calusa tribe religion

The Calusa used wooden dugout canoes to aid them in fishing and for transport. Their territory ranged from Tampa Bay south to the Ten Thousand Islands and as far east as Lake Okeechobee. It's also rich with the history and culture of the Calusa Indians, the Native Americans who preceded us, even if their footprints are a bit blurry. The Calusa built their entire way of life around the ocean and estuaries of the Gulf Coast, creating a vast empire by learning to manipulate their environment. Mudlarker Finds Bronze Age Shoe on a UK Riverbank Dated 2,800 Years Old! 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. The Calusa people's diet consisted mainly of fish and shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico and its many waterways. These Indians were so unfriendly that this was one of the first tribes that Spanish explorers wrote home about in 1513. Milanich, Jerald. The Spanish reported that the chief was expected to take his sister as one of his wives. 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. We began with a basic set of questions, said Marquardt. All his subjects had to obey his commands. 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. In 1521 Ponce de Len returned to southwest Florida to plant a colony, but the Calusa drove the Spanish out, mortally wounding Ponce de Len. Expedition Magazine. 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. Historic documents say the Calusa then set fire to Mound Key and fled the island, which also prompted the Spanish to leave. They were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. There was little change in the pottery tradition after this. 2014-05-02 14:51:47. Calusa v. Iroquois: Religious Beliefs. Senquene succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. The men and boys of the tribe made nets from palm tree webbing to catch mullet, pinfish, pigfish, and catfish. Ravaged by new infectious diseases introduced to the Americas by European contact and by the slaving raids, the surviving Calusa retreated south and east. The shell mounds are an example of these remains. 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. Native Americans enjoyed a wide variety of entertainment in the form of sports, games, music, dance, and festivals. What was the calusa Indians religion? [Online]Available at: http://www.sanibelhistory.org/calusa_history.htm, Wu Mingren (Dhwty) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. The Calusa and their legacy: South Florida people and their environments. By the early 19th century, Anglo-Americans in the area used the term Calusa for the people. Pine tree legends /* 728x15 link ad */ The Calusas as Shell Indians The Calusas are considered to be the first "shell collectors." Shells were discarded into huge heaps. [23], The Pnfilo de Narvez expedition of 1528 and the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1539 both landed in the vicinity of Tampa Bay, north of the Calusa domain. 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. 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. [1], Early Spanish and French sources referred to the tribe, its chief town, and its chief as Calos, Calus, Caalus, and Carlos. In 1517 Francisco Hernndez de Crdoba landed in southwest Florida on his return voyage from discovering the Yucatn. 4-8). Archaeology, 57(5), 4650. For hundreds of years, the Calusa built a society that had its own government, a religion, and adaptation to the environment that is quite impressive. The Calusa were a Native American tribe that inhabited the southwest coast of Florida. It is recorded that in that year, the Calusa chief formed an alliance with the Spanish governor, Menndez de Avils. This is still a popular sport today. (1964). One example of a shell mound can be found at a site known as Mound Key at Estero Bay in Lee County. Although we cannot be sure what values the masks and animal figureheads held for the Calusa, they may have been markers of clan affiliation, and the animals represented most likely played important roles in Calusa mythology and religion. Cord was also made from cabbage palm leaves, saw palmetto trunks, Spanish moss, false sisal (Agave decipiens) and the bark of cypress and willow trees. Researchers have previously hypothesized the watercourts were designed to hold fish, but this was the first attempt to study the structures systematically, including when they were built and how that timing correlates with other Calusa construction projects, Marquardt said. We do not fully understand the complexities of what happened to them. "Calusa". 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. A Calusa alligator head carved out of wood, excavated at Key Marco in 1895, on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Montauk They believed in three superior beings, one controlled the weather, the others ruled the welfare of the tribe and warfare. The Calusa artifacts discovered on Marco Island date from 300 AD to 1500 AD, prior to European contact in Florida. Little is known about Calusa religion. //-->. He struck an uneasy peace with their leader Caluus, or Carlos. And, although some of Cushings ideas about the Indians he had discovered and their relationship to tribes in the Caribbean and South America have not remained popular among scholars, his descriptive notes and insights are of unquestionable value. 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. 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.. They also claimed authority over the tribes of the east coast, north to about Cape Canaveral. [14], The Calusa lived in large, communal houses which were two stories high. [15], The Calusa wore little clothing. Each human had three souls, present in his shadow, his reflection in water and in the pupil of his eye. Granberry has provided an inventory of phonemes to the sounds of the Calusa language.[22][21]. 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. 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. The Calusa kingdom had an estimated 20,000 people and ranks among the most politically complex groups of hunter-gatherers of the historic world. The Legend of the Calusa Many people believe that the Calusa made a trip to Cuba in their canoes and traded with the Mayans. The Calusa painted their bodies on a regular basis, but there was no report of tattooing among them. The Calusa were one of the few tribes known to be shell collectors. Are there any Calusa people left? Many smaller tribes were constantly watching for these marauding warriors. Their gods were living all around them. