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Native Americans of Florida

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Thousands of years ago, Florida’s earliest people were hunters, gatherers, and fishermen. They all moved from place to place to find food. Fishermen found bodies of water to fish in for food. Gatherers found food by looking for plants, nuts, and berries to eat. Hunters used weapons to kill animals such as rabbits and deer. These animals provided meat. Then the animal skins were used to make clothes. The bones were made into tools.

Native American GroupsThese early people had many

descendants. Descendants are a person’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on. The descendants of Florida’s earliest people are called Native Americans. Native Americans have been living in Florida for thousands of years.

Over time, some Native American groups began to settle in specific places. How did they acquire, or gain, food to eat? Some groups developed agriculture, which is the planting and growing of crops for food. Other groups settled near water and relied on hunting and fishing for food.

Native Americans of Florida

Lesson 1

The food that people eat cames from their environment.

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I will know how Florida’s Native American groups are similar and different.

Vocabulary

UNLOCK

descendantagriculturedugout canoe

shamanatlatl

The food that each group ate was part of its culture. A culture is a way of life. Culture includes food, language, clothing, houses, and ways of travel. Groups develop different cultures based on their environment. For example, look at the map and find the Tequesta (tuh KES tuh). The Tequesta lived along the coast. They traveled in canoes because they lived near water. They also fished for food. Now find the Apalachee (ap uh LACH ee). The Apalachee lived in the Panhandle. They were farmers. These groups were descended from earlier groups of Native Americans.

1. Categorize Write the names of the Native American groups that mostly fished. Then write the names of the groups that farmed and fished.

Write the names of the foods that are shown. Then write where Native Americans would have found these foods.

Mostly Fished Farmed and Fished

Ways of Acquiring Food

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

SS.4.A.2.1 Compare Native American tribes in Florida.

SS.4.A.3.2 Describe causes and effects of European colonization on the Native American tribes of Florida.

ESS13_SESH04_FL_C02_L01.indd 41 10/4/11 3:51 PM

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The ApalacheeOne group that became successful at farming were the

Apalachee. They lived in the Panhandle. The soil there was perfect for growing corn, beans, and squash. Women did most of the farming. Apalachee men hunted animals. Plants and animals gave the Apalachee more than just food. For example, deerskins were used to make clothes. Skirts were made of Spanish moss.

Apalachee villages featured tall mounds. They may have been used by the chief and his council or for ceremonies. For fun, the Apalachee played a game. The game was played with a small, hard ball and a goal post. There was a large eagle nest at the top of the post. They put shells and a stuffed eagle in the nest.

Floridians still use Apalachee words for some place names. The name of Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, is an Apalachee word. It means “old fields” or “old town.”

2. Write the following names of the parts of the Apalachee ball game in the white boxes: eagle nest, post, ball.

SS.4.A.2.1 Compare Native American tribes in Florida.

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The CalusaThe Calusa (kah LOO suh) lived along the southwest

coast of Florida. The waters along the coast were full of fish and shellfish. The Calusa had plenty of seafood to eat! They traveled down rivers and along the coast in dugout canoes. A dugout canoe was a boat made by hollowing out a tree trunk. The Calusa wore clothes made of leaves and plants. There were few deer in the area where they lived, so they did not have deerskin clothes.

The Calusa are sometimes called the Shell People. They crafted beautiful artwork and jewelry from shells. They also used shells to make weapons and tools. They even built their houses on top of mounds of shells. Some of these mounds were so big they were like islands!

One special island was called Mound Key. It was made of shells and clay. Historians believe that special ceremonies took place at Mound Key.

3. The Calusa used materials from their environment to make things. Write what they used to make both the dugout canoe and the carved wolf’s head.

This is a real Calusa dugout canoe. It was revealed when the water level of a lake went down during a dry period. It may have been buried there for over a thousand years.

This is a Calusa wood carving of a wolf’s head.

SS.4.A.2.1 Compare Native American tribes in Florida.

