Florida's
Indians from
Ancient Times to the Present
by Jerald T.
Milanich
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Florida's Indians
tells the story of the native societies that have lived in Florida for twelve
millennia, from the early hunters at the end of the Ice Age to the modern
Seminole, Miccosukee, and Creeks.
When the first Indians arrived in what is now Florida, they wrested their
livelihood from a land far different from the modern countryside, one that was
cooler, drier, and almost twice the size. Thousands of years later European
explorers encountered literally hundreds of different Indian groups living in
every part of the state. (Today every Florida county contains an Indian
archaeological site.) The arrival of colonists brought the native peoples a new
world and great changes took place--by the mid-1700s, through warfare, slave
raids, and especially epidemics, the population was almost annihilated. Other
Indians soon moved into the state, including Creeks from Georgia and Alabama,
who were the ancestors of the modern Seminole and Miccosukee Indians.
Written for a general audience, this book is lavishly illustrated with
full-color drawings and photographs. It skillfully integrates the latest
archaeological and historical information about the Sunshine State's Native
Americans, connecting the past and present with modern place-names, and it gives
a proud voice to Florida’s rich Indian heritage.
Jerald T. Milanich is curator of archaeology in the Department of
Anthropology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville. He is the
author or editor of twelve books and monographs, including:
- Famous
Florida Sites (UPF, 1999)
- Florida
Indians and the Invasion from Europe (UPF, 1995)
- Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period (with Samuel Proctor, UPF, 1978, reprinted 1994),
- Archaeology
of Precolumbian Florida (UPF, 1994), and
- Hernando
de Soto and the Indians of Florida (with Charles Hudson, UPF,
1993), the last two of which received the Rembert Patrick Award from the
Florida Historical Society.
Native Peoples, Cultures, and Places of the Southeastern United States Series
1998. 224 pp. 6 X 9.
20 color illustrations, 25 b&w photos, 7 maps, 17 line drawings, 1 table.
ISBN 0-8130-1598-7
Cloth, $39.95s
ISBN 0-8130-1599-5
Paper, $19.95
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"One would be hard-pressed to find a person more qualified to write a general account of the Florida Indians, and he has succeeded brilliantly in producing a readable and accessible book carefully grounded on solid scholarship. Milanich not only relates what is known and believed about the Florida Indians, but he shows how and why we know and think what we do. . . . A delightful, informative, and attractive book, and one that deserves and will doubtless earn a wide readership among scholars seeking an overview of the subject as well as curious general readers."-- Sixteenth Century Journal
"An exceptional book for popular consumption. . . . It is a wonderful synthesis, and will be avidly read by both professional archaeologists and the general public."--Marvin T. Smith, Valdosta State University