Marco Island and Ortona Mounds: my next Calusa sites to visit

On the upcoming holiday break from teaching, I will visit two Calusa sites.

#1 Marco Island

First, I will go to the Otter Mound Preserve. It ion Marco Island in an area of the island I have never visited. It is hard to describe the feeling of walking on and around these ancient mounds. I think about the people that lived their lives on these sites. From some preliminary reading, I found the Otter Mound site is part of the ancient Caxambas Point archaeological site that was inhabited thousands of year before the Calusa appeared.

My second place to visit will be the Marco Island Historical Museum. This museum contains the famous Key Marco Cat.

This wood carving is one of the best remaining examples of SW Florida native American art. I do some wood carving, and I think it might be fun to try to carve my own Key Marco Cat. Hopefully I can start working on on the holiday break. I wonder what tools the Calusa used to make such carvings. I imagine they used shells and stones such as chert

I have been reading about this hard, sedimentary rock found in Florida, and plan to include it in my novel Calusa Gold. I will have my Calusa warriors use it in weapons and match it against the obsidian blades used by the Aztecs. I should get a piece of chert and keep it on my desk as inspiration to keep researching and writing.

#2 Ortona Mounds

I am also going to visit the Ortona Mounds. This site is near the center of Florida, not far from Lake Okeechobee. I have read that some of the Calusa canals may have extended as far east as the Ortona Mounds, and the canals will be a big part of my story. I’ll have to see if the Calusa used the Caloosahatchee River to get to the area by the mounds. It makes sense to me that they would.

Please let me know if you have been to either of these locations. Also, tell me if you have visited any other Calusa sites. I welcome your suggestions.