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The TequestaThe Tequesta were another coastal group. They lived

along the southeast coast of Florida, near the mouth of the Miami River. They also lived on the coastal islands near Biscayne Bay. Like the Calusa, the Tequesta fished and traveled in dugout canoes.

Tequesta men fished in the ocean for sharks and porpoises. They used fishing tools like spears, fish nets, and fish traps. Fish nets were tied to long poles. Fish traps could catch many fish at once. A trap looked like a wooden fence.

They also hunted manatees. A manatee is not a fish. It is a large mammal that lives in the sea. For the Tequesta, it was a special dish served only to the chief and other leaders.

Also like the Calusa, the Tequesta used shells to make tools and weapons. With these weapons they hunted in the Everglades for bear and deer.

4. Tequesta fishers used dugout canoes and tools to fish. Write the following labels on the picture below in their correct places: dugout canoe, fish trap, fish net, spear

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SS.4.A.2.1 Compare Native American tribes in Florida.

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The TimucuaTimucua (tee MOO kwah) lived in northern Florida.

The groups that made up the Timucua lived in different ways, depending on their environment and the season. Those who farmed grew corn, pumpkins, squash, and beans. They also hunted, gathered, and fished. They ate deer, alligators, wild plants, and fish. Timucua men wore a breechcloth. A breechcloth is a long piece of deerskin worn between the legs. Women wore skirts of deerskin or Spanish moss.

Timucua villages were permanent, or built to last. The largest building in the village was the Council House. The Timucua held celebrations and meetings there. Timucua built round homes covered in mud and leaves. They also lived in longhouses which could be hundreds of feet long. Each village was ruled by a leader. Each village also had a shaman (SHAH muhn). The shaman was a spiritual figure. The shaman performed religious ceremonies and helped sick people.

5. This is a Timucua village. Circle what they traveled in. Then mark where they lived. Then write the name of something in the picture that they hunted and ate.

SS.4.A.2.1 Compare Native American tribes in Florida.

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The TocobagaThe Tocobaga (toh koh BAY gah) lived in small villages on

the western coast of Florida. Today, the city of Tampa is near where the Tocobaga lived. Since they lived near the water, they fished. They ate shellfish like clams and oysters. The Tocobaga did not do a lot of farming. However, they may have farmed corn. They also may have traded with northern farming groups for it. The Tocobaga used a throwing stick called an atlatl (aht LAHT ul). The atlatl was probably used for hunting.

Like the Apalachee, the Tocobaga built mounds. Their mounds had flat tops. On top of a mound, the Tocobaga may have held important meetings and ceremonies. Or the chief of the village may have lived there. Other villagers lived in small homes topped with palm leaves. These homes were around the chief’s mound. The village also had an open area where games were played.

6. In the picture, circle where the Tocobaga played games. Then mark where a meeting might have taken place. This is an artist’s painting

of a Tocobaga village.

SS.4.A.2.1 Compare Native American tribes in Florida.

myworldsocialstudies.com Experience 47

EuropeansIn the early 1500s, as many as 350,000 Native

Americans were living in Florida. Just 300 years later, nearly all had disappeared. What happened to them? They disappeared when Europeans arrived in Florida.

Many Native Americans died from diseases that Europeans brought with them from their homeland to North and South America, or the Americas. The Native Americans couldn’t fight off these new illnesses. Also, many Native Americans died when conflicts arose between them and the Europeans.

7. Compare and Contrast In what ways were many of the Native American groups in this lesson similar?

8. You and your family are living in an Apalachee village in northwest Florida in 1490. One season, there is a terrible drought, or period with little rain. Food becomes scarce. How could moving to a different part of Florida help your family find food?

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When Europeans came to Florida, the lives of the Native Americans were changed forever.

SS.4.A.3.2 Describe causes and effects of European colonization on the Native American tribes of Florida.SS.4.A.3.6 Identify the effects of Spanish rule in Florida.