THE SHELL HEAPS OF THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA. 



IJY 



Df.Witt Wf.iu:. i\I. I). 



(With Pliitcs i,\.\\ iii-iAXxn . ) 



There arc iiiaiiy evidences tliat a poition ol' tlie east coast of Florida 

 was quit*' tliickly settle<l in ])reliist()ric times, ;ind remains ol' this set- 

 tlement aic found in I'etiise hea])S of vilhi.yes and sinj^le habitations. 

 These hea|)S are from a few siinare yards to nmny acres in extent, ami 

 from 1 to 1.") feet in depth. They must have been the abode of a race- 

 for many generations. The remains indi(;atc tiiat the \ariety of food 

 Obtained was g'reat, and included all kinds of shellfish, from the 

 large liKsi/von perrrr.sKiii to the tiny Doikix^ numerous kinds of fish 

 and a species of turtle, together with various birds and mammals wliicli 

 now inhabit the peninsula. The skull of a- whale has also been found. 

 In conne<'tion with these remains arc found the vari(uis nuMubers of 

 the human skeleton iu positions wliidi would at least suggest canni- 

 balism. There are hearths witli accumulations of ashes .and shells 

 mingled with i)ottery (mostly in fragments) and im])lements and 

 weapons of shell. These implements and weajuHis tell us all we know 

 of the mode of life of the race Avhich inhabited the regi(m, and enable 

 us nu>re or less coiTcctly to reconstruct this early society. That the 

 people were hunters and fishers, the variety of animals, birds, and fish 

 which went to supply their larders abundantly testifies. The porpoise 

 seems to have been a fav()rite article of food, while the remains of the 

 manatee are found in the shell heaps farther noitli than the ])resent 

 habitat of tlie animal. The whale, whose remains were found beneath 

 one of the large heaps, at least a quarter of a mile from the ocean, 

 may have been stranded on the beach; but all the other fish, birds, 

 and animals were doubtless captured by the wary and a<;tive savage. 

 It would seem as if many of the fish might have been taken with some 

 sort of a net, as they must have employed a twisted cord for many 

 l)urposes. There are marks on nuich of the pottery showing it to have 

 been molded iu baskets made of <'oi'd. Sinkers of various shapes 

 were used. 



The imi»lemcnts of shell were, for tln^ most ]>art, constructed from the 

 Husycon ranrti, and the St. Augustine collection shows all forms and 



I'locoediri^s Nation:!! Miisciiiii, \'(p1. W 1 -Ni>. !)(>(>. 



1)1)5 



