( Public Domain ), Featured image: Calusa people fishing. The soul in the eye's pupil stayed with the body after death, and the Calusa would consult with that soul at the graveside. As for the southern region, my focus was on the Calusa Indians from the south-western Florida peninsula area. We could not anticipate the extraordinary preservation of organic materials down below the water table, Marquardt noted. The shell mounds are an example of these remains. 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. ( Public Domain ). The missionaries recognized that having a Calusa man cut his hair upon converting to Christianity (and European style) would be a great sacrifice. Florida Museum artifact photos by Jeff Gage. The Calusa knew of the Spanish before this landing, however, as they had taken in Native American refugees from the Spanish subjugation of Cuba. [8], Some authors have argued that the Calusa cultivated maize and Zamia integrifolia (coontie) for food. There are probably people of Calusa descent still alive today. MacMahon, Darcie A. and William H. Marquardt. The Calusa were descended from people who had lived in the area for at least 1,000 years prior to European contact, and possibly for much longer than that. 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. This change may have resulted from the people's migration from the interior to the coastal region, or may reflect trade and cultural influences. THE CALUSA INDIANS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. 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. The Calusa Domain. Diseases would ravage their population and force . This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:27. The canals were maintained until the mid-1700s, when the tribe disappeared from . 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. The Calusa Indians did not farm like the other Indian tribes in Florida. A Calusa /s/ [s] sound is said to range between a /s/ to a // sound. Then, two things happened: either Chaos or Gaia created the universe as we know it, or Ouranos and Tethys gave birth to the first beings. It is documented that their power and influence extended over . Cushings knowledge of American Indian culture, and specifically his experiences at Zuni Pueblo, helped him make rapid judgments about objects which in many cases were disintegrating before him. Radiocarbon dating of carbonized wood, a deer bone and a shell verified the forts mid-16th-century date. Artist's conception of town chief at the Calusa town of Tampa (present day Pineland) (Art by Merald Clark.) The lifestyle of the Calusa was leisurely, and they enjoyed numerous celebrations and feasts, many of which were connected to religious ceremonies at which lavish meals were prepared. Well-preserved nets, net floats, and hooks were found at Key Marco, in the territory of the neighboring Muspa tribe. Milanich, Jerald. (Public Domain ). Because of their reliance on shellfish, they accumulated large shell middens during this period. The two forms together may have indicated his transformation (Figs. [16], Ceremonial or otherwise artistic masks have been discovered and were previously described by the Spanish who first encountered the Calusa. 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. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. The men wore deerskin breechcloths. Calusa Protective Spell-Tampa This piece of folklore came from my co-worker, who grew up in Tampa, Florida. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? The temple mounds, built by what must have been a well-organized work force, measured up to 30 feet high and were often topped with buildings of wood and thatch entered only by the elite. In several cases where the waterlogged objects dried and disintegrated into unrecognizable forms, the paintings and photographs provide the only surviving record (see Fig. Man in Peru Caught Out Drinking With an 800-year-old Mummy! Understanding the Mysterious Kingdom of Shambhala, Dont Cross the Kobolds: Mischievous Spirits of European Folklore, The Curious Apparitions of Pagan Goddesses to the German Knights Templar, The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend Part I, The Gristhorpe Man: A Bronze Age Skeleton with a Story to Tell, The Origins of Human Language: One of the Hardest Problems in Science, Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System, A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire. A variety of carving tools were also recovered. Five friars who stayed in the chief's house in 1697 complained that the roof let in the rain, sun and dew. At least three of the animal figureheads were found in close association with wooden humanlike masks which Cushing understood to represent the human form of that animal. The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Photo by Alina Zienowicz . The Calusa Indians were descendants of Paleo-Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida approximately 12,000 years ago. 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. "[6] In 1564, according to a Spanish source, the priest was the chief's father, and the military leader was his cousin. 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. South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, South Florida Archaeology & Ethnography Collection. The watercolors illustrate the blue, black, gray, and brownish-red pigments found on many of the wooden specimens. Missions to the Calusa, edited and translated by John H. Hann. The men wore their hair long. 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.. Marquardt quotes a statement from the 1570s that "the Bay of Carlos in the Indian language is called Escampaba, for the cacique of this town, who afterward called himself Carlos in devotion to the Emperor" (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor). Archaeology, 57(5), 4650. The Calusa (/klus/ k-LOO-s) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Office: Old St. Luke's Hospital. They were occupying this land and engaging in commerce, culture, religion, politics and family life . In. 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". The first people to live on the island were the Calusa Native Americans, who were known as a fierce people. At the top of the hierarchy was the chief, who had control over the life and death of his subjects, and was believed to have the ability to communicate with the spirits. 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. Index of Indigenous languages Florida of the Indians. Such hierarchy and inequality are generally characteristics of societies that practice agriculture, he observed. [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. It seems clear that while the Spaniards wanted strategic control of the region, the Calusa territory provided them with little economic incentive for serious pursuit; they and other Europeans explored more promising regions to the north. The Calusa used the canals to travel by canoe from their villages and ceremonial centers to coastal trading posts. On Key Marco, among numerous mounds and ridges of earth and shell, he discovered a courtyard submerged in mud and bound by walls of conch shells. Calusa v. Iroquois: Religious Beliefs. 