousand Islands and as far east as Lake Okeechobee. support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages. Favored sites were likely occupied for multiple generations. South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Collection. [16], Ceremonial or otherwise artistic masks have been discovered and were previously described by the Spanish who first encountered the Calusa. By Paul Brinkmann. Undecorated pottery belonging to the early Glades culture appeared in the region around 500 BC. Historically located in northwest Florida, the Apalachee were allied with the Spanish, but maintained their autonomy through political and social traditions. The explorers soon became the targets of the Calusa attacks. The missionaries recognized that having a Calusa man cut his hair upon converting to Christianity (and European style) would be a great sacrifice. Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages? Spanish admiral Pedro Menndez de Avils (1519-1574) by Francisco de Paula Mart (1762-1827) ( Public Domain ). Little was recorded of jewelry or other ornamentation among the Calusa. The Calusa may have been the only ancient people in North America who established a kingdom without practicing agriculture. "Calusa". Could we find unequivocal architectural evidence that Mound Key was the Calusa capital town, as had long been suggested? Reagan restored the Tribes to federal recognition by signing Public Law 98-481. He was also attacked by the Calusa. Shells and clay were used by the Calusa to create the foundation of their cities. Mollusk shells and shark teeth were used for grating, cutting, carving and engraving. The chief organized warfare and possessed special and traditional religious knowledge. Among most tribes in Florida for which there is documentation, the women wore skirts made of what was later called Spanish moss. For the purposes of this research project I will compare and contrast three specific categories for each tribe in order to show how they were either similar or different from one another. 314 Palmetto Street, Jacksonville 32202. The Calusa are said to have been a socially complex and politically powerful tribe, and most of southern Florida was controlled by them. At the time of European contact in the 16th and 17th centuries, the historic Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture. The priests wore carved masks, which were at other times hung on the walls inside a temple. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world ( Art by Merald Clark. 9). The Calusa artifacts discovered on Marco Island date from 300 AD to 1500 AD, prior to European contact in Florida. Fontaneda was shipwrecked on the east coast of Florida, likely in the Florida Keys, about 1550, when he was thirteen years old. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. Additionally, it has been suggested that the population of this tribe may have reached 50000 people at one point of time. Marquardt, William H. (2004). Milanich, Jerald. Senquene succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. 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. Many of them are trying to do this on the Internet. 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. The Tribes' sovereignty was once again recognized and funding was restored for education, housing and health programs. The chief's house, and possibly the other houses at Calos, were built on top of earthen mounds. One of the most popular Native American sports was lacrosse. Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Len landed on the east coast of Florida and . In April of that year he made landfall and, calling this new territory La Florida, claimed it for the Spanish Crown. Office: Old St. Luke's Hospital. 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. [Online]Available at: http://www.calusalandtrust.org/who_were_the_calusa/who_were_the_calusa.htm, Ripley, K., 2016. By interceding with these spirits, it was believed that the chief was ensuring that his people would be well-supplied by the land. 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. You could hire a shaman and pay for his services. 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. Calusa territory reached from Charlotte Harbor to Cape Sable, all of present-day Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties, and may have included the Florida Keys at times. As for the southern region, my focus was on the Calusa Indians from the south-western Florida peninsula area. The men wore their hair long. 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 built many villages at the mouth of the Miami River and along the coastal islands. The shell mounds are an example of these remains. [19], Little is known of the language of the Calusa. -written by Glenn Emery. 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. Since it seems to be working, many people still believe in the legend. The next day 80 "shielded" canoes attacked the Spanish ships, but the battle was inconclusive. They had the highest population density of South Florida; estimates of total population at the time of European contact range from 10,000 to several times that, but these are speculative. Although he did not know much about the history of the Calusa Indians, what he did know was the legend in Tampa that the Calusa Indians cast a spell to keep them safe. The Jews are not a race. Those excavations revealed rarely preserved objects of wood, such as masks, figureheads, bowls, and tools, which survived because of the wet environment. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? One is left only to imagine how lifelike these wooden figureheads must have appeared when used on ceremonial occasions. Return to American Indians for Children Each human had three souls, present in his shadow, his reflection in water and in the pupil of his eye. Typical Women's Work. For a long time, societies that relied on fishing, hunting and gathering were assumed to be less advanced, said Marquardt. Fish stored in the watercourts likely fed the workers who built the massive palace. Fowler Williams, .Lucy"The Calusa Indians: Maritime Peoples of Florida in the Age of Columbus" Expedition Magazine 33.2 (1991): n. pag. The National Geographic has reported that archaeologists have discovered an ancient Native American kings house in Florida. Native American art,