It Makes Sense To Leave Mounds Alone

Attention treasure hunters!

There is no trove of gold in old Indian mounds - just sea shells, broken pottery and an occasional skeleton for the most part.  Once in a great while trained archeologists might find a bit of carved wood or a stone tool.

If the vandals who destroy mounds with bulldozers and high-pressure water hoses would stop to think, they wouldn't waste their time and energy.  There are no natural gold deposits in all of Florida.  Local Indians never had the opportunity to accumulate the precious metal.

True, the Indians acquired some gold from the many Spanish ships which went aground on Florida's southern coasts.  However, the Calusa and Timucua quickly learned the value of gold and traded it back to the Spaniards for important things like glass beads, hawk bells, mirrors and knives.

The misconception of vast valuables in old graves dies hard.  To help "pot hunters" learn the truth, a law to severely punish them if caught ripping into an archeological site has been introduced in the state legislature.  The sponsor is Rep. J. Keith Arnold, D-Fort Myers.  Our own representative, Vernon Peeples, states he will actively support the measure.

Arnold says the vandalism of Indian mound complexes throughout Southwest Florida is "an unwarranted and thoughtless desecration of our historical and cultural heritage."  His legislation would include Indian burial mounds in the state's grave-robbing statutes.  Even mounds on private property would be protected.

He took particular note of the massive destruction of Indian mounds on Big Mound Key in Charlotte County.  Treasure seekers bulldozed a massive trench through the mound, thus exposing it to weather erosion.

Important Mounds

It is estimated that there are about a hundred mounds of archeological importance in the Charlotte Harbor area.  An untouched one has been discovered recently south of Punta Gorda.  All of these must be kept intact until archeologists like Dr. William Marquardt and Dr. Michael Hansinger can supervise methodical exploration.

Your writer is privileged to call these scientists his friends.  I have participated in "digs" with them and can attest to their careful methodology which leaves sites "as was" after examination.

Their whole lives are dedicated to learning about the earliest inhabitants of the Florida peninsula.  Through their efforts we know that Indians were living on Useppa Island about 3,675 years before Christ.  Extensive mound building occurred from about 500 BC to 1600 AD.

The primary interest of Marquardt and Hansinger is in the field of anthropology - the study of ancient people.  If we can discover how they lived, what they ate, how they obtained foodstuffs, how they organized their societies and why they disappeared we could apply that knowledge to manage our own environment better.

Marquardt is particularly active these days in Charlotte Harbor archeology.  He has excavated or surveyed a score of sites locally.  His work is circumscribed by the availability of funds.  The pace is maddeningly slow.

Nevertheless, we know that the Calusa were the most advanced and powerful society in South Florida.  Their head leader was known as the "cacique, or kaseekey."  He had a retinue of nobles who governed individual tribes of 30 to 50 members.  In addition, he exacted tribute from non-related but subordinate tribes from Cape Canaveral to Key West.

The neighbors of the Calusa were the Timucua.  The boundary between the two cultures was somewhere in this area.  The search for the dividing line is the common interest shared by myself and Dr. Marquardt.

The late Ripley Bullen, archeologist with the University of Florida, was convinced that the Calusa Timucua boundary ran through Charlotte Harbor east-west at Boca Grande Pass.

My own historical research concerning Hernando DeSoto leads me to concur.  The intrepid Spanish explorer met Timucua Indians upon landing, and I am convinced that place was Live Oak Point, today the northern approach of the Collier-Gilchrist bridges.  Marquardt is noncommittal for the present.

We know that the Calusa were heavily concentrated on Pine Island and nearby keys.  Hopefully Marquardt will obtain funds enabling him to spend more time in the northern reaches of Charlotte Harbor.

Strange Customs

Both Indian groups relied heavily on fish and shell fish for food.  The pre-Christian area people apparently gathered wild plant foods and hunted animals with spear-throwers.  Historical tribes planted corn, beans and squash also and hunted game with bows and arrows.

Through historical accounts by the Spanish and French, the customs of Timucuans are well known.  They practiced human sacrifice, worshiped the sun, enslaved captured enemies, castrated young boys to make them docile burden carriers, killed first-born babies in ritual ceremonies, and indulged in cannibalism.  The caciques married their sisters to preserve the royal blood line.

By extension, it is assumed the Calusa had similar customs; but the historical record is scanty.  Dr. Hansinger has commissioned a search of old Spanish records in hope of uncovering new evidence regarding the Calusa.

There is a great deal to be learned about the Indians of Charlotte Harbor.  It is urgent that the remaining archeological sites be preserved for scholarly study.  Rep. Arnold's bill will help, but the cooperation of citizens is critical.

Those who would like to contribute actively in the search for answers may send their checks to Dr. Marquardt, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., 32611.  In return he will keep you informed of progress through the informative newsletter "Calusa News."

Tell him I sent you.

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