Running Head: BOOK REPORT: PREHISTORIC PEOPLES

Book Report: Prehistoric Peoples of South Florida by William E. McGoun St. Johns River State College

BOOK REPORT: PREHISTORIC PEOPLES

Book Report: Prehistoric Peoples of South Florida by William E. McGoun There was a series of cultural groups that were present in North Florida that no longer existed by the time Florida was ceded to Great Britain in 1763. In Prehistoric Peoples of South Florida by William McGoun the author substantiates the presence of these groups and their

cultures, such as the presence of game hunters who came to the region at least 10,000 years ago, the hunters and gatherers, the presence of horticulturists who built earth works in the Lake Okeechobee area over 2000 years ago, the coastal gatherers of the Charlotte Harbor area and the Calusa People. In order to survive, these various groups adapted to the changes in their environment which is inclusive of nature and other human societies (p.3) i.e. the intrusion of the European and in some cases intra-tribal conflict. McGoun recounts the history of these groups, substantiated with physical evidence and the explanation of their cultural traits, using the cultural historical (p.2) framework by which cultural features are understood as reflection of known historical events and environmental changes. McGouns account of the history of prehistoric peoples of south Florida begins with the initial contact between the conquistadors of the Menendez period and the Calusa tribe. It is the accounts from Spaniards such as Escalante Fontaneda, a Spaniard held captive by the Calusa tribe, which tell of the existence of the tribe and its functioning. The Spaniards stay amongst the Calusa was short lived as they were not welcomed nor feared. Throughout this time period Calusa tribe was able to maintain their cultural identity and political power even with the coming of the Spaniard. McGoen even poses the question, What was this Indian society that proved so impervious to Spanish attempts to control it?(p. 15). At one point, the chief of the Calusa, Carlos, held control over at least 50 towns ranging from Tampa Bay to the Keys and inland to Lake Okeechobee (p.25). Thus the Calusa were able to amass great material wealth and

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means; McGoun also describes how the Calusa had and were able to coexist with other groups of the area such as the Ais, Jeaga, Tequesta and the Keys Indians who also came in contact with the European and maintained their cultural organization and identity. By 800 A.D. the Calusa were a fully formed society that was expanding due to reaching its capacity for their physical location and engaging in trade with inland peoples. Their complex hierarchal society was formed in order to protect against shortages despite abundant food supply. In their interaction with European invaders such as the Menendez and Ponce De Leon, the Calusa and other groups in that area during that era maintained their cultural and religious identity and power structure; the Calusa maintained their autonomy and integrity for a century and a half after the Menendez Period. At the start of Chapter Two, McGoun recounts how in 1913 bones were found dating which indicated the presence of humans 10,000 years before. These bones were of Paleoindians, inhabitants that came to this area; there were skulls found of various shapes as well as fossil findings that were dated at 10,000 years of age that served as evidence of their existence. McGoun theorized that these Paleoindians came to the area because of the presence of game and water in a very dry area. The Paleoindians had a minimal form of social organization (p.47) due to their small numbers and were best known for their work with stone in shaping tools and instruments for the hunting and consumption of meat; these features of their society developed in as the Paleoindians who were primarily hunters. The Paleoindians system of living would have continued had it not been for climatic change that led to a decrease in the large game that attracted them to the area in the first place, leading the Paleoindians to deplete their own resources. Following the demise of the Paleoindian came the dawn of the Archaic period, characterized by the jack of all trades ways of the Archaic people, who not only hunted big

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game as their predecessors but fished, hunted small animals, and were gatherers. They created weapons and tools to procure whatever resources they had available. The Archaic period has been divided into various sub periods by different scholars; McGoun prefers to use the delineation of Early Archaic (7000-5000 B.C.), Middle Archaic (5000-3000 B.C), Late Archaic (5000-3000 B.C.) and Pre-Glades (2000-700 B.C), which he refers to as Transitional. There

