calusa tribe religioncalusa tribe religion

According to these accounts, the Calusa had a head chief named Carlos who lived in Calos and received tribute from surrounding villages. 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. At the time of first European contact, the Caloosahatchee culture region formed the core of the Calusa domain. Those excavations revealed rarely preserved objects of wood, such as masks, figureheads, bowls, and tools, which survived because of the wet environment. Ivar the Boneless: Viking Warrior, Ruler and Raider, The Irish Story and Legend of C Chulainn, What is Shambhala? The Calusas were one of the few North American Indian tribes who were ruled by a hereditary king. The Calusa used the canals to travel by canoe from their villages and ceremonial centers to coastal trading posts. Seeing the work of the Calusa in these materials first-hand were really exciting moments for us.. In the wake of conflict and European-borne disease, the Calusa were extinguished by the second half of the 18th century. "Chapter 10. The CalusaPeople of the Estuary. Are there any Calusa people left? Their language was never recorded. "[6] In 1564, according to a Spanish source, the priest was the chief's father, and the military leader was his cousin. It is documented that their power and influence extended over . 2014-05-02 14:51:47. A Calusa /s/ [s] sound is said to range between a /s/ to a // sound. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? Marquardt, William H. (2004). The Calusa Native Americans. What language did the Calusa speak? 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. They built many villages at the mouth of the Miami River and along the coastal islands. 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. This lasted until about 1750, and included the historic Calusa people. Montauk Philadelphia, PA 19104 [8], The Calusa caught most of their fish with nets. Expedition Magazine. The Tequesta Indians were a tribe of eastern Florida, closely connected with the Ais. All his subjects had to obey his commands. Fontaneda was shipwrecked on the east coast of Florida, likely in the Florida Keys, about 1550, when he was thirteen years old. 2013-09-27 21:18:35. "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. 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. Slaves occupy the lowest level in Calusa society. Little is known about Calusa religion. 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. Photograph by Amanda Roberts Thompson, courtesy Florida Museum of Natural History The Calusa also famously resisted colonization and conversion. Missions to the Calusa, edited and translated by John H. Hann. Rituals were believed to link the Calusa to their spirit world ( Art by Merald Clark. But the Spanish not only refused to fight Caalus rivals, they also wanted to convert his people to Catholicism, which eventually led to conflict between the Spanish and the Calusa. To date no one has found a Calusa dugout canoe, but it is speculated that such vessels would have been constructed from cypress or pine, as used by other Florida tribes. The Calusa kingdom had an estimated 20,000 people and ranks among the most politically complex groups of hunter-gatherers of the historic world. [Online]Available at: http://www.sanibelhistory.org/calusa_history.htm, Wu Mingren (Dhwty) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. By about 500 BC, the Archaic culture, which had been fairly uniform across Florida, began to devolve into more distinct regional cultures. "The Calusa: A Stratified, Nonagricultural Society (With Notes on Sibling Marriage)." Many Calusa are said to have been captured and sold as slaves. The Calusa persisted for another century in isolation, but eventually succumbed to slave raids by Creek Indians from the north and exposure to diseases they brought. The Calusa were one of the few tribes known to be shell collectors. The Horsemen of Oyo were legendary warriors who served the Oyo Empire of West Africa. 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. "Calusa". This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 15:27. For a long time, societies that relied on fishing, hunting and gathering were assumed to be less advanced, said Marquardt. By the 1700s though, the Tequesta people had disappeared. Different tribes had different names for the sport including . Uniquely, it was powered by fishing, not farming. The Calusa believed that the three souls were the pupil of a person's eye, his shadow, and his reflection. It's also possible that a few were absorbed into the Seminole tribe. Could we find unequivocal architectural evidence that Mound Key was the Calusa capital town, as had long been suggested? Escampaba may be related to a place named Stapaba, which was identified in the area on an early 16th-century map. What formation processes resulted in the complex of mounds and other features there? The first people to live on the island were the Calusa Native Americans, who were known as a fierce people. The shell mounds are an example of these remains. "They had an established religion. Water World. 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. They had lived in the region since the 3rd century BCE (the late Archaic period of the continent ), and remained for roughly 2,000 years, [1] By the 1800s, most had died as a result of settlement battles, slavery, and disease. You could hire a shaman and pay for his services. (2004). 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. Thegoal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe. Favored sites were likely occupied for multiple generations. [5] A few leaders governed the tribe. Known as the "Shell Indians", the Calusa are . [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. However, archeological digs on Sanibel Island and Useppa Island have revealed evidence that the Calusa did in fact consume wild plants such as cabbage palm, prickly pear, hog plum, acorns, wild papaya, and chili peppers. One of the causes of this was the raids conducted by rival tribes from Georgia and South Carolina. 