Calusa

E77086

The Calusa were a powerful Indigenous people of southwest Florida known for their complex chiefdom, maritime culture, and resistance to European colonization.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Calusa people 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Indigenous people
Native American tribe
pre-Columbian culture
agricultureUse minimal agriculture
burialPractice mound burials
capital Calos
Mound Key
centeredAround Estero Bay
cultureType complex chiefdom
maritime culture
declineCausedBy European diseases
slave raids
warfare
encountered Spanish explorers
engagedIn trade with other Florida tribes
warfare with Spanish colonizers
ethnicGroupOf southwest Florida NERFINISHED
firstContactWith Juan Ponce de León
firstContactYear 1513
influencedRegion South Florida
surface form: south Florida
knownFor canal systems
large shell mounds
politically centralized chiefdom
resistance to European colonization
wooden architecture
languageFamily Calusa language
locatedInThePast Florida
Gulf Coast of the United States
surface form: Gulf Coast of Florida
mainSubsistence fishing
hunting of marine animals
shellfish gathering
materialCulture dugout canoes
shell ornaments
shell tools
wooden carvings
politicalOrganization paramount chief ruling subordinate towns
populationEstimatePreContact several thousand to tens of thousands
regionNow Charlotte Harbor
surface form: Charlotte Harbor area

Collier County, Florida NERFINISHED
Lee County, Florida NERFINISHED
religion complex belief system with powerful spirits
socialStructure commoners
hereditary chiefs
nobility class
specialized priests
someMembersRelocatedTo Cuba
timePeriod early colonial period
late pre-Columbian era
usedEnvironment estuaries and coastal waters

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Jaega neighboringGroup Calusa
Tocobaga neighboringGroup Calusa
Ais neighboringPeople Calusa
Tequesta neighboringPeople Calusa
this entity surface form: Calusa people