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ROOKERY BAY
WITH THE PASTCONNECTING PHOTO BY DAVE GRAFF
Cultural Resources in Rookery Bay Reserve Provide Insights to Early Coastal Life
T housands of years ago, indigenous PHOTO BY ELAM STOLZFUS
people called the Calusa inhabited
much of coastal Southwest Florida. environment.They utilized bones, spines and teeth as tools for sewing, piercing
The Calusa culture was a complex society or spearing. And, their homes were built on large mounds of discarded shells,
that thrived on the bounty of the estuary like modern building foundations, to provide protection from extreme high
as opposed to agriculture, which was the tides and storms.
primary means of subsistence for many
other early American people. Numerous Several Calusa mound complexes are protected within the Rookery Bay
Calusa settlements were developed along National Estuarine Research Reserve’s 110,000 acres. These cultural resources
the Collier County coastline and were belong to the people of Florida, and their continued existence is instrumental
occupied from 400 to 2,500 years ago. for future research and education.
Changing their landscape on many Archaeologists studying the Calusa culture look closely at artifacts (items
fronts, the Calusa people left behind traces made or carved by humans) to learn about what life was like for prehistoric
of their way of life on the shell mound peoples. Within each mound complex are middens (smaller mounds) that
complexes they built. The size and locations served specific purposes.The “kitchen middens,” or refuse piles, tend to provide
of the settlements, many of which are in the greatest clues to the mysteries surrounding their lost culture. In addition
the Ten Thousand Islands, indicate that to shell tools, pieces of broken pottery are, by far, the most commonly found
large communal groups flourished on the remnants of the Calusa civilization. These artifacts have provided valuable
abundance of coastal resources with fish and
shellfish accounting for up to 70 percent of
their diet.
The Calusas regarded mollusk shells,
as well as other animal parts, as important
resources because of the lack of workable
stone and building materials in their
PHOTO BY DAVE GRAFF
68 Life in Naples | November 2016
