Approximate Calusa core area (red) and political domain (blue)

The Calusa, sometimes spelled Caloosa, Calos, Carlos or Caalus^[1], were a Native American group that lived on the coast and along the inner waterways of Florida's southwest coast. At the time of European contact, the Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture. Calusa territory reached from Charlotte Harbor to Cape Sable, and may have included the Florida Keys at times. Calusa influence and control also extended over other tribes in southern Florida, including the Mayaimis around Lake Mayaimi (now Lake Okeechobee), and the Tequestas and Jaegas on the southeast coast of the peninsula. Calusa influence may have also extended to the Ais tribe on the central east coast of Florida. Calusa is pronounced "ka LOOS a". The name was reported to mean "fierce people".^[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Caloosahatchee culture is an archaeological culture on the southwest Gulf coast of Florida that lasted from about 500 to 1750. ... Estuary mouth Charlotte Harbor Estuary is a natural estuary spanning the west coast west coast of Florida from Venice to Bonita Springs to Winter Haven, Florida on the Gulf of Mexico and is one of the most productive wetlands in Florida. ... Cape Sable, Florida is the southern most point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. ... Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. ... Approximate territory of the Mayaimi tribe The Mayaimis were a tribe of Native Americans who lived around Lake Okeechobee in Florida from the beginning of the Common Era until the 17th or 18th Century. ... Lake Okeechobee from space, September 1988 View of Lake Okeechobee from Pahokee. ... Approximate territory of the Tequesta in the 16th Century The Tequesta, Tekesta, Tegesta or Chequesta Native American tribe, at the time of first European contact, occupied an area along the Atlantic coast of Florida in what are now Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. ... Approximate territory of the Jaega tribe in the late 17th Century The Jaegas were a tribe of Native Americans living along the coast of present-day Martin County and Palm Beach County, Florida at the time of initial European contact, and until sometime in the 18th Century. ... The Ais, or Ays were a tribe of Native Americans that inhabited the Atlantic Coast of Florida. ...

Origins

A culture dependent on fishing existed on the lower Gulf coast of Florida from approximately 6000 years ago. Artifacts related to fishing changed slowly over this period, with no obvious breaks in tradition that might indicate a replacement of the population. Between 500 and 1000 the undecorated sand-tempered pottery that had been common in the area was replaced by "Belle Glade Plain" pottery, which was made with clay containing spicules from fresh water sponges, and which first appeared inland in sites around Lake Okeechobee. This change may have resulted from migration from the interior to the coastal region, or may reflect trade and cultural influence. There was little change in the pottery tradition after this. The Calusa were descended from people who had lived in the area for at least 1000 years prior to European contact, and possibly for much longer than that.^[3] In archaeology, culture refers to either of two separate but allied concepts: An archaeological culture is a pattern of similar artefacts and features found within a specific area over a limited period of time. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... Spicules Spicules are skeletal structures that occur in most sponges. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... For other uses, see Sponge (disambiguation). ... Lake Okeechobee from space, September 1988 View of Lake Okeechobee from Pahokee. ...

Calusa society

The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. A few leaders governed the tribe, and were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. The leaders included the tribal chief, or "king", a military leader, and a chief priest. In 1564, according to a Spanish source, the priest was the chief's father, and the military leader was his cousin. The chief was usually succeeded by his son. The Spanish reported that the chief was expected to marry his sister, although MacMahon and Marquardt suggest this may have been a misunderstanding of a requirement to marry a "clan-sister". The chief also married women from subject towns and allied tribes.^[4]

