If we are attempting a timeline of the history of Florida we have to begin 12000 years ago (yes, really) This is the time when what is now known as the Native American inhabited this lovely State.
12000 B. C. It is believed that this was around the time that Florida was first inhabited by the human being. THe Paleo Indians came in search of new food sources and what a rich seam they found. At this time, Florida was about twice the size it is today and the Paleos lived in caves. The food they hunted and ate included the sabre tooth tiger, giant armadillos, horses and mastodans.
Now, maybe you will permit me to go down a side alley, but I always thought that Mastodan was an American group. Well, it jolly well is, but before then, it was a gigantic creature like an elephant or a woolly mammoth. They died out about 12000 years B. C. and this was thought to be because of the climate change (and being hunted for food cannot have helped much, either! )
7000 B. C. is known as The Archaic Period and they made weapons and tools from stone. They would have eaten shell fish and plants.
2500 B. C. this is known as The Gulf Firmation period and this is when they made ceramics and pottery for both useful and decorative purposes.
1000 B. C. was The Woodland Period and the Native American started making settlements and building permanent homes and farmed the land. They hunted for deer and birds to supplement the produce.
1200 A. D. the Native American in Florida was now principally the Timuca in the north east, the Calusa in the south and Apalachee on the big bend.
1513 A. D. was the beginning of the end for these proud, resourceful people for this was the year that Juan Ponce De Leon landed on the coastal area that is now known as St Augustine. This brought diseases that the Indian had no defence for and challenges to the ownership of their long held land. The next period of the life of the Native American was to be challenging to say the least.
You may wonder how we know how exactly the Native American ate and lived their lives. Well, this is because of the mounds. These were giant rubbish tips that literally all the detritus of daily life was thrown. Layer by layer, these mounds reveal the truth.
12000 B. C. It is believed that this was around the time that Florida was first inhabited by the human being. THe Paleo Indians came in search of new food sources and what a rich seam they found. At this time, Florida was about twice the size it is today and the Paleos lived in caves. The food they hunted and ate included the sabre tooth tiger, giant armadillos, horses and mastodans.
Now, maybe you will permit me to go down a side alley, but I always thought that Mastodan was an American group. Well, it jolly well is, but before then, it was a gigantic creature like an elephant or a woolly mammoth. They died out about 12000 years B. C. and this was thought to be because of the climate change (and being hunted for food cannot have helped much, either! )
7000 B. C. is known as The Archaic Period and they made weapons and tools from stone. They would have eaten shell fish and plants.
2500 B. C. this is known as The Gulf Firmation period and this is when they made ceramics and pottery for both useful and decorative purposes.
1000 B. C. was The Woodland Period and the Native American started making settlements and building permanent homes and farmed the land. They hunted for deer and birds to supplement the produce.
1200 A. D. the Native American in Florida was now principally the Timuca in the north east, the Calusa in the south and Apalachee on the big bend.
1513 A. D. was the beginning of the end for these proud, resourceful people for this was the year that Juan Ponce De Leon landed on the coastal area that is now known as St Augustine. This brought diseases that the Indian had no defence for and challenges to the ownership of their long held land. The next period of the life of the Native American was to be challenging to say the least.
You may wonder how we know how exactly the Native American ate and lived their lives. Well, this is because of the mounds. These were giant rubbish tips that literally all the detritus of daily life was thrown. Layer by layer, these mounds reveal the truth.