Apalachee Council House Artifacts

These are the last of the Council House photos. In the first image, you can see a closeup of the beds that are all around the edge of the outside wall. The Apalachee natives would sleep there before an attack or before going to war. I didn't count them, but the Council House is 120 ft in diameter, so there were quite a few of these beds.

The mats are basically the same woven mats as you've seen on every table and on the benches and floors throughout the village. I believe they were woven by the women from Palm fronds. These mats were laid on a bed made of logs as were the tables and benches.

These two artifacts were found on the grounds during the excavations by the archaeologists. The bucket looks like the ones that can be found at many antique auctions and in antique stores. They're fairly common.

That clay jug is beautifully done. The craftsmanship is amazing. Those holes are purely for decoration. They don't go all the way through (or the liquid would leak out). I like what looks like salad tongs of today on the sides. I'd love to have one of these.

Tomorrow's post will be the interior of one of the houses of an Apalachee family. Be sure to come back and have a look.

Some Artifacts from Mission San Luis

I guess by now you're all figuring out I had a wonderful time at the Mission San Luis in Tallahassee. I learned so much about the Apalachee Indians and the Spaniards that co-existed at the mission.

The artifacts to the left were found during one of the archaeological digs. The archaeological investigations began in the 1940's by three founding fathers of Archaeology. They were John W Griffin in 1948, Hale G Smith in 1950 and Charles H Fairbanks in 1956 and 1957.

Once Florida bought the site, the archaeology staff continued to conduct systematic excavation in the fort and the village from 1990 to 2002. These are some of their finds.

The skeletal remains were on the tables in the Council House. I have no idea what they came from, but the one on the bottom seems to be from some kind of canine, I think. If anyone of you out there can shed some light on the subject, I'd sure be interested in knowing and very appreciative.

The woman I was speaking with that was explaining everything to me had to go to guard the chickens because the other lady on the grounds saw a Fox. She wasn't quite finished, so I didn't get a chance to ask about these skeletal remains.

This one looks like some kind of canine, but I could be wrong. I'm not a Vet or an Archaeologist.

The second one is anyone's guess. It doesn't look like a skull. I can't imagine what it came from. I can't even tell what body part it is. It's an interesting piece, though. It doesn't look like it could've been used as a tool, so why was it kept? I wish I had the answers. Maybe I'll never know.

I think that's the end of the gross stuff. I promise tomorrow night the stuff will be a little bit easier to look at.

Apalachee Council House Interior

This is a 7-shot panoramic image of the inside of the Apalachee Council House. If you saw my blog last night, you saw the outside. You'll have to click on this photo to see all the detail.

The women were not allowed in the Council House during meetings, but they came in here to do some of their work. The tables contain various artifacts of things in progress, like some unfinished baskets, Hickory nuts, they gathered and several pelts they were drying.

In the center of the room, there is a pile of wood they burned 24/7. The smoke went out the open hole in the top. When I asked the guide what kept the rain out, she told me the heat of the fire and the smoke evaporated the rain immediately so it (the rain) didn't get in and get the place all wet.

Under the tables are little black holes. They're called smug pots. They burned corn cobs in them to keep out the mosquitos. Along the edges of the hut are beds made from woven Palm fronds. Nothing was ever wasted. They'd crack the Hickory nuts and make mush out of them. The meat and inner shell was used to make a tea that had enough caffeine as several pots of coffee. The outer shell was boiled down to make paint and dye for their furniture and clothing.

All the tools were handmade.

I'll be posting detailed shots of some of the artifacts from inside the Council House in later posts.

Mission San Luis

This is the entrance to the Mission San Luis in Tallahassee. It is the last look at the 21st century until you leave this magnificent place.

Mission San Luis was built in 1656. It burned down in 1987 and this community has been recreated by the City of Tallahassee. Everything here is rebuilt with artifacts found around the place and from archeological digs.

In all, there are 60 acres to explore and that includes a nature trail of sort (it's not actually a trail; it's more like a walk in the woods) where you'll find many species of birds, fox, and all types of wildlife.
Pictured here is the Apalachee Indian council house, built by Apalachees. At over 120 feet in diameter, the council house is among the largest Indian structures ever built in the Southeast. It wasn’t uncommon for the council house to hold 1,500 or more people in the 1690s.

There is not enough space to give you all a tour, but I'll be posting more from this community in later posts.