Diet

The Calusa did not cultivate maize, but probably did raise squash, gourds, chili peppers and papayas in small gardens. Their diet consisted primarily of seafood from the coastal estuaries. Small fish, such as pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) and catfish were the basis of their diet, but grunt, mullet, sheepshead, seatrout, redfish, grouper, snapper, snook and sharks were also taken. Shellfish in the Calusa diet included oysters, clams, whelks and conchs. The Calusa also consumed deer, turtle and duck. Seals were taken, but were reserved for the "nobles". Wild plants in their diet included hog plum (Ximenia americana), false-mastic (Mastichodendron foetidissimum, saw palmetto, cabbage palm, cocoplum, seagrape, pond-apple, acorns, goosefoot, shoreline purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum), prickly pear cactus fruit, wild grape, hackberry, water lily, and various rhizomes and tubers.^[5] This article is about the maize plant. ... Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Chili. ... Binomial name Carica papaya L. The papaya (from Carib via Spanish), is the fruit of the tree Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. ... For other meanings, see Estuary (disambiguation) Rio de la Plata estuary An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. ... Genera Archosargus- Sheepshead porgies Argyrozona Boops Calamus Chrysophrys Dentex Diplodus- Spottail porgies Lagodon- Pinfishes Lithognathus Mylio Oblada Pagellus Pagrus Puntazzo Sarpa Sparus Spondyliosoma Stenotomus The Sparidae is a family of fish, included in the order Perciformes. ... This article is about the siluriform catfishes; for the Atlantic catfish, see Seawolf (fish); for other uses, see Catfish (disambiguation). ... Genera See text. ... Genera Agonostomus Aldrichetta Cestraeus Cahaenomugil Chelon Crenimugil Joturus Liza Moolgarda Mugil Myxus Neomyxus Oedalechilus Rhinomugil Sicamugil Valaomugil Xenomugil The mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water also. ... Binomial name Archosargus probatocephalus Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) is a marine fish that grows to 30 in (760 mm), are deep and compressed in body shape with 5 to 6 dark bars on the side of the body over a gray background. ... Binomial name Cynoscion nebulosus Unknown, 0 The Spotted Seatrout is a common estuary fish found in the southern United States. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1766) The red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), also known as channel bass, redfish, puppy drum or just red, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. ... Genera Acanthistius Alphestes Anyperidon Caprodon Cephalopholis Cromileptes Dermatolepis Epinephelus Gonioplectrus Gracila HypoplectrodesLiopropoma Mycteroperca Niphon Paranthias Plectropomus Saloptia Triso Variola For the computer program, see Grouper (Windows application). ... Genera Aphareus Aprion Apsilus Etelis Hemilutjanus Hoplopagrus Lipocheilus Lutjanus Macolor Ocyurus Paracaesio Pinjalo Pristipomoides Randallichthys Rhomboplites Symphorus Snapper can also refer to the Snapping turtle. ... Binomial name Centropomus undecimalis ( Bloch, 1792) The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a species of marine fish in family Centropomidae of order Perciformes. ... For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Oyster (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Clam (disambiguation). ... A whelk is a large marine gastropod (snail) found in temperate waters. ... Species Strombus gigas Strombus luhuanus Strombus pugilis A conch (pronounced in the U.S.A. as konk or conch(IPA: ) [1] is a sea-dwelling mollusk. ... This article is about the ruminant animal. ... For other uses, see Turtle (disambiguation). ... Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Aythyinae Merginae Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. ... Binomial name Monachus tropicalis (Gray, 1850) The Caribbean Monk Seal or West Indian Monk Seal (Monachus tropicalis), the only seal ever known to be native to the Caribbean sea and the Gulf of Mexico, is now considered extinct. ... Ximenia is a genus of plant in family Olacaceae. ... Genera See text Sapotaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to order Ericales. ... Binomial name (Bartram) J.K.Small Serenoa repens, the saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus Serenoa. ... Binomial name Sabal palmetto (Walt. ... Binomial name Chrysobalanus icaco (L.) L. The cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco) is a shrub (1 to 3 m) or bushy tree (2 to 6 m, rarely to 10 m) that is found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida. ... Binomial name Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L. The Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera) is a sprawling bush or small tree that is found near sea beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida. ... Binomial name Annona glabra L. The Pond-apple (Annona glabra) is a tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the Soursop and Cherimoya. ... For other uses, see Acorn (disambiguation). ... species See text Chenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants, known generically as the Goosefoots. ... Species Some 250, see also Example species. ... Categories: Stub | Fruit | Grape varieties ... Species About 60-70 species including: Celtis australis - European Hackberry Celtis bungeana Bunges Hackberry Celtis caucasica - Caucasian Hackberry Celtis labilis - Hubei Hackberry Celtis koraiensis - Korean Hackberry Celtis jessoensis - Japanese Hackberry Celtis laevigata - Southern Hackberry Celtis occidentalis - Common hackberry Celtis reticulata - Netleaf hackberry Celtis sinensis - Chinese Hackberry Celtis tenuifolia - Georgia... Nymphaeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. ... For other uses, see Rhizome (disambiguation). ... For fungal genus, see tuber (genus). ...

