Manasota culture facts for kids
The Manasota culture was a group of ancient people who lived along the central Gulf Coast of Florida. They lived there from about 500 years before the Common Era (BCE) until around 900 CE. After that, their culture changed and became known as the Safety Harbor culture. For some time, between 300 and 700 CE, the Manasota people adopted special pottery and burial traditions from the Weeden Island cultures, who lived in northern Florida and nearby Alabama and Georgia.
Contents
The Manasota Culture: Ancient Florida People
Who Were the Manasota People?
The Manasota culture was a way of life for people living in central Florida long ago. They lived along the coast, where they likely fished and gathered food. Their culture existed for over a thousand years. It began around 500 BCE and lasted until about 900 CE. After 900 CE, their traditions evolved into what archaeologists call the Safety Harbor culture.
How Do We Know About Them?
Archaeologists are like history detectives. They study old objects and sites to learn about past cultures. The Manasota culture was first described by archaeologists George Luer and Marion Almy in 1979. They looked at many places where these ancient people lived.
Luer and Almy found 25 archaeological sites that belonged to the Manasota culture. These sites are located around Tampa Bay and south towards Charlotte Harbor. Their work helped us understand more about these early Floridians.
Pottery and Practices: Weeden Island Connection
The Manasota people had their own unique pottery. Most of their pottery was plain and made with sand mixed in the clay. However, for special ceremonies, they sometimes used fancy pottery from the Weeden Island cultures.
Starting around 300 CE, the Manasota people began to adopt some ceremonial burial practices from the Weeden Island cultures. These special traditions lasted until about 700 CE. The Weeden Island sacred pottery was first found at the Weedon Island site in Pinellas County.
Archaeologists now know that the Weedon Island site was not in the main area of the Weeden Island culture. The Manasota culture actually started much earlier, around 500 BCE. This was about 700 years before the Weeden Island ceremonial traditions developed. The everyday life of the Manasota people was different from the everyday life of the Weeden Island cultures.
