Important Source: The Calusa and Their Legacy

And a song too! I've wanted this book for a long time.

I finally purchased The Calusa and Their Legacy by Darcie A. MacMahon and William H. Marquardt. I say “finally” because I’ve known about this book and William Marquardt for quite a while, and I have read a few excerpts online, so I am glad to have the book now.

Marquardt appears in almost every search I do for the Calusa. He was the key person in the establishment of Randell Research Center on Pine Island. MacMahon is an “archeologist and museum specialist” at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

After skimming the book, I found an interesting line in a section titled “Are There Calusa Indian People in South Florida today?” The text states, “In the 1930s Smithsonian folklorist Francis Densmore collected songs among the Seminole people that were attributed to the ‘Calusa.’”

A quick search of Francis Densmore found a tune called “Calusa Corn Dance Song.” You can listen to clip of the song here: Calusa Corn Dance Song

I wonder about the meaning of this song as the Calusa were never known to grow maize or practice widespread agriculture. I am also mentioning this in Calusa Gold to show one of the key differences between the Calusa and the Aztecs. I definitely want to look into this more.