Although shellfish were a relatively minor component in the Calusa diet, shell middens and shell mounds of large size are found throughout their territory. Such mounds can still be seen on Mound Key in Estero Bay, on Dismal Key in the Ten Thousand Islands, near Fort Myers and near Everglades City, Florida. A midden, also known as kitchen middens, is a dump for domestic waste. ... Mound Key Archeological State Park is a Florida State Park, located in Estero Bay, near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. ... Estero Bay, Florida, is an estuary located on the west coast of the state southeast of Fort Myers Beach. ... Dismal Key is a small island, part of the Ten Thousand Islands archipelago in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. ... The Ten Thousand Islands are located near the southern end of the Florida peninsula on the Gulf coast. ... Fort Myers is the county seatGR6 and commercial center of Lee County, Florida. ... Everglades (also known as Everglades City) is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. ...

Tools

The Calusa caught most of their fish with nets. Nets were woven with a standard mesh size; nets with different mesh sizes were used seasonally to catch the most abundant and useful fish available. The Calusa also used spears, hooks, and throat gorges to catch fish. Well-preserved nets, net floats and hooks were found at Key Marco, in the territory of the neighboring Muspa tribe.^[6] Net or netting is any textile in which the warp and weft yarns are looped or knotted at their intersections, resulting in a fabric with large open spaces between the yarns. ... For other uses, see Mesh (disambiguation). ... A Variety of Fish Hooks Fish hook used as foundation for artificial fly Fish hooks attached to artificial lures The Fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. ... Key Marco was an archaeological site on Marco Island, Florida excavated in 1896 by Frank Hamilton Cushing of the Smithsonian Institution. ...

The Calusa wove nets from palm-fiber cord. 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.^[7] Binomial name (L.) L. Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) closely resembles its namesake (Usnea, or beard lichen). ... Species Taxodium ascendens - Pond Cypress Taxodium distichum - Bald Cypress Taxodium mucronatum - Montezuma Cypress Taxodium is a genus of one to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae, one of several genera in the family commonly known as cypresses. ... Species About 350, including: Salix acutifolia - Violet Willow Salix alaxensis - Alaska Willow Salix alba - White Willow Salix alpina - Alpine Willow Salix amygdaloides - Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula - Mountain Willow Salix arbusculoides - Littletree Willow Salix arctica - Arctic Willow Salix atrocinerea Salix aurita - Eared Willow Salix babylonica - Peking Willow Salix bakko Salix barrattiana...

Net sinkers have been found in archeological sites. Projectile points of stone have been found, as well as tools of bone, shell, and turtle shell. The Calusa built their homes on stilts without any walls and used woven palmetto leaves for the roofs. A number of wooden objects have been found in Calusa archaeological sites, mainly of cypress and pine. Artifacts of wood that have been found include dugout canoes, bowls, both plain and adorned with carvings of animals, masks, plaques, "ornamental standards," and a finely carved deer head. The plaques were often painted. Palmetto may refer to the following: Two closely related genera of palms: the genus Sabal, containing species such the Dwarf Palmetto and the Sabal palmetto the Saw Palmetto Amtraks Palmetto passenger train. ... Species Taxodium ascendens - Pond Cypress Taxodium distichum - Bald Cypress Taxodium mucronatum - Montezuma Cypress Taxodium is a genus of one to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae, one of several genera in the family commonly known as cypresses. ... For other uses, see Pine (disambiguation). ...