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world (Art by Merald Clark.) [4], The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. Each human had three souls, present in his shadow, his reflection in water and in the pupil of his eye. They also cored sediments on and off the island to help describe and date environmental changes during the sites occupation. A dozen words for which translations were recorded and 50 or 60 place names form the entire known corpus of the language. Calusa beliefs included a trinity of governing spirits. [24][25], In 1566 Pedro Menndez de Avils, founder of St. Augustine, made contact with the Calusa. 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. Wiki User. Conversion would have destroyed the source of their authority and legitimacy. By the 1700s though, the Tequesta people had disappeared. The Shell People. 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. The Calusa: "The Shell Indians". 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. It is why we were ashamed of Bernie Madoff. In. Artifacts related to fishing changed slowly over this period, with no obvious breaks in tradition that might indicate a replacement of the population. The Calusa are said to have been a socially complex and politically powerful tribe, and most of southern Florida was controlled by them. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. The Spanish were used to dealing with natives who farmed and who provided the Spanish with some of their food. The Calusa used the canals to travel by canoe from their villages and ceremonial centers to coastal trading posts. The Calusa were a tribe of Native Americans known as the "Shell Indians" and some of the first Floridians. 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. One illustration of the sophistication of the Calusa can be found in eyewitness accounts of an event in 1566. This tribe of Indians controlled most of Southwest Florida and created an elaborate network of canals, homes, and government. Many Calusa are said to have been captured and sold as slaves. The archaeologists recovered seeds, wood, palm-fiber cordage that likely came from Calusa fishing nets and even fish scales from the waterlogged levels. -written by Glenn Emery. The Franciscans established a mission there in the late 17th century, but the Calusa evicted them after a few months time. Be notified when an answer is posted. These small fish were supplemented by larger bony fish, sharks and rays, mollusks, crustaceans, ducks, sea turtles and land turtles, and land animals. Pottery distinct from the Glades tradition developed in the region around AD 500, marking the beginning of the Caloosahatchee culture. 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. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. According to these accounts, the Calusa had a head chief named Carlos who lived in Calos and received tribute from surrounding villages. It has been speculatively identified as Calusa in origin. Radiocarbon dating of carbonized wood, a deer bone and a shell verified the forts mid-16th-century date. Many of them are trying to do this on the Internet. The Calusa Indians did not farm like the other Indian tribes in Florida. 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. In 1954 a dugout canoe was found during excavation for a middle school in Marathon, Florida. The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. The Calusa, who had no immunity against such illnesses, were wiped out in large numbers. This now makes three southwest Florida sites with wet-site preservation of such items as wood, cordage and netting: the Pineland Site Complex, Key Marco and now Mound Key.. In addition, elaborate rituals with synchronized singing and processions of masked priests were also carried out on that occasion. Large earthen mounds and ridges, accessed by canals, are believed to have been associated with Calusa ritual. The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. [Online]Available at: https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/sflarch/research/calusa-domain/, floridahistory.org, 2016. Milanich, J. T. (2004). The Calusa case also illustrates remarkably sophisticated engagements with, and long-term large-scale management of, coastal and estuarine environments.. They formerly held the southwest coast from about Tampa Bay to Cape Sable and Cape Florida, together with all the outlying keys, and extending inland to Lake Okeechobee. Fontaneda lived with various tribes in southern Florida for the next seventeen years before being found by the Menendez de Avils expedition. It's one of Florida's most popular destinations for its turquoise coast and laid-back vibe. 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). The other two souls left the body after death and entered into an animal. The Calusa Indians were descendants of Paleo-Indians who inhabited Southwest Florida approximately 12,000 years ago. 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. By interceding with these spirits, it was believed that the chief was ensuring that his people would be well-supplied by the land. The women were responsible for work around the house, like cooking and raising the children. The Penn Museum respectfully acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape. [7], The Calusa diet at settlements along the coast and estuaries consisted primarily of fish, in particular pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), pigfish (redmouth grunt), (Orthopristis chrysoptera) and hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis). They developed a complex culture based on estuarine fisheries rather than agriculture. However, no evidence of plant food was found at the Wightman site. [Online]Available at: http://floridahistory.org/indians.htm, Marquardt, W. H., 2014. When used for fishing or travel from one point to another, these canals must have provided protection from the wind (Blanchard 1989). Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. The Calusa people based most of their diet on seafood. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. . We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. 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. Tabby was later used by the English in their American colonies and in Southern plantations. The canals were maintained until the mid-1700s, when the tribe disappeared from . 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. Mound Key Archaeological State Park is a shell midden mound in the Estero Bay that is estimated to have been inhabited over 2,000 years ago. The men were responsible for work away from the home, like hunting and raiding. Was this German silver mine really defended by two Roman forts and a line of "spike defenses? 1). Directly beneath the chief was the nobility. You could hire a shaman and pay for his services. 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. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:27. 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