Digging Miami

5. Sacred Geography: The Prehistoric Settlement System

5 Sacred Geography The Prehistoric Settlement System In the world of Tequesta geography, the land, sea, and Everglades were inextricably linked. Each location used for settlement favored water access for transportation and fishing and had sufficiently high ground to stay dry. Mangrove estuaries became prime locations for fishing, and no doubt families and clans claimed and regulated fishing rights on the most productive locales. Perhaps there were spirits attached to principal rivers and estuaries and each special place, special tree, and offshore reef had its own sacred significance. We do not know the Tequesta perception of sacred space, but in the Native American world, there is less a distinction between the sacred and secular as there is an integrated whole—an operating cosmology in which all actions have consequences in both the natural and supernatural worlds. The Tequesta settlement system includes the locations used for resource procurement, habitation, and disposal of the dead. This encompasses all of southeastern Florida, reflecting an effective adaptation to the region’s major natural features: the Everglades, the rivers and creeks that drain from the Everglades across the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, the shores of Biscayne Bay, and the barrier islands that parallel the coast, such as Key Biscayne and Miami Beach. All of these areas were easily accessible by canoe. The rivers, creeks, and sloughs that drained from the Everglades into Biscayne Bay allowed canoes to travel between the interior and the bay within hours, making all of the coast and Everglades, including the upper Florida Keys, easily accessible within hours. Questions about whether the Tequesta were “nomadic” or sedentary are frequently asked of prehistorians. More specifically, the discussion focuses on whether sites were used year around or only periodically. Studies in other parts of eastern North America often reveal evidence of shifts of settlements in response to seasonal changes and/or the availability of various food resources, and similar shifts of settlement and resource procurement Sacred Geography: The Prehistoric Settlement System 93 in South Florida undoubtedly occurred. Archaeologists have been able to identify specific animal and plant remains within the archaeological record that can often be correlated with their availability at specific times of the year, however, this record of seasonal availability does not necessarily indicate that the site was not in use during other times of the year when such seasonal evidence might be absent, nor is it diagnostic. Descriptions of prehistoric settlement in South Florida should avoid terms like “nomadic” or “seminomadic.” The word “nomadic” conjures images of a homeless people drifting aimlessly through a hostile environment, whereas in reality, the Tequesta were very much at home in the South Florida wetlands. They probably lived in bands of extended families, perhaps varying in size from a dozen to 40 people, in camps and villages on both the coast and interior. They made frequent trips throughout the region to procure food and other resources, using smaller camp sites as temporary bases to gather specific resources, such as sea turtles on Key Biscayne. One of the ongoing debates among scholars is whether the Tequesta were predominantly coastal dwellers who traveled into the Everglades exclusively for the purposes of hunting and fishing, thus using the Everglades tree islands only briefly during hunting and fishing trips, or whether they used the Everglades for long-term camps or even permanent villages. Archaeological investigations demonstrate that some Everglades sites were intensively used and may have been more than temporary camps. Many of these black-earth middens are large and deep with up to 4 feet of cultural deposits. Most of these tree island sites include cemeteries. Evidence gleaned from Everglades excavations has revealed marine shells and sea turtle bones obtained from fishing and foraging on the coast. Although coastal sites were the primary location for prehistoric habitation, the evidence suggests that some Everglades sites may have been used for primary habitation, with foraging and food gathering being directed to the coast rather than the reverse. Site Types The Dade County Historic Survey was conducted between 1978 and 1981. It resulted in the documentation of 350 prehistoric archaeological sites across the county. This is by no means all of the sites that once existed there, but it is a large enough sample to provide the basis for classifying these sites into types and develop a predictive site model and thus create a regional settlement model. These site types are described below. Part I. Prehistoric Miami 94 Habitation...