the shell heaps of the east coast of florida.

THE SHELL HEAPS OF THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA.

BY

DeWitt

Webb, M. D.

(With Plates r,xxviii-LXxxiv.)

There ^arc

many

evidences thai a portion of the castcoast of Florida

was

quite thickly settled in prehistoric times, and remains of this set-

tlement are found in refuse heaps of villages and single habitations.

These heaps are from a few square yards to

many

acres in extent, and from 1 tolo feet in depth.

They must

have been the abode of a race for

many

generations.

The

remains indicate thai the variety of tbod obtained

was

great, and included all kinds of shellfish, from the Large Busycon perversum to the tiny Donax,

numerous

kinds of lisli

and

aspeciesof turtle, togetherwith variousbirdsand

mammals

which

now

inhabit the peninsula.

The

skull of a whale has ^alsobeen found.

[nconnection"withtheseremains ^{arc found} the various

members

of the

human

skeleton in positions which would at least suggest cauui balism. There are hearths with accumulations of ashes and shells mingled with pottery (mostly in fragments) and implements and

weapons

of shell. These implements and

weapons

tell us all

we know

of the

mode

oflife of the race which inhabited the region, and enable us

more

orless correctly to reconstruct this early society. That the people were hunters

and

fishers, the variety ofanimals, birds,and lish

which went to supply their larders abundantly ^testifies.

The

porpoise seems to have been a favorite articleof food, while the remains of the manateeare found in the shell heaps farther north than the present habitat of the animal.

The

whale, whose remains were found beneath one of the large heaps, at least a quarter of

a

mile fromthe ocean,

may

have been stranded on the beach; but allthe other fish, birds, and animals were doubtless captured by the wary and active savage.

It would seem ;is if

many

of the fish might have been taken with some sortof a net, as they

must have

employed a twisted cord for

many

purposes. Thereare

marks

on

much

^{of the} potteryshowingitto have been molded in baskets

made

of cord. Sinkers of various shapes were used.

The

implementsofshell were,forthe most part,constructed from the Bv&ycon cariea, and the St. Augustine collection

shows

all forms and

Proceedings National Museum, Vol, XVI -No.966,

695

696 SHELL HEAPS OF EAST FLORIDA — ^WEBB.

stages of iliis construction. Whilethe use i<> which the greater num- berof the implements of shell must have been put is obvious, there ^is

much

uncertainty regarding others which are found ⁱⁿ abundance.

One

of these,

known

as the perforated shell,

may

have been used for

the dressing ofskins,and the perforation which has provoked so

much

speculation,

made

for the insertion of the finger to give

more

firmness to the grasp.* (PI. lxxviii.)

Another, found in abundance,is

made

usually from the smaller shells oftheStrombus,

and

^is

worked

as near as possible totheformofaball.

They may

have been playthings of the children.

The

drinking shells were prepared with great care, and seem also to have been used as cooking ^utensils,

some

ofthem showing

marks

ofexposuretofire. (IM.

lxxix.)

From

the great

number

of perforated shellsfoundon onesmall heap ^I

was

led toconclude that it

was

in

some

sense a manufactoryof these articles.

Some

of these scrapers or gouges

show

as sharp an edge asit ispossible for ashell to receive,while others aredull. Othei utensils take the form ^of spoons.

A

granite or other pebble with an end flattened and polished

was

probably used to put an edge on such implements as required to be sharpened.

The

^pottery, though mostly in fragments,affords an interestingstudy and shows great variety of design in its ornamentation.

Some

of the vessels were

made

in baskets

woven

from cord, while others, from the peculiar

marking

on their external surface,

must

have been

made

inan- otherway.

The

great smoothness and perfectregularity of theinternal surfaceofthese vessels isremarkable.

They

vary

much

as tothechar- acterof the material of which they are made.

Some

are of pureclay;

and

of these,

some

are thoroughly baked and hardened, while others are slightly

baked and

therefore brittle. Others have an admixture, to a greater orless degree, of sand,

and

are harder. In sizetheyvary from a bowl holding 1 or ² quarts to vessels holding 5 gallons, and in

shape from a shallow pan like dish toa pot^orvesselresembling a jug.

(Pis. lxxx, LXXXI.)

The

ornamentation includes about one

hundred

differentdesigns, the principal of

which

are

shown

ⁱⁿ PI. lxxxij. It is easytounderstand theoriginof the tinecord like

markings

which ap- pear on the surface of those vessels which were molded in baskets.

Other ^vessels were apparently ornamented by using a pen-like instru- ment

made

froma reed,while theclay

was

soft, and stillothersbyrolling portionsofthesoft clay and then putting

them

on asa housewife some- times ornaments her pie crusts. In one specimen, the impress of the fingersisplainlyvisible,

showing

even thetexture of the skin.

By

far the larger portion, however, appearto have been

ornamented by

the use of

a

stamp, which ^left the surfacearranged in squares, as

shown

in the plate, fully three-fourths of the pottery found is ornamented in this

'Theseshells have heen found withwoodeu handles inserted in the perforation foiuse ashatchetsor picks, andthe I'. S. National Museum possesses several .speci- mens.