Beliefs

The Calusa believed that three supernatural persons ruled the world, that people had three souls, and that souls migrated to animals after death. 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. The Calusa believed that the three souls were the pupil of a person's eye, his shadow, and his reflection. The soul in the eye's pupil stayed with the body after death, and the Calusa would consult with that soul at the graveside. The other two souls left the body after death and entered into an animal. If a Calusa killed such an animal, the soul would then migrate to a lesser animal, and eventually be reduced to nothing. The human eye The pupil is the central transparent area (showing as black). ... Shadows on pavement A shadow is a region of darkness where light is blocked. ... Diagram of specular reflection Specular reflection is the perfect, mirror-like reflection of light from a surface, in which light from a single incoming direction is reflected onto a single outgoing direction. ...

Calusa ceremonies included processions of priests and singing women. The priests wore carved masks, which were at other times hung on the walls inside a temple. Fontaneda also described "sorcerers in the shape of the devil, with some horns on their heads" who ran through the town yelling like animals for four months at a time.

The Calusa remained committed to their belief system in the face of Spanish attempts to convert them to Catholicism. The "nobles" resisted conversion in part because their power and position were locked into the belief system; conversion would have destroyed the source of their authority and legitimacy. The Calusa were able to resist the Spanish and their missionaries for almost 200 years, until the tribe was destroyed by Creek and Yemassee raiders early in the 18th century.^[8] “Catholic Church” redirects here. ...

European contact

The first recorded contact between the Calusa and Europeans was in 1513, when Juan Ponce de León 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. The Calusa knew of the Spanish before this landing, however, as they had taken in refugees from the Spanish subjugation of Cuba. The Spanish careened one of their ships, and Calusas offered to trade with them. After ten days a man who spoke Spanish approached Ponce de León's ships with a request to wait for the arrival of the Calusa chief. Shortly thereafter twenty canoes attacked the Spanish, who drove off the Calusa, killing or capturing several of them. The next day 80 "shielded" canoes attacked the Spanish ships, but the battle was inconclusive. The Spanish then returned to Puerto Rico. In 1517 Francisco Hernández de Córdoba landed in southwest Florida on his return voyage from discovering the Yucatán, and was attacked by the Calusa. In 1521 Ponce de León returned to southwest Florida to plant a colony, but the Calusas drove the Spanish out, mortally wounding Ponce de León.^[9] Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (c. ... The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately 75 mi (121 long). ... The careening of a sailing vessel is laying her up on a calm beach at high tide in order to expose one side or another of the ships hull for maintenance below the water line when the tide goes out. ... Francisco Hernández de Córdoba (died 1517) was a Spanish conquistador, known to history mainly for the ill-fated expedition he led in 1517, in the course of which the Yucatán Peninsula was discovered by Europeans. ... Location within Mexico Country Capital Municipalities 106 Government  - Governor Ivonne Ortega Pacheco PRI  - Federal Deputies PAN: 4 PRI: 1  - Federal Senators Hugo Laviada (PAN) Alfredo Rodríguez (PAN) Cleominio Zoreda (PRI) Area Ranked 20th  - State 38,402 km²  (14,827. ...

The Pánfilo de Narváez expedition of 1528 and the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1539 both landed in the vicinity of Tampa Bay, north of the Calusa domain. Dominican missionaries reached the Calusa domain in 1549, but withdrew due to the hostility of the tribe. Salvaged goods and survivors from wrecked Spanish ships reached the Calusas during the 1540s and 1550s. The best information about the Calusas comes from the Memoir of one of these survivors, Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda. Fontaneda was shipwrecked on the east coast of Florida, likely in the Keys, about 1550, when he was thirteen years old. Although many others survived the shipwreck, only Fontaneda was spared by the tribe in whose territory he had been shipwrecked. He lived with various tribes in southern Florida for the next seventeen years before being found by the Menendez de Avilés expedition.^[10] Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (1470 – 1528) was a Spanish conqueror and soldier in the Americas. ... Hernando de Soto is a: Spanish explorer. ... Landsat image of Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the western coast of Florida, made up of Old Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, and the New Tampa Bay. ... Two Mormon missionaries A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ... Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda(ca. ...

