Key Marco Archaeological Site
Horr's Island Key Marco Cat Courtyard
Glades IIIb–Calusa 500–1500 CE·Glades Calusa·🇺🇸 Florida, Collier County, United States
Unknown author Unknown author or not provided · Public domain
About
About Key Marco Archaeological Site
Glades–Calusa shell midden and buried court: Frank Hamilton Cushing's 1896 'Court of the Pile Dwellers' 4 m below mangrove peat with 1.5 m waterlogged preservation of painted wood — famous Key Marco Cat (feline-human wood figure), painted masks, net cordage, dugout canoe-paddle. Midden mound 10 m high, canal and plaza; oldest Florida Glades isotopic evidence of maize is absent — maritime adaptation with Calusa tribute economy. Organic artifacts at Smithsonian and Florida Museum.
Why it mattersGreatest waterlogged wood assemblage in eastern North America; Key Marco Cat icon of Southeastern art.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of courtyard — temple or chief's court?
- 02Paint technique and wood selection for masks
Theories
- 01Calusa wind-power maritime chiefdom without agriculture
- 02Court as theatrical stage for tribute theater
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.500–1500 CE; occupation Archaic–Contact (4000 BCE–1700 CE)
- Period
- Glades IIIb–Calusa 500–1500 CE
- Culture
- Glades Calusa
- Builders
- Calusa
- Purpose
- Shell midden court, elite woodcarving workshop and maritime ceremonial center
- Abandoned
- c.1700 CE (Spanish pressures)
- Rediscovered
- 1896 F. H. Cushing Pepper–Hearst Expedition; excavated Van Beck 1965
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1896
Cushing discovers waterlogged wooden Cat
1965
Bulldozer exposes midden; rescue salvage
On the ground
Structures & features
Gallery