The Native American Timucuan people and their ancestors lived in today’s northeast Florida for thousands of years and built many mounds. But one is particularly spectacular....the Turtle Mound in Canaveral National Seashore.
The Timucua people welcomed Pedro Menéndez to their village at what would become St. Augustine. They lived in large and small villages, harvesting abundant seafood, growing corn, and hunting deer in the interior. Unfortunately, they succumbed to European diseases and Spanish disruption and vanished in the 1600s.
The Timucuans built mounds to elevate special buildings and bury their dead. The Turtle Mound, is 50 feet tall and one of the largest in the United States. It is made of layers of shells, especially large conchs. The mound is on the Atlantic coast near New SmyrnaBeach in the Canaveral National Seashore. Archeological sites such as Turtle Mound are the last remaining vestiges of the lost Timucuan people.
Today, the Turtle Mound is open to the public and you can climb it for a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Unearthing Florida is a project of WUWF Public Media, the Florida Public Archaeology Network(FPAN), and its founder, Dr. Judith Bense, since 1998. FPAN's Michael Thomin is a contributor to the program. WUWF's Sandra Averhart is the executive producer.
