The Southern Limit of Timucua Territory

According to a popular belief the area south of Tampa Bay was the domicile of the Calusa Indians. Whatever the origin of this dogma, it is likely connected with the fact that Narvaez and De Soto supposedly landed in Timucua Indian territory. How far south of Shaw’s Point this territory may have extended has never been delineated. Historically, north Florida east of the Aucilla River was inhabited by Timucua, and south Florida, south and west of Lake Okeechobee, by Calusa Indians. Archaeological evidence suggests that regional differences in material culture had existed for about 1,500 years before the coming of the Spanish in the sixteenth centudy. The languages spoken in these areas in prehistoric times are unknown

Archeology of the Tampa Bay Area

The Tampa Bay region includes the west coast of Florida from Tarpon Springs to Sarasota, or the three counties of Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee; and its archeology is better known than that of any comparable region of the State. Nevertheless, in spite of the large amount of work which has been done on this area, there are many lacunae in our data. We are just beginning to glimpse the dynamics involved, and much work is required before we will have an adequate understanding of the prehistory of this area

De Soto’s Ucita and the Terra Ceia Site

Any Indian site to qualify as De Soto’s Ucita must possess geographical attributes which agree with those assignable to that site by close reading of the De Soto narratives. This paper examines only the claim of the well-known, large Indian site at Terra Ceia, on the east side of McGill Bay. For this purpose Shaws Point on Tampa Bay is assumed to be the landing place of De Soto’s expedition, although that identification has been questioned by some

Archaeological investigations at the Ross Hammock site, Florida.

Describes the excavations of the Ross Hammock Site, located a little southeast of Oak Hill, Florida. The excavations were made in 1963 to evaluate the site\u27s archaeological potential. The authors believed that the site was probably occupied about 2000 years ago. Includes a brief account of an investigation of a nearby 19th century salt evaporation works site.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/floridaheritage/1007/thumbnail.jp

Archeology of the Tampa Bay Area

While we speak of archeology as pre-history, it is as much a part of the history of any region as that which is recorded contemporaneously in writing, even though it does not relate to our own ancestors. So two of the papers read at our annual meeting were on Florida archeology. Ripley P. Bullen, Assistant Florida State Archeologist recounted the highlights of what has been learned of the central west coast

Fort Tonyn and the Campaign of 1778

Fort Tonyn, a small British fort during the American Revolution, is believed by some to have been located on Amelia Island at the site now occupied by Fort Clinch. The probable reason for this tradition is the fact that it is so located on a map prepared by W. G. F. Wallace, Esq., and included by Burton Barrs in his East Florida in the American Revolution. No substantiating evidence for this location is given by Barrs and it may be stated categorically that Wallace’s map is incorrect in this respect