Turtle Mound is a prehistoric archaeological site located south of
New Smyrna Beach
New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau.
The downtown section o ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, on
State Road A1A
State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. It is the main road through m ...
. On September 29, 1970, it was added to the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. It is the largest shell
midden
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
on the mainland United States, with an approximate height of . The mound extends for over along the Indian River shoreline and contains over of shells. Turtle Mound was estimated to be high before it was reduced by shellrock mining in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because it is visible seven miles out at sea, early
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
explorers and subsequent mariners used the large mound as a
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
for coastal navigation. Today, the site is owned and managed by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
as part of
Canaveral National Seashore
The Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) is a National Seashore located between New Smyrna Beach and Titusville, Florida, in Volusia and Brevard Counties. The park, located on a barrier island, was created on January 3, 1975, by an act of Congress. ...
.
The turtle-shaped mound contains oysters and refuse from the prehistoric
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...
n people, who caught a variety of small mammals and reptiles here. Archaeologists believe that these people may have used this site as a high-ground refuge during hurricanes. It has been estimated to have been constructed between 800 and 1400 CE; recent radio-carbon dating has dated it toaround 1000 BCE.name="lostworlds"
The Timucuan experienced greater competitive forces for finite resources such as arable land resulting in increased open conflict. This is apparent in some of the material found in the Turtle Mound location where it occupied an important location along the coast. Archaeologists have recently found 1,200-year-old pottery on the site.
Characteristics
The
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard ou ...
mound is a deposit of refuse composed mostly of oyster shells,Small, John Kunkel (1929). ''From Eden to Sahara: Florida's Tragedy.'' Seminole Soil & Water Conservation District. but no extensive excavations have been made. The mound contains several species of tropical
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
s. Surveys have confirmed the presence of ''
Amyris elemifera
''Amyris elemifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae. Its common names include sea torchwood, smooth torchwood,Heliotropium angiospermum, Plumbago scandens, Harrisia fragrans, Sideroxylon foetidissimum, Schoepfia chrysophylloides,'' and other species. The site represents the northernmost distribution for several species. The heat retention of shells and the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean maintains warmer temperatures than surrounding areas.Norman, E. M. (1976). An Analysis of Vegetation at Turtle Mound. Florida Scientist 39: 19-31.
History
Currently called Turtle Mound, it has had several names throughout history including Surruque in the 16th century, named after the cacique (chief) and Indian tribe that lived in the area, Mount Belvedere (1769), The Rock (1769), Mount Tucker (1796), and Turtle Mount (1823). In 1605, the Spanish explorer Alvaro Mexia visited the site and reported natives launching their dugout canoes at the mound's base. Over many years of this practice, the mound began to take the form of a turtle, giving the feature its name.
Gallery
File:Turtle Mound - Canaveral National Seashore Florida.jpg, Oyster shells visible beneath the overgrowth
File:TurtleMound1924_sm1968.jpg, 1924 Photo of Turtle Mound
File:TurtleMound1929_ge1157.jpg, 1929 Photo of Turtle Mound
File:CNS Turtle Mound sign01.jpg, Sign pointing the way to mound
File:CNS Turtle Mound walkway01.jpg, Walkway towards mound
File:CNS Turtle Mound shells03.jpg, Shells visible through vegetation
File:CNS Turtle Mound top west02.jpg, Looking west from top of mound
File:CNS Turtle Mound boardwalk03.jpg, Boardwalk to top of mound