The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Kayak and Canoe Adventures
Chipola River Paddling Trail | The Ovens and...
Kayaking Bald Point | Adventure on a Living...
Wacissa Springs Adventure | Kayaking a Wild Florida...
A Geologist’s View of the Apalachicola River |...
Upper Chipola River Kayak Adventure | Ghosts &...
Tate’s Hell & the Apalachicola River Delta |...
Kayak Scouting Mission on the Ochlockonee Water Trail
Merritt’s Mill Pond | Kayaking and Spring Caves
Kayaking the Apalachicola River with my Four-Year-Old Son
Canoeing the Aucilla: A Red Hills River Steeped...

The WFSU Ecology Blog

  • Home
    • About
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
ArcheologyNative CultureSeagrasses and Sand Flats

Shells, Buried History, and the Apalachee Coastal Connection

by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 29, 2012
by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 29, 2012 0 comment
Click to subscribe to the WFSU Ecology Blog
Rob Diaz de Villegas WFSU-TV

Have you ever found oyster shells in the dirt of your backyard?  If you have and you live in Tallahassee’s Myers Park neighborhood, then you might be looking at the remains of a powerful native village that rose to prominence over 500 years ago.

Missions San Luis scallop-oysterI was on a shoot for the first episode of our newest program, Florida Footprints. We were at the Florida Museum of History interviewing KC Smith about her involvement in the excavation of the Hernando de Soto winter encampment in 1987.  Back then the city was abuzz about the artifacts being found so widely dispersed off of the appropriately  named Apalachee Parkway.  They had likely discovered the central Apalachee village of Anhaica, where de Soto spent the first winter of his North American expedition.  People were finding piles of artifacts in their backyards.  After the interview, I asked Smith how deep I’d have to dig to see if I had artifacts in my yard.

“Do you have oyster shells in your yard?”  she asked.

Oyster shells?  Evidently, these were the indicator of an Apalachee site.  No one is sure what the shells were used for, though she believes they were used as small dishes.  This is consistent with the interpretation in the photo above, taken at Mission San Luis, of scallop shells storing food stuffs.  As Dr. Bonnie McEwan, Director of Archeology at the Mission, points out, “… Apalachees undoubtedly harvested and ate a lot of oysters when they were near the coast.  But because there was no way to preserve them, they didn’t carry them.”  So they weren’t eating oysters in Anhaica, so far from the coast, they were just bringing the shells back.  Of all the shells they carried with them from Apalachee Bay, the most valuable belonged to a resident of the oyster reef, and to all of the intertidal habitats we follow: The lightning whelk (Busycon contrarium).

whelk-black drink vesselMuch like our coastal shellfish are economically important today, lightning whelk shells were of particular value for the Apalachee.  This had less to do with their meat than it did the size and shape of their shell.  Whelks are predatory snails that get quite large, with an elegant sinistral (left hand) curve.  I imagine that it’s the impressive appearance of a mature Busycon that led to their use in ritual life.  “The outer shells with the columellae removed were used as dippers or cups,” Dr. McEwan said, “and these were used in Black Drink ceremonies. As we discussed, Black Drink was an emetic tea brewed from yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) leaves.”  Anyone familiar with the effects of holly knows where the vomitoria species name comes from.  The regurgitation caused by the Black Drink was a form of ritual purification, and was a central component of the ceremonies held in preparation for the fierce and occasionally deadly Apalachee ball game (the ball game is the focus of my segment in Florida Footprints).  In the second photo to the right, you can see an interpretation of what a decorated Black Drink vessel looked like.

And whelks had value far outside of our area.  The Apalachee were part of the Mississippian culture, and with it part of a trade network that stretched to the Great Lakes.  Whelks with chemical signatures identifying them as from the Gulf have been found in Arkansas and Illinois.  “In exchange for the shells,” Dr. McEwan said, “the Apalachees received artifacts made from ‘exotic’ or non-local materials such as copper, lead, mica, and steatite, all of which were found associated with burials at the Apalachees’ Mississippian capital– Lake Jackson.”  Lake Jackson was capital of the Apalachee until about 1500.  Judging by the materials for which they were traded, whelks were highly valued.  Dr. McEwan elaborates on this. “In general, most of these items are found in association with burials of high status individuals throughout the Mississippian world since they conferred prestige.”

Here is a video of a lightning whelk roaming nearby St. Joseph Bay:

Whelk behind seagrass - Saint Joe Bay
Since we’ve started the In the Grass, On the Reef project, one of the things that has interested me most is how the many cultures of this area, spanning thousands of years, have connected with the Gulf.  I’ve enjoyed the illumination I’ve received on this little sidebar to the segment I produced.  The next few episodes of Florida Footprints will move forward in time to cover our history since the Spanish arrived.  Hopefully, we will later also look in the other direction at the people who left oyster middens on St. Vincent Island or to the Aucilla River, where the remains of the first Floridians and the mastodons they hunted continue to be found.

My co-producers on this episode are Mike Plummer and Suzanne Smith.  Suzanne is covering the de Soto excavation and the discovery of Anhaica.  Mike is looking at the Spanish mission period in our area.

Subscribe to the WFSU Ecology Blog to receive more videos and articles about our local, natural areas.

Watch a preview of Florida Footprints: Once Upon Anhaica:

Click to subscribe to the WFSU Ecology Blog
Facebook Comments
appreciationarcheologyforgotten coastgulf of mexicohabitat provisionHistoryLightning WhelkMission San Luis
0 comment
1
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
Rob Diaz de Villegas

Rob Diaz de Villegas is a senior producer for WFSU-TV, covering outdoors and ecology. After years of producing the music program OutLoud, Rob found himself in a salt marsh with a camera, and found a new professional calling as well. That project, the National Science Foundation funded "In the Grass, On the Reef," spawned the award winning WFSU Ecology Blog. Now in its tenth year, the Ecology Blog recently wrapped its most ambitious endeavor, the EcoCitizen Project. Rob is married with two young sons, who make a pretty fantastic adventure squad.

previous post
Video: Wildlife Watching at the St. Marks Refuge
next post
The Combined Benefits of Research and Teaching

Related Posts

What are those new images that are popping...

April 5, 2011

Amateur Archeologist vs. Looter: A Matter of Context?

November 6, 2015

Archeology on the Wacissa: Solving Underwater Mysteries

June 17, 2015

Byrd Hammock | Archeological Mysteries on the St....

May 3, 2018

Notes From the Field: Horse Conch Honeymoon

November 28, 2012

Revisiting the Ecology of Fear

March 22, 2011

Crown Conchs, Parenting, and Walks Along the Gulf...

June 24, 2015

Seagrass Awareness Month

March 20, 2011

Welcome to Bay Mouth Bar!

March 24, 2011

Is Artifact Collecting a Threat to Archeology?

February 4, 2016

Search

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive more outdoor adventures, and an in depth look at our local forests and waterways by Email.

If you do not receive a verification e-mail, check your spam folder.

Category

New Backyard Blog: November/ December 2020

True bug nymph on mistletoe.

True bug nymph on mistletoe.

Twitter

Tweets by wfsuIGOR

iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

iNaturalist.org

Thumb
View robdv’s observations »

Most Recent

  • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
  • Shorebirds in the Misty Morning | Surveying the St. Marks Refuge
  • New Red Wolf Breeding Pair at the Tallahassee Museum
  • Building Climate Resiliency in the Apalachicola Watershed
  • Biodiversity in the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines

Archives

May 2012
M T W T F S S
« Apr   Jun »
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

WFSU Ecology YouTube

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • Youtube

@2017 - PenciDesign. All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by PenciDesign

test title

this is the info in my test popup.