| Foreword | xi |
| Acknowledgments | xiii |
1 | South Florida People and Their Environments | 1 |
| Who Were the Calusa? | 1 |
| How Do We Know about the Past? | 5 |
2 | The Estuary: Cradle of the Ocean | 8 |
3 | What's the Big Picture? | 12 |
| Abundant Plankton | 12 |
| Bacteria Rule | 13 |
| Algae: Salad of the Estuary | 13 |
| Diatoms: Algae That Live in Glass Houses | 14 |
| Small Things That Make a Difference | 14 |
4 | Mudflats: What You Don't See Is What You Get | 15 |
| Fiddler Crabs: A Mudflat Favorite | 18 |
| Horseshoe Crabs: An Ancient Parade | 18 |
| Tiny Crustaceans: Amphipods, Isopods, Copepods, and Ostracods | 18 |
| Worms That Live in Tubes: The Polychaetes | 20 |
| Mud Brittle Stars | 20 |
| Sturdy Clams: The Quahogs | 21 |
| Ever Dined at an Oyster Bar? | 22 |
| The Crown Conch: King of the Mud | 22 |
| A Study in Pink: The Roseate Spoonbill | 24 |
5 | Sea Grass Beds | 25 |
| Diners' Delights: Stone Crabs and Blue Crabs | 28 |
| Shrimp among the Sea Grasses | 28 |
| Lightning Whelks: Magnificent Snails | 30 |
| Old Blue Eyes: The Bay Scallop | 32 |
| Mollusks without Shells | 32 |
| Stars of the Sea Grass Beds | 33 |
| What Is a Sand Dollar, Really? | 33 |
| Cucumbers with Feet | 33 |
| At Home on a Sea Grass Blade | 34 |
| Sponges Alive! | 35 |
| Sea Whips: Animal Apartments That Look Like Plants | 35 |
6 | The Sea | 37 |
| Jellyfish: Really Big Plankton | 37 |
| Squid of Many Colors | 38 |
| A Horse Is a Horse, Unless It's a Seahorse | 39 |
| Flying through Water: The Rays and Skates | 39 |
| Tasty Fishes | 40 |
| Manatees: Elephants of the Sea | 42 |
| Sea Turtles: They Get Around | 43 |
| Bottlenose Dolphins: The Great Communicators | 44 |
7 | Mangrove Forests | 48 |
| Among the Roots | 52 |
| Tunicates: Strange Blobs or Highly Evolved Invertebrates? | 52 |
| Knock, Knock, Anybody Home? | 53 |
| Barnacles: Check Out Those Legs! | 53 |
| Anemones: Gardens on the Move | 54 |
| A Shy Crocodile | 55 |
| In the Tree Tops | 56 |
| Aerial Acrobat: The Mangrove Crab | 56 |
| The Mangrove Water Snake | 56 |
| The Mangrove Skipper: Iridescent Blue in a Sea of Green | 57 |
| Birds Galore: Mangrove Rookeries | 57 |
| Who Needs Glamour to Be Successful? | 59 |
8 | The Bottom Line | 60 |
| Protecting Florida's Estuaries | 60 |
9 | The Fishing Heritage of Gulf Coastal Florida | 63 |
| The First Coastal Dwellers | 63 |
| Fishing on the Gulf Coast of Florida | 65 |
| Foods from the Estuary | 65 |
| More Than Just Food | 65 |
| Nets of Plenty | 69 |
| Other Ways to Catch a Fish | 71 |
| The Mighty Canoe | 73 |
10 | The Calusa | 75 |
| Calusa Society | 75 |
| Where Did They Come From? | 75 |
| Leadership | 78 |
| The Calusa Name | 79 |
| The Calusa Capital | 80 |
| Calusa Connections: Trade, Exchange, and Tribute | 80 |
| Calusa Beliefs | 82 |
| Calusa Ceremonies | 85 |
| Calusa Hospitality | 88 |
11 | Calusa Architecture and Engineering | 91 |
| Calusa Canals | 93 |
| Calusa Earthworks | 95 |
| The Anatomy of Middens and Mounds | 96 |
12 | The Calusa Legacy | 101 |
| Master Woodworkers | 102 |
| Carved Bone and Shell | 103 |
| Florida Wet Sites | 103 |
| Conserving Wet-Site Objects | 103 |
| Key Marco | 105 |
| Woodpecker Plaque | 107 |
| Masks and Figureheads | 107 |
| Painted Box Sides | 107 |
| Other Items | 109 |
| Pineland | 109 |
| Waterbird Figure | 109 |
| Fort Center | 113 |
| Woodcarvings | 113 |
| New Materials, Ancient Designs | 114 |
13 | The Calusa and the Europeans | 115 |
| Early Encounters | 115 |
| Increased Contact | 117 |
| The Demise of Calusa Society | 118 |
| Are There Calusa Indian People in South Florida Today? | 121 |
14 | Fishing since the Calusa | 122 |
| Cuban and Indian Fishing in Southwest Florida | 122 |
| Technology Changes the Fishing Industry | 126 |
| Recent Indian Fishing in South Florida | 130 |
| The Future of Coastal Fishing in Florida | 130 |
15 | Indian People in South Florida Today | 134 |
| Origin | 134 |
| Wars and Removals | 136 |
| The Unconquered | 137 |
| The Archaeology and History of the Seminoles in North Florida | 138 |
| "Town of the White King" | 138 |
| Trading Posts | 140 |
| Cuscowilla and King Payne's Town | 142 |
| Clan Camps and War Camps | 143 |
| The "Black Seminoles": African Allies | 144 |
16 | Seminole and Miccosukee Culture and Arts | 150 |
| Clothing | 152 |
| Dolls | 152 |
| Basketry | 152 |
| Woodwork | 153 |
| Women's Dance Rattles | 154 |
| Silverwork | 155 |
| Beadwork | 156 |
| Fingerweaving | 157 |
| Kinship and Clans | 158 |
| Housing | 158 |
| Food | 159 |
| Language | 161 |
| Oral Traditions | 161 |
| Ceremonies | 162 |
| Medicine | 162 |
17 | The Future of South Florida | 163 |
| Places to Visit | 167 |
| Suggested Readings | 169 |
| Bibliography | 171 |
| Index | 177 |