—

T.W.

V0 1 L

893

VI']

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 697

way. Thosevessels must have^servedforcooking, as well asforholding water, as

many

are blackened from exposure to the fire. Whileit is

probable that these people<•<>okedthegreater part oftheirfood

by

roast- ing over the fire, yet thetiny

Donax

shells at ^least, whichare present in

immense

numbers,

must

have beenboiled inwaterto obtain a broth.

They

are too small tohave been cooked in anyother way.

The num-

ber and extent of the hearths

and

the

amount

^of ashes proves that theIndigenes usuallycooked their food.

The

form ofthe

mounds and

collections of shells is ofinterest, and

some

of thelargerones

may

^{enable us to}determine the form ofthepre- historic habitation.

When

individual families dwelt

by

themselves therewould be one slowlygrowing heapfor each, which after a time mightbeabandoned.

When

acomparativelywideextent

was

occupied theremains would take the form of

what we now

^{call Shell} Fields

—

places

where

theground for

many

acres appears to be full ofshells,

but without elevations rising above the general level.

A

form com-

mon among

the heaps is that of a long

bank

or

mound,

from 2 to 10 or

more

feet in thickness,

and

coveringfrom one to several acres, always nearthe water

and

usually in proximity toaninletof the sea.

Scatteredthrough these heaps, from the surface ofthesoilbeneath to theirsummits,arefoundimplements,utensils,

and

fragments,of pottery.

A. hearth,with afoot or

more

of ashesand feet or even

more

across,

may

befound, with 5 or feetof shells above ^it. This disposition of remains gives aclewtothe

manner

of formation of the

mounds and

is well

shown

in thelarge

mound

below

Matanzas

Inlet, whichcovers

more

than30 acres(PI.lxxxiv).

The

sidefacingtheoceanisfrom10to 12feet in depth, but has suffered from the encroachmentof the sea toan ex- tentwhich cannotbedetermined(PI.lxxxiii).

The

highestpartofthe

mound

coversabout^_!acres,

and

backofthis,extendingtotheMatanzas

ltiver, lies the remainder, disposed in circlesof greaterorless extent

and

covered withforest. These circles adjoin each otherover a large partofthe territory.

They

are from 4to 8 feetin depth

and

from 12 to 15 feet across atthe bottom. This

was

a dwellingplace,

and

the daily refuse

was thrown

out onall sides,

and

so thecircles ofshells, bones, etc., gradually

grew

higher

and

higher, surrounding the rude dwelling like a wall. This wall would also serve forprotection from thewinds ofwinter

and

likewise as a pitfor defensein case ofattack.

When

^this hollow

had become

too deep, or the wall about it too high,

it would be abandoned,

and

the owner, pitching his tent on the top of surrounding ridges,

would

use the hollow as a pit in which to throw- refuse.

The mound

^ofwhich 1

am now

speaking

would

appeartohave beenin

some

sorta center of population for

many

miles around.

A

spring of water lies in the midstof it,

and

the

waterway was

kept opento the river. Smaller

mounds

arefound scattered

up and down

the river for several miles in the vicinity.

One

of these,

some

2 miles north

and

098 SHELL HEAPS OF

EAST

FLORIDA — ^WEBB.

near the i 1 1lei aI

Ma

tan/.a Bar, was perhaps used as11 Lookout and signal

station.

A

large part ofthis

mound

(PI.

lxxxiv) was

removed from the northeast part and piled ii| theremainder,forminga peakabout 35 feet high.

From

^{this point a good view is obtained for several miles} along the ^level country,and an approaching

enemy

could

be

easily seen.

A

covered waj or ditch runs from the base ^l<> the summit, thus hiding those ^\\li<» were passing from the sight ofthe enemy.

As

tothe age ofthese heaps ^all must be left to conjecture. Trees hundreds of years old are scattered overthem.

AH

instruments and implements <>r

wood

have long since- perished, and not even a tradition of

them

remains.

The

shell heaps ^{appeal1 to}

me

older than the earth

mounds

which

some

times adjoin them.

U. S. NATIONALMUSEUM PROCEEDINGS, VOL. XVI PL. LXXVIII

I 6

U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM PROCEEDINGS, VOL. XVI PL. LXXlX

U. S. NATIONALMUSEUM PROCEEDINGS, VOL. XVI PL. LXXX

Z «

o g

(J. S. NATIONALMUSEUM PROCEEDINGS, VOL. XVI PL. LXXXI

Pottery from Shell Mounds in Florida.

Aperfect vesselfrom Homosassa,holdingfivegallons

V. S. NATIONALMUSEUM PROCEEDINGS, VOL. XVI PL. LXXXII

U. S. NATIONALMUSEUM PROCEEDINGS. VOL. XVI PL. LXXXIII

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U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM PROCEEDINGS. VOL. XVI PL. LXXXIV