Belle Glade culture facts for kids
The Belle Glade culture was a group of ancient people who lived in Florida. They lived around Lake Okeechobee and in the Kissimmee River valley. This culture existed for a long time, from about 1000 BCE (Before Common Era) until about 1700 CE (Common Era).
Archaeologists study the places where these people lived to learn about them. Some important sites include Belle Glade Mound, Big Mound City, and Fort Center. The Belle Glade site, located near the city of Belle Glade, gave the culture its name. Early studies of these sites were done in the 1930s. Later, in the 1970s, a big dig happened at Fort Center, led by William Sears.
For many years, experts debated if the Belle Glade people were a completely separate culture. Some thought they might have been connected to the Calusa culture, another group in South Florida. Archaeologists like Gordon Willey and John Goggin helped create timelines for these ancient groups. In the 1960s, William Sears tried to show that the Belle Glade culture was distinct. More recently, new research has looked at the dates of these sites. This research suggests that the Belle Glade culture might have started even earlier than first thought. It also shows possible connections between the Belle Glade people (also called the Mayaimi) and the Calusa. Future studies will help us understand if the Belle Glade culture was truly separate.
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Where They Lived: Geographic Context
The Belle Glade culture lived in a unique area of Florida. This region is mostly flat and sandy. It has many lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The land is low, but there are some slightly higher areas along the western and northern parts of the Kissimmee Valley.
The environment included pine forests and cypress swamps. There were also wet prairies and hammocks, which are small islands of trees like live oak and cabbage palm. Archaeologists define this cultural area by the special mounds, earthworks, and pottery found there. These items are mostly found around Lake Okeechobee and as far north as Lake Kissimmee.
Important Sites
Many important places where the Belle Glade people lived have been found. Here are some of them:
- Belle Glade, Palm Beach County
- Big Mound City, Palm Beach County
- Big Gopher, Palm Beach County
- Maple Mound, Hendry County
- South Lake Mounds, Hendry County
- Tony's Mound, Hendry County
- Clewiston Mounds, Hendry County
- Fort Center, Glades County
- Ortona Mounds, Glades County
- Mulberry Mound, Glades County
- Circle Canal Site, Glades County
- North Fisheating Creek Circle, Glades County
- Lakeport Circle Ditch, Glades County
- Pestle Earthwork, Glades County
- Oxer Borrow, Glades County
- Fort Kissimmee Earthworks, Okeechobee County
- Fulford Earthworks, Okeechobee County
- Clemens Square and Mound, Okeechobee County
- Underhill Sawgrass Pond Site, Okeechobee County
- Barley Barbar, Martin County
When They Lived: Time Periods
People first arrived in the Lake Okeechobee area during the late Archaic period. This was a very long time ago. The Belle Glade culture is thought to have started around 1000 BCE.
Archaeologists have divided the Belle Glade culture into different time periods to help understand its history. One way divides it into three periods:
- Transitional (1000 – 500 BCE)
- Belle Glade I (500 BCE – 1000 CE)
- Belle Glade II (1000 – 1700 CE)
Another way divides it into four periods:
- Period I (1000 BCE – 200 CE)
- Period II (200 – about 700 CE)
- Period III (about 700 – about 1300 CE)
- Period IV (about 1300 – 1700 CE)
When Europeans first came to Florida, the Mayaimi people lived around Lake Okeechobee. The Jaega people lived in the eastern Okeechobee area. We don't know much about the people living in the Kissimmee Valley during this time.
What They Left Behind: Artifacts and Mounds
Most of the pottery found at Belle Glade sites is plain and has no decorations. It's called Belle Glade Plain or Glades Plain pottery. Archaeologists have also found tools and items made from wood, bone, shell, and shark teeth. However, there aren't many of these items.
A key feature of the Belle Glade culture is their earthworks. These are large structures made by moving earth. Circular ditches appeared early in their history, around 500 BCE. They also built mounds for homes and burials. These mounds were especially important during the wet season, providing dry places to live above floodwaters. Some mounds were also used for burials. In later periods, they built complex groups of mounds and long, raised paths.
Recent research in 2013 by Victor D. Thompson and Thomas J. Pluckhahn found new information about these sites. Their dating showed that some of the structures, like a large circular earthwork and a burial mound, were built around 800 BCE. This new information helps us better understand the timeline of the Belle Glade culture.
What They Ate: Subsistence
The Belle Glade people got their food by hunting and gathering. They hunted animals like deer, turtles, and snakes. They also caught fish and collected fresh water mollusks (like snails and clams). While they might have grown some maize (corn), it was not a major part of their diet. They mostly relied on what they could find in nature.
