Fort Center facts for kids
 Location in Florida
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| Location | Lakeport, Florida, Glades County, Florida,  USA |
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| Region | Glades County, Florida |
| Coordinates | 26°57′2.66″N 81°8′10.97″W / 26.9507389°N 81.1363806°W |
| History | |
| Founded | 450 BCE |
| Abandoned | 1700 CE |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1930s, 1940s, early 1950s, 1961, 1966-1971 |
| Archaeologists | John Goggin, William H. Sears University of Florida, Colgate University, Florida Atlantic University |
| Responsible body: State of Florida | |
Fort Center is an amazing archaeological site in Glades County, Florida, United States. It's located just a few miles northwest of Lake Okeechobee. People lived here for over 2,000 years, from about 450 BCE until around 1700 CE. What makes Fort Center really special is that its ancient residents might have grown corn centuries before anyone else in Florida! This makes it a very important place for understanding early farming in North America.
The area around Fisheating Creek was home to people of the Belle Glade culture even earlier, starting around 1000 BCE. The name "Fort Center" comes from a military fort built here during the Second Seminole War (1835–1843). This fort was a palisade (a fence of strong wooden posts) made from cabbage-palm trunks. It was named after a U.S. Army Lieutenant J. P. Center.
In 1842, a group of sailors and marines, led by Lieutenant John Rodgers, traveled through the Everglades and up Fisheating Creek. They found Fort Center abandoned and had to fix its palisade. They saw signs that Seminoles lived nearby but didn't meet any. Fort Center was used again during the Third Seminole War (1853–55) as a supply stop.
By the 1930s, new settlements pushed the Seminoles out of most of the area. The Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, created in 1935, is now next to Fisheating Creek.
The archaeological site of Fort Center is a large area with many interesting features. It includes earthwork mounds, long raised paths, middens (ancient trash piles), circular ditches, and an artificial pond. This complex stretches about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) wide along Fisheating Creek. The original military blockhouse is gone, likely washed away by the creek over time.
Contents
The Natural Setting
The Fort Center site has three main natural areas. These are a swampy floodplain along Fisheating Creek, a wet prairie, and oak and cabbage palm hammocks (areas of higher ground with trees). The floodplain and prairie often flood. The prairie has sandy soil over a hard layer, which means water doesn't drain well. The creek, however, cuts deeper than this hard layer.
Studies of ancient plant pollen show that the creek area and prairie have looked much the same for 2,500 to 3,000 years. The tree-covered hammocks have grown larger since people stopped living here regularly around 1700. In the 20th century, much of the land around Fort Center was turned into pastures. Also, large dikes were built around Lake Okeechobee, except where Fisheating Creek flows into it.
Ancient Cultures of the Area
Fort Center is located in the Lake Okeechobee Basin, which is the same area as the Belle Glade culture. This culture is one of several related groups that lived in southern Florida. The people here had a long history and knew how to live well in their environment. Archaeologists mostly see small changes in their decorated pottery over time.
Many mounds, ditches, and other earthworks have been found in southern Florida. Over thirty sites from the Belle Glade culture are known around Fisheating Creek alone. Several other sites in southern Florida have similar circular features, though none have been studied as closely as Fort Center. Some experts believe that similar building styles found at Fort Center can be seen from Lake Tohopekaliga in the north to Palm Beach and Hendry counties in the south. There are also similarities to the Crystal River site.
For a long time, some people thought the Calusa people built these earthworks. However, archaeologists now generally disagree. While the Calusa were powerful in southern Florida later on, the Belle Glade culture areas were different from the Calusa's own Caloosahatchee culture.
Discovering Fort Center
Archaeologists first became interested in Fort Center in 1926 when a carved wooden bird was found in a pond there. During the Great Depression, archaeologists surveyed and dug test pits at the site in the 1930s and 1940s. John Goggin also surveyed the site in the early 1950s.
In 1961, a group of amateur archaeologists started digging without proper supervision. They took many artifacts, including items made from Spanish metals. When the land owner, Lykes Brothers, found out, they stopped the group and invited professional archaeologists to study the site.
Teams from the University of Florida, Colgate University, and Florida Atlantic University then excavated the complex for six years (1966–1971). In 1999, the State of Florida bought the Fort Center site. Today, it is part of the Fisheating Creek Ecosystem and is managed as a wildlife management area.
More recently, in 2010, Victor D. Thompson and Thomas J. Pluckhahn did more research at Fort Center. Their work largely confirmed earlier findings but offered new ideas about the purpose of the site's ritual areas. They see Fort Center as one of the most important ancient earthwork sites built by hunter-gatherers in the world.
The First People and Their Ideas
Archaeologist William H. Sears believed that the first people in Florida's freshwater areas came from northern South America. He thought they brought ideas like using tools made from conch shells, growing corn, and building earthworks for farming in wet prairies. He also noted their unique pottery. Many archaeologists today don't fully agree with Sears' migration theory. They point out that there's no clear evidence of South American root crops in Florida, and the pottery evidence isn't a perfect match.
