﻿98 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 76 



advantages and a beginning was made on that island. A deep trench 

 (fig. 90) was dug into the main mound in order to determine its 

 character and stratification. It is l^eheved to be a domicihary mound 

 or, since it is the largest in the cluster, that on which the chief's 

 house was probably erected. Dr. Weeden's claim that De Soto and 

 Narvaez landed on this mound seems probable, and if so we can 

 identify it as the Calusa town, Ucita, which according to Bourne 

 " stood near the beach, upon a very high mount made by hand for 

 defense ; at the other end of the town was a temple, on the roof of 

 which perched a wooden fowl wnth gilded eyes." 



The archeological problems of the southern part of Florida are 

 complex and require more field-work than has yet been devoted to 

 them. We have on the southwestern Florida keys many heaps of shell 

 indicating several types, as eating places, domiciliary mounds, and 



"^1 



Fig. q4. — Three-pointed stone of the Fig. 95. — Apical view of fignre 94. 



fourth type, JNIayaguez, Porto Rico. 

 Loaned to the U. S. National AInsenm 

 by A!r. D. W. May. 



mounds of observation and defense. At the time of the discovery we 

 learn from historical documents that a tribe of Indians called Calusa 

 inhabited these keys and the names of certain towns of this tribe are 

 recorded, but our knowledge of the ethnology, language and customs 

 of the Calusa is scanty. Did the Calusa build the shell heaps or 

 were they an intrusive people ? Did the shell heap people come from 

 the Antilles or were they Muskhogean? Archeology dealing with 

 material culture can contribute to an answer to this question. 



In the accompanying figure (fig. 93) are shown specimens of 

 true Antillean amulets lately loaned to the United States National 

 Museum by Air. D. W. Alay, from Alayaguez on the west coast of 

 ■ Porto Rico. The central figure is a uni(|ue carved shell amulet with 

 lateral wings different from anv ])rcviously described. The other four 

 amulets figiu'ed are likewise new. The three-]it)inted stone belongs to 

 the fotu'th tv])e, nr tliat characterized by absence of head and legs 

 but with a cin-ved longitudinal (le])ression on the base. 



