The Anthropology of Florida

Foreword

ANTHROPOLOGY OF FLORIDA FOREWORD WHEN at the end of October, 1918, shortly after the death of my wife, Professor W. H. Holmes and Dr. J. W. Fewkes, through the Bureau of American Ethnology, offered me the facilities for a brief trip of exploration, I chose one of the least known regions in the States, namely, the southwestern extremity of Florida. I have been in Florida on anthropological quests on three other occasions, reaching on the west coast as far south as Fort Myers; this time I wanted to penetrate as far south as there might be traces of the former aboriginal population, to get a rapid bird's-eye view of conditions, to collect whatever skeletal material I might be able to find, and to see as many as possible of the Seminoles who are known to roam through that territory. I was aware, of course, of the work of Mr. Clarence B. Moore, as well as of that of Hamilton Cushing, along that coast; but for purposes of physical anthropology that was not enough, and I felt a strong need of a personal visit to these regions. The trip proved interesting, though also difficult, beyond all expectation. The region contains a wealth of archeological remains which would long since have created quite a stir if located in a more accessible part of the country. It also contains burials, probably many burials, of the old population; but it soon appeared that nothing of these skeletal remains has been saved by anyone of the few local settlers, and that nothing could be excavated on the trip, due to unpropitious season with swarms of insects and a complete lack of help. Of the Seminoles a few only were met; to seek the rest was out of the question. The results of the journey as marked on the spot are given in the following pages, with the hope that they may supplement and advance Mr. Moore's work and reports. The physical anthropology of this part of the peninsula, together with that of the southeastern coast, must remain, in the main, for future determination. The second part of this memoir will be devoted to a study of the Florida natives from the rest of the peninsula.1 Due to their geographical position and other facts, this study has long been felt to be desirable, but it was only in the last few years that enough skeletal material was obtained both from Florida and from neighboring States to make possible some valid general deductions. We owe this again, it may be acknowledged with pleasure, mainly to Mr. Clarence B. Moore's painstaking explorations in Georgia, Arkansas and Louisiana, as well as Florida. The results of the studies here dealt with, together with those on tribes further north and west, lead to a strong hope that if these researches can be properly extended, particularly to the Northwest and to Mexico, we may before long be able fairly to master the intricate subject of the types and relations of the North-American Indians. I The completion of this study, also, has been made possible by a small grant from the Bureau of American Ethnology, to which the author hereby gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness. ...