People first reached Florida
at least 12,000 years ago. The rich variety of environments
in prehistoric Florida supported a large number of plants
and animals. The animal population included most mammals
that we know today. In addition, many other large mammals
that are now extinct (such as the saber-tooth tiger, mastodon,
giant armadillo, and camel) roamed the land.
The Florida coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and the
Gulf of Mexico was very different 12,000 years ago. The
sea level was much lower than it is today. As a result,
the Florida peninsula was more than twice as large as it
is now. The people who inhabited Florida at that time were
hunters and gatherers, who only rarely sought big game
for food. Modern researchers think that their diet consisted
of small animals, plants, nuts, and shellfish. These first
Floridians settled in areas where a steady water supply,
good stone resources for tool making, and firewood were
available. Over the centuries, these native people developed
complex cultures. During the period prior to contact with
Europeans, native societies of the peninsula developed
cultivated agriculture, traded with other groups in what
is now the southeastern United States, and increased their
social organization, reflected in large temple mounds and
village complexes.
Text from: A Short History of Florida
Used with the permission of Florida's Division of Historical
Resources |
