Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present

By Jerald T. Milanich

Book Overview

"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 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, curator in archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, is the author of Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe (UPF, 1995) and Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida (UPF, 1994), among numerous other books.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813015987
• ISBN13: 9780813015989
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.9" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Syntheses Available of Florida's Native American Cultures

This book is a synthesis of Milanich's previously published works on Florida's pre-columbian and colonial-era archaeology and history. Beginning with the Paleoindian period and ending with the modern Seminole Indians, Milanich does a fantastic job of giving good, detailed, interesting, and readable information about all of Florida's Native American cultures, from the ancient past through the present. For those who have previously read Milanich's two-volume set, ARCHAEOLOGY OF PRECOLUMBIAN FLORIDA and FLORIDA INDIANS AND THE INVASION FROM EUROPE, this book combines and updates both, and is a very useful reference tool for the general reader interested in Florida's archaeology and history and for the specialist needing to refer to Florida's Native cultures. I highly recommend it.

An excellent introduction to Florida Indians

This book is an excellent introduction to the history of the real Florida Indians - tribes other than the Seminoles and Miccosukee. The author weaves together an interesting history through a timeline approach, providing enough detail to satisfy an academic audience, but he is also a good storyteller to keep novices interested. Provides rich detail on lifestyles, culture and everyday life of the Florida Indian.

Lots of info, fun to read

Jerald T Milanich's "Florida's Indians from the Ancient Times to the Present" provides a comprehensive easy to read account of Florida's rich archaeological heritage. Milanich's style is entirely assessable to the general public without compromising the academic content. The book includes a temporal and geographic discussion of Florida's native peoples and key sites from the paleo period to the present. There is a 16 page section of full color photographs as well as several sections of sidebars that include information ranging from accounts of 19th century archaeologists to recipes for acorn cakes. The only signifigant problem with the content is that statements regarding agriculture in the area are not based on any direct evidence and, more importantly, the book lacks an index which makes its use as a reference source difficult. The book, however, relays a vast amount of information interestingly and efficiently. It would be a valuable entry to the library of both the amateur archaeologist and the academic.