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. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. By 880, a complex society had developed with high population densities. Calusa means "fierce people," and they were described as a fierce, war-like people. The Calusa had an established religion and practiced human sacrifice, and many temples were found built upon mounds. Map of Calusa territory in Florida. The Calusa may have been the only ancient people in North America who established a kingdom without practicing agriculture. This article first appeared in the magazines fall 2020 issue. The canals were maintained until the mid-1700s, when the tribe disappeared from . Calusa Religion Birdseye View of Calusa The sun deity appears to have been a universal creator. 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. Furthermore, new diseases such as smallpox and measles were introduced into the area by European explorers. Senquene succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. 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). These Indians were so unfriendly that this was one of the first tribes that Spanish explorers wrote home about in 1513. 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 Calusa made bone and shell gauges that they used in net weaving. Illustrated here, the deer, pelican, wolf, alligator, and sea turtle reveal extraordinary realism, delicacy, and gracefulness of formartistic qualities characteristic of Mississippian Period and earlier ceramic, stone, and wood sculpture excavated in the area and at sites further north (Figs. [24][25], In 1566 Pedro Menndez de Avils, founder of St. Augustine, made contact with the Calusa. 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. Carlos was succeeded by his cousin (and brother-in-law) Felipe, who was in turn succeeded by another cousin of Carlos, Pedro. The Caloosahatchee culture inhabited the Florida west coast from Estero Bay to Charlotte Harbor and inland about halfway to Lake Okeechobee, approximately covering what are now Charlotte and Lee counties. There was little change in the pottery tradition after this. The Calusa king initially allied himself with Menendez, hoping to gain an advantage over his rivals elsewhere in the Florida peninsula.. It is clear the Calusa possessed an extraordinary understanding of and sensitivity to their natural environment. They were a very innovative and prosperous tribe, and had a number of traditions that set them apart from other tribes in the area. And to what extent does the occupational and architectural history speak to broader issues of Calusa complexity? [19], Little is known of the language of the Calusa. On that trip, Juan and his mates are said to have been attacked by the Calusa Indians, a large and fearsome group of natives who made their living from the sea. [13][11] Artifacts of wood that have been found include bowls, ear ornaments, masks, plaques, "ornamental standards", and a finely carved deer head. 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. During the Calusa's reign the Florida coastline extended roughly 60 miles further into the Gulf of Mexico. Tabby was an Old World concrete consisting of lime from burned shells mixed with sand, ash, water and broken shells. The first Spanish explorers found that these Indians were not very friendly. The archaeologists recovered seeds, wood, palm-fiber cordage that likely came from Calusa fishing nets and even fish scales from the waterlogged levels. Shells and clay were used by the Calusa to create the foundation of their cities. We do not fully understand the complexities of what happened to them. 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. Their sophistication and fierceness enabled them to resist Spanish domination for some 200 years. Return to American Indians for Children The Calusa king, or head chief, was an absolute ruler. The Carolinan colonists supplied firearms to the Creek and Yemasee, but the Calusa, who had isolated themselves from Europeans, had none. 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. The chief is said to have entertained the governor in a building so large that it could hold 2000 people in it. Conversion would have destroyed the source of their authority and legitimacy. They established a complex, centralized government, constructed a canal system, the beginnings of organized religion, and the creating of many art forms. 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. 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 Calusa and their legacy: South Florida people and their environments. 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. After suffering decimation by disease, the tribe was destroyed by Creek and Yamasee raiders early in the 18th century. When the Spanish arrived in Florida in the early 16 th century, the Calusa were already in possession of a complex centralized government. 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. The Franciscans established a mission there in the late 17th century, but the Calusa evicted them after a few months time. A new tribe that entered Florida either from the islands or the north at the start of the Christian Era, the Calusa dominated South Florida with their statute, skills, and brutality. Penn Museum, 1991 Web. Since the soft limestone that surrounded them was unfitting for tool and weapon production, they decided to use shells, wood, fish teeth, and bone for tools. The Calusa resisted physical encroachment and spiritual conversion by the Spanish and their missionaries for almost 200 years. We could not anticipate the extraordinary preservation of organic materials down below the water table, Marquardt noted. The mission was closed after only a few months. In addition, elaborate rituals with synchronized singing and processions of masked priests were also carried out on that occasion. In 1763, Spain ceded Florida to England and surviving Calusas were taken to Cuba. 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. 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