Crystal River State Archeological State Park

Likely site of Mayan visits to Florida

On Dec. 28, I visited Crystal River Archeological State Park. On Florida’s west coast, about an hour north of Tampa, it is a pretty site with several mounds and other historical items.

It was inhabited by Native Americans from about AD 50 to 1050. While this may be a bit early for the Calusans, the fact that Mayans visited there is great news for my upcoming novel Calusa Gold, as it establishes proof that early peoples could travel by boat between Florida and Mexico.

The most striking feature at Crystal River is called “Mound A”. It is about 28 feet high, and built mostly of shells. The people living at the Crystal River site likely used it for public performances and observation. A display mentions that it may have taken 19 years to build. Twenty-eight feet might not seem that high, but the mound really stands out on the otherwise flat terrain along the river.

I took this picture to try to give an idea of how steep the mound is.

Besides being a place where people lived, the Crystal River was an important burial site. It was interesting to see that there were two different burial mounds, one mainly used for high-ranking or wealthy people, and another for those not in the upper classes of their society.

Main burial mound at Crystal River for higher ranking people. The display sign said they were often buried with gifts such as meteoric iron, quartz crystal, mica, and other materials not found in Florida.

This lower mound area is the burial site on the opposite side of the complex. The people buried here did not receive the same types of gifts as in the main complex.

This display describes the differences of the second burial location.

The park also has several large stones with carvings that may have had some importance for the people living there. The stone below is called “Stela 1”. According to the park, archeologist Ripley Bullen found it on the park grounds in 1964. There is some debate over whether it is ancient or much more modern. Either way, it is interesting, and it was fun trying to find the face. Can you see the face carved into this image? It took me a while to spot it.

See the face?

Here is a closeup of the face.