Precolumbian Florida

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Welcome

My passion is working in clay but I love to learn from the works of ancient cultures. My first class in precolumbian cultures was a class on Peruvian Art and Anthropology, then Mayan Culture and finally my research led my home to the Precolumbian Natives of North America, of the U.S. Southeast, and of course to the precolumbia cultures of Florida, my native state.

My focus has been mainly exploring cultures thru their ceramic and pottery endevors but one can not explore just one faucet of a cultures past without getting a broader look at the entire culture so as to put what you discover in context.

So as you look thru my lens of links and info please be aware I am not an expert on precolumbian Native Americans, I am merely one potter trying to get to know the potters of the past. I hope you enjoy getting to know them too.

I've tried to organize these link in some kind of logical order and catagories but some are just square pegs trying to fit in round holes so I hope my organizational system makes sense to you. :)

Archaeology 

Where to Start Your Explorations

After one looks thru the pretty picture books on precolumbian art where do you go to find out more?

Sadly my friends it is to some very dry archaeology books, some newish archaeology text are a bit more user friendly but many you will want to look at will be books written by archaeologists for archaeologists. These you will find to have black and white photos of mainly fragments, broken rims, and shards at best or maybe drawn pictures or at worst no images at all(yikes) maybe only graphs and charts to accompany the written information. Don't dispare, glean what you can where you find it.

Some of the older texts have great info, tho they can be hard to find at small local libraries, interlibrary loan is your friend. College libraries are a better place to begin to explore. The book might only have a few paragraphs scattered around the book on focused topic of ceramic finds, the images provided only shards but there is very good info here don't discard it cause it is too hard to find.

Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida 

Florida Archaeology
An overview of Florida's Cultures and a look into archaeology practices in the state of Florida.
Ancient Architects of Florida
A look at the variety of cultures in Florida and there building practices.
Prehistoric Timeline of Pinellas
A brief look at the prehistoric cultures of Pinellas County, Florida
Archaeology of Sarasota County
Details and info about the sites of Little Salt Springs and Warm Mineral Springs in Sarasota County
The Aucilla RIiver Prehistory Project
A virtual exhibit of the underwater archaeology discoveries of when the first Floridians met the last of the mastodons. Kinda neat but really meant for those more interested in the archaeology of finding the artifact not the artifacts themselves.
Aboriginal Settlement in the Apalachee Region of Florida
Background on some of the peoples of the panhandle regions of Florida.
South Florida Archaeology And Ethnography at the Florida Museum of Natural History
Be sure to click on the collections link you'll find on this page for some photos of artifacts from various location in South Florida.
Hickory Ridge: A Mississippian Period Cemetary in Northwest Florida
Lots of info about this archaeology site. The kind of info that is just prime to dig bits of great pottery knowledge from. A couple of partial reconstructed vessels can be viewed on this link too.

Precolumbian Florida Books on Amazon 

Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida

This a pretty good book, it is used by some colleges as the text in beginning Florida archaeology classes.

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Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present

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The Archaeology of Traditions: Agency and History Before and After Columbus (Florida Museum of Natural History Ripley P. Bullen Series)

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The Native American World Beyond Apalachee: West Florida and the Chattahoochee Valley (Ripley P. Bullen)

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Treasure of the Calusa : The Johnson/Willcox Collection from Mound Key, Florida (Monographs in Florida archaeology)

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The People 

The Calusa: "The Shell Indians"
A brief lesson on the Calusa
The Timucua
A brief lesson on the Timucua
Tocobaga Indians of Tampa Bay
A brief lesson on the Tocobaga
The Tequesta of Biscayne Bay
A brief lesson on the Tequesta
The Apalachees of Northwest Florida
A brief lesson on the Apalachees

Weeden Island Culture 400-1000 AD 

Weeden Island Culture on Wikipedia
An encyclopedia overview

Fort Walton Culture 1100~1550 AD 

Fort Walton Culture on Wikipedia
An encyclopedia overview

Ceramic Culture 

Pottery in Sarasota County
A brief look at the history of precolumbian pottery found in Sarasota, Florida.
Fort Walton Incised Pottery
Shards recovered at Mission San Luis.
Shell Point
A interesting tour of shards and artifacts a stroll at shell point can reveal.

Florida precolumbian Art Books on Amazon 

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Places to Visit 

Crystal River Archaeological State Park
Info about visiting the mound at Crystal River.
Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park
Info about visiting the mounds at Lake Jackson
Letchworth Mounds State Park
Info about visiting the mounds at Lake Miccosukee.
Madira Bickel Mound State Archeological Site
Info about visiting the mound at Palmetto.
Weedon Island Preserve's Cultural and Natural History Center
The official site of the Weeden Island Preserve. Be sure to take the virtual tour with views of artifacts in the round.
Florida Museum of Natural History
The official website of the Florida Museum of Natural History located in Gainesville.
The Museum of Florida History
The official website of the Museum of Florida History located in Tallahassee.
South Florida Museum
The official website of the South Florida Museum located in Bradenton.
The Randell Research Center
The official website for the Pineland archaeological site located in Lee County

Books on Amazon 

Indian Mounds You Can Visit: 165 Aboriginal Sites on Florida's West Coast

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Suggestions and Feedback 

I welcome your feedback. Would you like something added? Know a good link or book? Did I manage to misspell something? Did you find a dead link? Let me know, afterall this Kiln Goddess isn't all knowing ;-)

Florida Archaeology Books on Amazon 

Windover: Multidisciplinary Investigations of an Early Archaic Florida Cemetery (Florida Museum of Natural History Ripley P. Bullen Series)

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Archeology of the Florida Gulf Coast (Southeastern Classics in Archaeology, Anthropology, and History)

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Famous Florida Sites: Mt. Royal and Crystal River (Southeastern Classics in Archaeology, Anthropology, and History)

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Look who made this lens!

KilnGoddess

KilnGoddess
The Kiln Goddess is an artist/potter. She has been inspired by work cultures of the past. She is very interested in the past cultures of both North and South America...  more