NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES IN LEMON BAY

Timeline based on material in “Maritime Archaeology of Lemon Bay,” a Florida Anthropological Society Publication and other Florida Anthropological Publications. This is a work in progress for informational purposes only.

2000 BC

Formation of Lemon Bay

The dynamics of the baycaused points to developfrom which NativeAmericans could live andland and launch theirdugout canoes

In the 1960s, amateurarchaeologists found artifacts atEnglewood sites dating to 2000BC. The sites were destroyedby the dredging of theIntercoastal waterway.

The Native Americans established a culture that reliedextensively on the resources provided by the creatures of thebay and the wetlands. Edible animals on the mainland werehunted, and some gardening of gourds, tobacco and treeswhich produced useable materials was done.

900 – 1100 ADIn 1934 the Englewood Mound was excavated andleveled to the ground. This Burial Mound was locatednear the bay, south of Indian Mound Park. At the time ofexcavation it was 110 feet wide and 13 feet tall. Thisburial site yielded 263 numbered burials and a greatmany artifacts – but almost all were pottery fragments.Less than 1000 of these were taken to be studied, the restwere discarded at the site. Because of the type of burial,archaeologists believe the Native Americans of LemonBay at this time had a social structure which identifiedimportant individuals – such as chiefs or priests – andaccorded them enhanced burial ceremonies. Theartifacts found in the Englewood Mound indicate theLemon Bay population had some contact with otherNative American Groups in the area, but no Europeantrade goods. The Englewood Mound excavation hasbeen dated between 900 – 1100 AD.

500 BC - 1350 AD

Indian Mound Park was originally known asPaulsen Point Midden. What is left today isonly a part of the original structure.Originally it extended down Lemon Bay,possibly to where the Englewood BurialMound stood and reflected a long timeoccupation by the Native Americans of thearea. It is believed that the tribe’s villagewas located between Indian Mound Park andthe Englewood Burial Mound location.Dredging by developers and the IntercoastalWaterway has destroyed all but the smallpiece that is left. Human burials wereuncovered in the 1950s and early 1960s.Test sites dug by archaeologists in the mid1960s showed no burials, but artifacts datingfrom ~500 BC to 1350 AD were identified.

150 – 350 AD

In December of 1988 a burial site was discoveredon Manasota Key. 120 individuals were recoveredfrom the site. Very few artifacts were found. Themethod of burial indicates the Native Americans ofLemon Bay had an egalitarian culture – individualswere buried with equal consideration and no onereceived more honors than another. Analysis of thenon-human remains from this site is ongoing.Carbon dating puts these individuals in the LemonBay area around 200 AD. This was strictly acemetery-style burial site. The tribe would havelived on the mainland, but it is not known where.

Reconstruction using Russian ‘scientific’method from Manasota Key Cemetarybody recovery.

CALUSANorthern spread

1679

ManasotaCulture

Today the archaeological community recognizes thework of George Luer in the acknowledgement of a“Manasota Culture” for the Native Americans in theLemon Bay area. Until very late in the NativeAmerican time period, the Lemon Bay area residentsseem to have functioned as small, independent tribes.(The ‘Switzerland’ of the area.)

1000 BC - 900 AD

Excavations in the 1980s of theMystery River site indicateoccupancy by Native Americansduring a time period overlappingthe other sites in the area. At thissite there was a fresh water sourceand ideal conditions for oysters.The study showed that theindividuals at this site wereinvolved in meat processing, woodworking, plant processing andceramic production.

Pottery artifacts from the Englewood areabear distinct markings and othercharacteristics. Pottery seems to haveevolved from a plain style to a moreelaborate style over time. The earliest potterywas made with clay tempered with vegetablefiber, hand molded, with no decoration.Later, potters used quartz sand for temperingand coiled construction. Decorations wereprimarily designs pressed or rolled into thepot’s surface. Plain “red” pottery sherds(broken pottery pieces) were found at theManasota Cemetery burials.

1700 AD (??)

Sometime around 1700 the Lemon BayNative Americans seem to have disappearedfrom this area. This was, of course, after“contact” with the Spanish and otherEuropeans. Diseases had been passed to theNative populations, and the British had sentCreek Indians from Georgia into the area tocapture the Florida Natives (who were notCreek) as slaves. A burial site unearthed onthe road to Englewood Beach duringconstruction in 1926 yielded over 100skeletons. Two skulls were taken to theSmithsonian where the decision was that theywere Native Americans and suffering fromsyphilis. (Cortes: The History of EarlyEnglewood, pp. 118, 121) The site was lootedby local people. A true scientific study wasnot done, and how carefully anyone examinedthe skulls is unsure, so this dating isquestionable. (Currently attempting to getinformation from the Smithsonian.)

LEMON BAY

1948