However, there is some support for the idea that corn and a type of tobacco might have arrived in Florida by sea. Sears divided the time people lived at Fort Center into four main periods. Period I started before 450 BCE and lasted until about 200 CE. Period II was from about 200 to 600-800 CE. Period III followed until 1200-1400 CE, and Period IV lasted until about 1700 CE.
Recent research by Thompson and Pluckhahn suggests that the main ritual center, including the Great Circle, was built much earlier than Sears thought. They also found that the mortuary mound and pond were built soon after. This means that people worked together to change the landscape at Fort Center for almost 2,500 years. This would have needed many people working together, possibly living at the site during construction times.
Life in Period I
Period I (before 450 BCE to 200 CE) at Fort Center is known for several mounds that served as living areas, and large circular ditches. Sears thought these ditches enclosed ancient fields. Only a few families lived at the site at any one time. There's no sign that some people had higher status than others. Interestingly, corn pollen was found in ancient trash piles on the mounds and in the "fields" from this period.
Five artificial mounds (Mounds 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14) are located near the creek. They are each about 100 feet (30 meters) wide and two to three feet (0.6-0.9 meters) high. Most of these mounds are now part of the natural banks along Fisheating Creek. Mound 13 might have been used for burials and later for houses.
The Lake Okeechobee area often floods. So, mounds were important to raise homes above floodwaters. While most mounds at Fort Center were for houses, some had other uses. The site was likely chosen because it offered easy access to food from the creek.
Thompson and Pluckhahn believe the mortuary mound and pond were built much earlier. They agree that only a few families lived there permanently. But they found signs that larger groups of people gathered there, especially during construction times.
The Mysterious Circular Ditches
Sears' team found three circular ditches at Fort Center. Two were about 300 feet (91 meters) wide and partly overlapped. A third, larger ditch, about 1,200 feet (366 meters) wide, was built later and enclosed the others. This large ditch was 25 to 30 feet (7.6-9.1 meters) wide and six feet (1.8 meters) deep. Most of the dug-out dirt was piled on the inside of the ditch. There were two openings in the ditch.
No tools or other items were found in the ditches or the areas they enclosed. However, corn pollen was found under soil that had been moved when the ditches were dug. Radio-carbon dating shows that all three circles were finished by 450 BCE. There's no evidence they were used for homes, ceremonies, or defense. Sears believed the corn pollen meant they were used for farming. The ditches cut through the hard ground, which would have helped drain the wet prairie soil. Sears thought the Great Circle was used for gardens for many centuries. He compared these circular ditches to similar farming ditches in ancient Colombia.
Sears also believed that the Fort Center circles were older than those of the Adena culture in Ohio. He thought these circle earthworks, along with corn and a certain type of pottery, were brought to Florida from South America. He suggested the people who dug these ditches were descendants of South American migrants who had adapted to Florida's environment.
More recent research using LiDAR technology (a type of laser scanning) by Thompson and Pluckhahn found there were actually four concentric circular ditches, not three. They also found that these ditches were regularly destroyed and rebuilt. This suggests the ancient people had a deep understanding of creation and destruction. Historian Ted Ehmann believes that different groups worked together at Fort Center for 2,500 years, showing a mix of ancient cultures and beliefs unique to south Florida's mound-building period.
During the Second and Third Seminole Wars (1835–1842), a military fort was built on the edge of the Great Circle. It was named after Lieutenant J.P. Center, who died in the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.
Life in Period II
During Period II (about 200 to 400-600 CE), Fort Center became a ceremonial center. Three to six families lived here and were involved in rituals. Two mounds, Mound A and Mound B, and an artificial pond formed a special complex. An earthen wall surrounded Mound B and the pond, connecting to Mound A. This complex was the main focus of Fort Center during this period.
The Mounds
Mound A was irregularly shaped and about three feet (0.9 meters) tall. It was likely a living area. Ancient trash piles on Mound A contained pottery pieces, corn pollen, animal bones (mostly deer), and human baby teeth. Some human bones, broken like animal bones, were also found, suggesting unusual practices. Tools made from shells, stone grinding tools, and pipes were found in the living areas. Pottery from other cultures was also found, suggesting trade. Sears thought this trade pottery was sacred and used for ceremonies. Many post holes show that round or oval houses, about 30 feet (9 meters) wide, once stood on the mound. There were also pits where shells were burned to make lime. Mound A was expanded at least twice and was used for habitation even after 1400 CE.
Mound B was cone-shaped. Decayed conch shells and human bones were found on its original surface. Dirt from the nearby pond was used to build the earliest part of Mound B and the surrounding wall. Later, more dirt was added, and about 150 bundled human burials were placed in the sides of the mound. No tools were found with these burials, but small amounts of mud from the pond were present. A collection of special objects, described as a "Hopewellian type deposit," was found on the side of Mound B facing the pond.
Mound B was first used for living and preparing bodies. Later, the living area moved to Mound A, while body preparation continued on Mound B. Broken pipes found on Mound A and in the pond suggest Mound A was also used for ceremonies.