In 1566 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, founder of St. Augustine, made contact with the Calusa and struck an uneasy peace with their leader, Carlos or Caluus. Menéndez married Carlos' sister, who took the baptismal name Doña Antonia. Menendez left a garrison of soldiers and a Jesuit mission, San Antón de Carlos, at the Calusa capitol. The Spanish soldiers killed two Calusa chiefs and several of the "nobles" before the fort and mission were abandoned in 1569.^[11] Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the founder of Saint Augustine, Florida Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (February 15, 1519 - September 17, 1574), was a sixteenth century Spanish admiral and pirate hunter, known most notably for his founding of St. ... Nickname: Location in St. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

There was little contact between the Spanish and Calusa for more than a century after the Avilés adventure. Spanish forces attacked the Calusa in 1614 as part of a war between the Calusa and Spanish-allied tribes around Tampa Bay. A Spanish expedition to ransom some captives held by the Calusa in 1680 was forced to turn back when neighboring tribes refused to guide the Spanish for fear of retaliation from the Calusa. In 1697 Franciscan missionaries established a mission to the Calusa, but left after a few months.^[12] The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ...

After the outbreak of open 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. The Creeks and Yemasees were supplied with firearms by their English allies, while the Calusa, who had isolated themselves from Europeans, had none. Ravaged by diseases introduced to the Americas by Europeans and by the slaving raids, the surviving Calusa retreated south and east. In 1711 270 Indians, including many Calusa, were evacuated from the Florida Keys to Cuba (where almost 200 soon died), but another 1700 were left behind. A mission on Biscayne Bay was established in 1743 to serve survivors from several trabe, including the Calusa, who had gatethered there and in the Florida Keys, but the mission was closed after only a few months. The last remnants of the tribes of south Florida were evacuated to Cuba in 1760 to 1763, when Florida was transferred to Great Britain. While a few Calusa individuals may have stayed behind and been absorbed into the Seminoles, there is no hard evidence for it.^[13] For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Creek are an American Indian people originally from the southeastern United States, also known by their original name Muscogee (or Muskogee), the name they use to identify themselves today. ... The Yamasee were a Muskogean Native American tribe that lived in coastal region of present-day northern Florida and southern Georgia near the Savannah River. ... The Carolina Colony grants Haystack of 1663 and 1665 The Province of Carolina from 1663 to 1729, was a North American British colony. ... Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. ... Biscayne Bay separates Miami on the mainland from Miami Beach on the barrier islands of the Atlantic Ocean coast of Florida. ... For other uses, see Seminole (disambiguation). ...

Notes

References

• Bullen, Adelaide K. 1965. "Florida Indians of Past and Present", in Carson, Ruby Leach and Tebeau, Charlton. Florida from Indian trail to space age: a history. (Vol. I, pp. 317-350). Southern Publishing Company.
• Goggin, John M., and William C. Sturtevant. "The Calusa: A Stratified, Nonagricultural Society (With Notes on Sibling Marriage)." In Explorations in Cultural Anthropology: Essays Presented to George Peter Murdock. Ed. Ward H. Goodenough. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964, 179-219.
• Hann, John, ed. & trans. Missions to the Calusa. University of Florida Press, 1991.
• MacMahon, Darcie A. and William H. Marquardt. The Calusa and Their Legacy: South Florida People and Their Environments. University Press of Florida, 2004. ISBN 0-8130-2773-X
• Marquardt, William H. ed. Culture and Environment in the Domain of the Calusa. Institute of Archaeology and Paleoenvironmental Studies Monograph #1. University of Florida, 1992.
• Widmer, Randolph J. The Evolution of the Calusa: A Nonagricultural Chiefdom on the Southwest Florida Coast. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1988.

Charlton W. Tebeau (1904-2000) was a prominent American historian of Florida. ...

See also

• Caloosahatchee culture