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With its miles of beautiful white-sand beaches, tropical climate, incredible wildlife, and vividly colored jungle-like flora, St Petersburg is often referred to as "Paradise" by those who have visited here and by many who live here. But for some who live here this paradise has always been just out of reach. And for the original natives of St Petersburg what had been their paradise for hundreds of years became, with the arrival of the Spanish explorers, the hell that resulted in the extinction of their entire tribe. The Tocobaga IndiansThe Tocobaga Indians lived in small villages throughout the Tampa Bay area from the 900s through the 1500s. They were a peaceful people who hunted and fished for their food and were expert potters. Explorer Pánfilo de Narváez and his men found the Tocogaga when they arrived in Florida. This Spanish expedition brought with them the violence and disease that led to the extinction of the Tocobaga Indian tribe within 100 years of the first Spanish landing in the St Petersburg area. Within the scope of several hours one can visit four ancient Indian mounds that span several thousand years of history from pre-Columbian to the final chapters of the Tocobagas. By the time of European contact, there were many tribes living in Florida, among which were the Apalachee, the Tocobaga, the Tequesta, the Calusa and the Mayaimi. The constructions that the aboriginal Floridians have left include wooden sculpture of outstanding quality, hundreds of pyramid mounds, dozens of artificial islands, straight line canals cut for miles through the lowlands, standings stones, mysterious circular earthworks, and even an effigy island. Many modern Floridians are living on Indian mounds without realizing it. While major mounds were leveled to surface sidewalks and roads during the early 20th century development of St. Petersburg, it is still possible to visit these four important sites. “Around Tampa Bay are five impressive platform or temple mounds attributed to the Tocobaga Indians of the Safety Harbor period (800 - 1500 AD). Originally there were probably 15 or 20 of these steep-sided, truncated pyramids around the bay. All of them lay within a few hundred yards of tidal waters, five by the mouths of major rivers near the sites of villages. All but two were made of gradually built-up layers of sand and compacted varieties of shell up to 20 feet high. Most had ramps and were situated either north or east of a plaza, which may have been used for games. The mounds' varying sizes suggest a variety of functions, but they do not appear to have been funerary, as very few burials have been found in or near them…Six mounds were oriented to the cardinal directions. Four others deviated from cardinal alignment by 20 degrees or less. The ramps of four other temple mounds were aligned either north-south or east-west, which suggests that their associated mounds were oriented to the cardinal directions. The four largest mounds are located at 15-18 mile intervals along the bay.” (From Northern Earth Magazine) Read the following web sites for more information on the Tocobaga Indians and their times.
Tocobaga Indians of Tampa Bay Tocobaga Indian MoundsMaximo Park
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Home|
Introduction| Syllabus|
Resources| Test
One:| Timeline|
Themes| Tour #1 Downtown|
Tour #2 Bayboro|
Test Two| Tour #3 Jungle Area|
Other Interesting Buildings|
Heritage Village|
Test Three| Dark Side of Paradise|
Famous & Infamous|
Test Four|
Past & Future (final
project)|
Webliography| Site
Search & Forms|