have been four sites that have provided evidence of the existence of Archaic peoples, Little Salt Spring in Sarasota County, Bay West in Collier County, Republic Grove in Hardee County, and Myakkahatchee in Sarasota County (p59). The Archaic people were mobile as they were nonagricultural with the division of labor being task oriented. There are archeological findings in various areas of South Florida which are consistent with environmental changes in those areas that would foster expansion of the Archaic people into those areas such as dramatic changes occurred in the environment of south Florida.The shift to a modern floral composition probably occurredThe water table had risen to a position high enough to prompt the beginning of the hydric regime in the interior of south Florida notably the appearance of Lake Okeechobee(p. 65). McGoun does not provide a finite date that this people disappeared from the area or a reason for their demise; there appears to be a gap in the archaeological record as of 2000 B.C. for a 500 year span which remains unexplained. McGouns text also presents evidence of the presence of Hopwellian type societies in South Florida. As stated by McGoun, This period is characterized not by a singular culture or people in South Florida but a series of cultures and peoples(p.85). Much of McGouns discourse on this period is regarding the various classification systems used to attempt to define the time period and its geographical areas such as put forth by Goggin, Griffin and Milanich and Fairbanks. It is McGouns assertion that the best way to classify the period is as Hopewellian,

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which has been described as an interaction sphere embracing a number of distinct societies and separate cultures (pg84) Hopewell is not a culture but a tradition that is the part of many cultures (p85). Hallmarks of these societies are trade and uniformity in ceremonialism which is seen in Hopewellian societies all over the country inclusive of Florida. Evidence of Hopewellian tradition was unearthed at Fort Center with, among other deposits, the discovery of platform pipes a striking example of the unique Hopewellian trait (p. 87) as well as a site at Belle Glade. Once again, natural environmental change precipitated a transition into another period; the ceremonial center of Fort Center was no longer in use and there was a transition to a system of house mounds and linear raised fields (p.91). McGoun states that this change could have been the result of a rise in the water table that hindered cultivation. Another cause may have been the subsequent development of southwest Florida which may have sparked a migration to that area. During the period following the Hopewellian-related societies and prior to the heyday of the Calusa, a shift of power occurred in South Florida. In response to expansion in southwest Florida that pushed inhabitants to the limits of their resources, a lineage system was established to hold power over the area and expand into inland area for resources. The search for food and resources led to a development of a complex social system. Evidence of prehistoric canals and pottery artifacts indicate that here was contact between areas to the south and east of the southwest Florida area. For instance, artifacts especially those made of bone and shell suggest an increase over time in trade between the Lake Okeechobee Basin and areas to the south.(pgs. 100-101). McGoun states that the existence of a nonegalitarian society on the southwest coast by A.D. 800 seems beyond question (p. 98). This is supported by findings of burial mounds found ranging from Charlotte Harbor north into Manati County-more evidence suggesting ties throughout the area in question (p. 98) as well as archeological findings of sites

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all over this area with artifacts from 800 A.D. on indicating a rapid colonization of the area which preceded the process of hegemony and expansion (p. 96). As stated by McGoun, By

1100 the expansionistic people of Charlotte harbor-Esotero Bay area seem to have extended their say all the way to the southern tip of the state (p. 101). There was evidence of an eventual decline in the number of settlement sites from the Glades II time period (beginning in 800 A.D.) to the Glades III time period (beginning in 1200 A.D.), that is indicative of the end of this period could have been a result of environmental factors. As McGoen states, Various suggestions have been put forward about the former sea level fluctuations, salinity changes, cataclysmic storms or, as in the case of Arch Creek, the depletion of clay deposits for making ceramics. (p. 105). In Prehistoric Peoples of South Florida, William E. McGoun was effective in demonstrating how prehistorical cultures of South Florida responded to changes in their environment such as climatic changes, invaders and intertribal conflict. Unfortunately by the early 1700s the detrimental effect of the presence of the European and intra tribal fighting was a force against which these groups could not prevail. With the onset of raids by the English and other Indian groups along with diseases brought and spread by the English, the numbers of these groups dropped precipitously. In the case of the Ais, McGoun states, Rouse (1951:58) says he can find only one mention of the Ais after the early years of the eighteenth century.(p112). Through McGouns analysis we have a clear and comprehensive picture of the environmental factors, cultural features and eventual disappearance of Prehistoric peoples of South Florida; peoples we would have no knowledge of otherwise.