Floridian Getaways 2008 - (Page 8) travel file FLORIDA’S STONEHENGES by Lisa M. Moten Portals to the Past Step into history and see Florida’s Indian mounds These curious Native American attractions are scattered around Florida. Generations ago, these mounds of shells were looted for road-building; today, these cherished relics are understood to be more than just slag heaps of mastodon teeth and bone. Some are pyramid shaped and many were ceremonial. While most of the stories and rituals have been lost to time, there is enough left for us to literally step back 1,000 years. Temple Mound Museum Fort Walton Beach Situated on one of the largest ceremonial mounds ever discovered in Florida, this site also boasts one of the nation’s largest and finest collections of native ceramic artifacts outside of the Smithsonian. With roughly 6,000 pieces, the Temple Mound Museum shows the lifestyles of four southeastern American Indian tribes that inhabited the Choctawhatchee Bay region over the last 12,000 years. Top artifacts include burial urns unearthed at the site. 139 Miracle Strip Pkwy. SE Fort Walton Beach 850-833-9595 Randell Indian Mound Research Center Park Pineland, near Fort Myers The Randell Research Center, part of the Florida Museum of Natural History, is dedicated to teaching visitors about the earliest residents of the region including the Calusa Indian tribe. The Calusas were notable for traveling on water; some tribe descendants now live near Havana. Located on the western shore of Pine Island near Cape Coral, the center sits on more than 50 acres. Look for the remnants of Venetian-style canals, where the Calusa docked. The main feature is an enormous Calusa shell mound. While there, be sure to walk the Calusa Heritage Trail, a 3,700-foot path. Call ahead for guided tours. 13810 Waterfront Drive Pineland 239-283-2157 www.flmnh.ufl.edu/rrc Englewood Indian Mound Park is a 10-acre municipal public park and former site of the Calusa Indian tribe in the southern part of Sarasota County in Englewood. Indian mounds on site (artifacts found on the site date to 400 B.C.) are a backdrop to current park offerings including picnic area and public boat ramp. Open year ‘round. 210 Winson Avenue Englewood 941-861-1980 Lake Jackson Mounds Tallahassee No need to travel to Europe for a trip to the Middle Ages. The Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site near Tallahassee was built between 1,200 and 1,500 A.D. The site consists of six earth temple mounds, the tallest of which is 35 feet. The mounds were the site of ritual burials and cremations. 1022 DeSoto Park Drive Tallahassee 850-922-6007 www.floridastateparks.org Shell Mound Cedar Key In Cedar Key, one of those quaint Gulf of Mexico fishing village communities southwest of Gainesville, visitors will find remnants of prehistoric Indian oyster-shell and sand burial mounds. Six miles outside Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast stands Shell Mound Unit, part of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. Shell Mound is the largest prehistoric shell midden on the central Gulf Coast, covering five acres and rising 28 feet above sea level. Near the water, where the Timucuan and other Native American cultures lived and ate from the Gulf for 3,000 years dating back to 2500 B.C., this massive kitchen midden was built from their discarded oyster, clam and whelk shells. Today, visitors can do the same things as the Timucans including hiking, paddling, bird watching, bank fishing and ogling the panorama. 16450 NW 31st Place Chiefland 352-493-0238 www.fws.gov/lowersuwannee/ smpubuse.html Crystal River Indian Mounds Crystal River Digs indicate that there were ramps on what is the site’s Priest’s Mound. Natives traveled long distances to Crystal River for ritual burials and long-forgotten rites; research shows that they came to a semi-circular plaza where they observed religious ceremonies on multiple levels. As recently as 1903, visitors could stand on the mounds and see the Gulf of Mexico. A paved loop passes by each mound, with signs detailing each hill’s history. A visitor center houses tools, jewelry and pottery. 3400 N. Museum Point Crystal River 352-795-3817 Hontoon Island State Park DeLand Hontoon Island sits right in the middle of the St. Johns River and is accessible only by private boat or park ferry. The Timucuan Indian tribe was the first on record to inhabit this island. Snails and shellfish gathered from the river were a staple. Discarded shells accumulated over time to form the large mounds there. Today, visitors will find picnic areas, boating, canoeing and fishing. Think that Northwest Indians were the only ones with totem poles? Check out the park’s owl totems, re-created from ancient artifacts dug up at the park. 2309 River Ridge Road DeLand 386-736-5309 www.floridastateparks.org/ hontoonisland www.hontooncso.com Historic Spanish Point Osprey, near Sarasota Spanish Point is a 30-acre park that extends into the waters of Little Sarasota Bay. It was the home of Gilded Age society woman Bertha Palmer, who purchased the property and preserved the Calusa burial mound there. Today, pioneer buildings have been rebuilt and Palmer’s gardens have been restored. The mound still has a ceremonial role; it is a site of weddings. Located inside the shell mound is a museum where you can see a slice of the eras buried underneath. 500 North Tamiami Trail Osprey 941-966-5214 www.historicspanishpoint.org Seminole Rest Oak Hill, near Cape Canaveral This group of mounds dates from 2,000 B.C. to 700 A.D.; the National Park Service believes it was a major clam-processing site. It is one of only a few mounds in Volusia County to survive 20thcentury development. River Road, Oak Hill 386-428-3384 www.nps.gov/cana 8 Floridians.VISITFLORIDA.com http://www.floridastateparks.org http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/rrc http://www.floridastateparks.org/hontoonisland http://www.hontooncso.com http://www.fws.gov/lowersuwannee/smpubuse.html http://www.historicspanishpoint.org http://www.nps.gov/cana http://Floridians.VISITFLORIDA.com
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