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). Return to American Indians for Children 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. The Calusa people based most of their diet on seafood. 314 Palmetto Street, Jacksonville 32202. 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. 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 heir of the chief wore gold in an ornament on his forehead and beads on his legs. Rogel also stated that the chief's name was Caalus, and that the Spanish had changed it to Carlos. The chief had many wives: one principal wife and others given to him by surrounding villages. Little is known about Calusa religion. Tamara Jager Stewart is the assistant editor of American Archaelogy and the Conservancys Southwest region projects director. Cushings excavations took place along the coast. Julian Granberry has suggested that the Calusa language was related to the Tunica language of the lower Mississippi River Valley. Ivar the Boneless was likely the son of legendary Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok, and raided alongside his father and brothers, eventually becoming ruler of York in England in the 9th century AD. Hence, the Calusa are sometimes called the Shell People / Indians. The other two souls left the body after death and entered into an animal. Ivar the Boneless: Viking Warrior, Ruler and Raider, The Irish Story and Legend of C Chulainn, What is Shambhala? The story of the Calusa during the Spanish occupation of La Florida is a complicated one, said Thompson. Tracking the Calusa: A Retrospective. The Calusa kingdom had an estimated 20,000 people and ranks among the most politically complex groups of hunter-gatherers of the historic world. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. [19], Little is known of the language of the Calusa. [4], The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. The Calusa are said to have been a socially complex and politically powerful tribe, and most of southern Florida was controlled by them. Senquene succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Len landed on the east coast of Florida and . Dominican missionaries reached the Calusa domain in 1549 but withdrew because of the hostility of the tribe. Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages? The Caloosahatchee Region". ed. By the early 1600s the Calusa returned to Mound Key and reestablished their capital. 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. Though eschewing agriculture once. The rich and relatively stable coastal ecology of southwest Florida provided an abundance of marine lifenumerous kinds of fish, shellfish, and sea mammalsthat was capable of supporting a large human population. 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. [20][21], A few vocabulary examples from Granberry's work are listed below:[22]. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world (Art by Merald Clark.) "Florida Indians of Past and Present", in Carson, Ruby Leach and, Goggin, John M., and William C. Sturtevant. Fontaneda lived with various tribes in southern Florida for the next seventeen years before being found by the Menendez de Avils expedition. Shells and clay were used by the Calusa to create the foundation of their cities. The Calusa remained committed to their belief system despite Spanish attempts to convert them to Catholicism. 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. Tabby was later used by the English in their American colonies and in Southern plantations. But our work over the past 35 years has shown the Calusa developed a politically complex society with sophisticated architecture, religion, a military, specialists, long-distance trade and social ranking all without being farmers.. Native Americans enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment in the form of sports, games, music, dance, and festivals. 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. The Calusa also used spears, hooks, and throat gorges to catch fish. Undecorated pottery belonging to the early Glades culture appeared in the region around 500 BC. Carlos was succeeded by his cousin (and brother-in-law) Felipe, who was in turn succeeded by another cousin of Carlos, Pedro. 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 priests wore carved masks, which were at other times hung on the walls inside a temple. Reagan restored the Tribes to federal recognition by signing Public Law 98-481. Their immune systems lacked antibodies to fight off European diseases. 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. When the chief formally received Menndez in his house, the chief sat on a raised seat surrounded by 500 of his principal men, while his sister-wife sat on another raised seat surrounded by 500 women. This was made with clay containing spicules from freshwater sponges (Spongilla), and it first appeared inland in sites around Lake Okeechobee. When combined with historical and archaeological documentation, Cushings finds from Key Marco teach us about the Calusa Indians around the time of contact. There was little change in the pottery tradition after this. The Franciscans established a mission there in the late 17th century, but the Calusa evicted them after a few months time. The Legend of the Calusa Many people believe that the Calusa made a trip to Cuba in their canoes and traded with the Mayans. Historically located in northwest Florida, the Apalachee were allied with the Spanish, but maintained their autonomy through political and social traditions. In 1987, the Tribe approved a constitution and began to lay the groundwork for a self-sufficiency plan. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Little is known about Calusa religion. They were a very innovative and prosperous tribe, and had a number of traditions that set them apart from other tribes in the area. Calusa beliefs included a trinity of governing spirits. Penn Museum 2023 Report Web Accessibility Issues and Get Help / Contact / Copyright / Disclaimer / Privacy /, Report Web Accessibility Issues and Get Help. In 1569, just three years after the Spanish fort was built, the Calusa attacked a Spanish supply ship, prompting more violence. They were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. 2). It seems a sad demise for such a powerful . [28] Cuban fishing camps (ranchos) operated along the southwest Florida coast from the 18th century into the middle of the 19th century. The Calusa tribe once numbered around 50,000 people, and Tampa was one of their largest towns. Additionally, it has been pointed out that tribute was sent to this chief from other tribes in south Florida. 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