Celebrate Florida Archaeology Month
Learn about Florida’s history through the artifacts and objects found at our state parks.
The Calusa were a Native American tribe that lived hundreds of years ago on the island that is now Mound Key Archaeological State Park. The Calusa people's diet consisted mainly of fish and shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico and its many waterways. After each meal, these shells were put to good use as building material and tools.
Shell tools, such as shell hammers and axes, are among the most commonly found Calusa artifacts. Many of these tools were made from the shell of the lightning whelk (Busycon contrarium), a species that grows very large. To construct these tools, the Calusa carved holes in each side of the thick, hard calcium shell, probably with shark-tooth knives. A large wooden dowel was then inserted and tied to the shell using rope made from natural sources such as palm-fiber cord.
Making tools out of these shells made it easy to replace the tools. When a hammer or axe became too worn to be used, it was added to a shell mound and replaced with a fresh shell, making the production of these tools sustainable for many years.
The shell hammer below was recently discovered on one of the many islands in Estero Bay that were settled by the Calusa.
