When Ponce de Leon sailed along the Florida coast with his Spanish ship in 1513 naming these lands La Florida, the peninsula had thousands of sophisticated people.
The Ais, Jeaga, Apalachee, Mayaimi, Potano, Seminole, Tequesta, Timucua lived and ecologically engineered the Florida landscape with canals and earthworks and fire.
One of those tribes was the Calusa, a politically complex chiefdom society that controlled all of south Florida.
Much of their culture and structures were obliterated by the Spanish entrada and the subsequent effects of Florida’s transformation.
There remains stunning relicts of these exquisite cultures who lived here for thousands of years adapting to a range of climatic and ecological changes.
Art, tools, pottery and everyday objects from their fascinating existence are scattered throughout Florida.
The Pineland Site is one of the best examples of a landowner understanding the educational and spiritual value of protecting the precious few sites left.
Now researchers and the public can investigate Florida’s rich past.
Watch our new short film ‘Pineland: Randell Research Center’ to learn about the second largest Calusa settlement in southwest Florida at Pineland near current day Fort Myers.
Cindy Bear, Randell Research Center Program Coordinator, shares the story of Pineland revealed through a combination of extensive archaeology work by Dr. William Marquardt and Dr. Karen Walker, historical accounts, and ecological research.
Visitors can explore ancient shell mounds, burial mounds, and canal remnants created by a sophisticated society long gone, but not forgotten.