The Charnel Pond
The artificial pond in the ceremonial complex was four to five feet (1.2-1.5 meters) deep with a flat bottom. It was dug through the hard ground, allowing water to keep it full. Dirt from Mound B had washed into the pond. When archaeologists dug in the pond, they found wooden objects, human bones from about 150 people, and ancient human waste. Some of the wooden pieces were carved, like the bird that first drew attention to the site. Some carvings had a lime-based coating. Other wood pieces were long enough to have held the carvings above the water. Some wood was rotted, some was burned. Underneath, there was a layer of ancient trash with pottery, shells, pipe pieces, and ancient human waste.
Sears believed the pond was a "charnel" pond, meaning it held a wooden platform with bundled bodies. The carved bird and animal figures were likely placed on this platform. The platform stood long enough for some wood to rot. It seems the platform caught fire and fell into the pond around 500 CE. Since about 150 bodies were found in the pond, and another 150 bundled bodies from the pond were buried in Mound B, Sears thought the platform originally held about 300 bundled bodies. About half of the bodies that fell into the pond were later recovered and reburied in Mound B.
Water burials were common in Florida's inland freshwater sites. Artificial ponds have also been found at two other sites near Fisheating Creek. This suggests a "water mortuary cult" (a special way of honoring the dead using water) might have been common in southern Florida for a very long time.
Later studies of the bones showed that these ancient people suffered from joint pain and low iron due to parasites, but they were generally well-fed. Few lived past age 35, and none lived past about 55.
What it All Means
Sears believed the complex of Mounds A and B and the charnel pond was a ceremonial center. Here, specialists prepared bodies, likely cleaning flesh from bones. These specialists probably lived on Mound B early on, then moved to Mound A. They served a large population across the Lake Okeechobee area. They might also have supplied tobacco, pipes, and lime (for processing corn) to the surrounding communities. The 300 bodies on the platform might represent people from the ceremonial center over several centuries. Sears thought all residents of this center belonged to a sacred social class.
Life in Period III
Period III lasted from about 600-800 CE to 1200-1400 CE. During this time, the ceremonial center was no longer active. People lived in two areas on the natural bank along Fisheating Creek (Midden A and part of Midden B), and also on Mound A for at least the early part of this period. The tools and items they left behind were very similar to those from Period II. However, there is no evidence of corn farming from Period III.
Life in Period IV
Period IV ran from about 1200-1400 CE to around 1700 CE. This period includes the time after Europeans first arrived in Florida. Archaeologists found items from this period that were made from Spanish metals like gold, silver, copper, and brass. People continued to live at Middens A and B. They also started living on new mounds on the prairie, away from the creek. Long, straight earthworks also appeared during this period. Corn pollen was found again in deposits from this period, after being absent in Period III. Burials from after 1500 CE were found at the top of Mound B. Most of these bodies were buried with their legs bent, while others were bundled.
Burials from Period IV included special items, or grave goods, made from Spanish metals. These items might have shown a person's rank or importance. Fort Center was likely part of the Calusa territory during this time. An early Spanish captive, Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, wrote that the Mayaimi people, who lived around Lake Okeechobee, were under Calusa rule. Fontaneda described the Mayaimi as living in small towns and scattered homes. Sears believed the Calusa probably didn't use Fort Center as a ceremonial center.
During Period IV, several living sites were used. Most of the mounds were new to this period. Each mound was large enough for a single house and was connected to a long earthwork. Sears thought these long earthworks were "agricultural plots" or gardens. They were raised two to three feet (0.6-0.9 meters) above the prairie and surrounded by ditches. No tools were found in these long earthworks.
Similar mounds and long ridges have been found at other sites in Florida, suggesting a "prehistoric farmstead culture."
What They Ate
Besides corn, which might have been used only for ceremonies or as a special food, the people of Fort Center got their food by gathering, hunting, and fishing. They ate many different animals, especially turtles (nine different kinds) and fish. They also ate alligators, snakes, frogs, opossums, raccoons, deer, geese, and turkeys, among others.
Growing Corn at Fort Center
Sears found several clues that corn was grown at Fort Center. The most direct evidence was finding corn pollen in different areas of the site. Corn pollen from Period I was found in the areas surrounded by circular ditches and in ancient trash piles. From Period II, corn pollen was found in the lime coating on a carved bird from the charnel pond, and in some of the ancient human waste. Corn pollen was also found in some of the Period IV long earthworks.
Other clues that corn was grown include the circular ditches from Period I and the long earthworks from Period IV. Sears compared these to similar structures used for farming in South America. He also noted that the lime made from burning shells on Mound A in Period II could be used to process dried corn into masa (a dough used for tortillas), and pestles found could be used to make cornmeal mush.
The idea that corn was grown at Fort Center as early as 450 BCE has been debated. Some archaeologists point out that no corn kernels or cobs have been found. Others questioned the dating of the corn pollen. However, later reanalysis of samples confirmed the presence of corn pollen much earlier than it appeared elsewhere in Florida. Some argue that the soil at Fort Center isn't good for growing corn. Also, studies of dental wear show that the Period II residents didn't rely on farming for their main diet, meaning corn didn't contribute much to what they ate.
