Ethnobotany of the Ais (Revised and Updated)

Friday, March 20, 2015

Ethnobotany of the Ais!

Topic Statement - Knowledge of the Ais or Ays!

• did not leave a written language!

• there verbal language's origin is under dispute!

- "Circumstantial evidence, particularly resemblance in town names, leads to the conclusion that the Ais language was similar to that of the Calusa and the other south Florida tribes. (See Calusa.) It is believed that it was connected with the Muskhogean stock." !1

- A migration legend of the Creek Indians By Albert Samuel Gatschet he says the Ais were a province of the Tequesta !2

- Ais' Knowledge of plants is limited!

• we only know from the written experiences before the Ais's existence was removed from Florida in the 1700s!

- disease!

- political change!

- Use of Ais plants' knowledge limited as well!

- The Ais were known to inhabit the Brevard County coastline !3

- Using other sources, including history, needs to be incorporated to give a better understanding of Ais ethnobotany (this statement has already been proven from the research I have read. Is it beneficial to continue this exercise?)!

Knowledge of the Ais - Knowledge of the Ais begins during the 1500s!

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�1

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/ais-indians.htm1

A migration legend of the Creek Indians By Albert Samuel Gatschet, page 132

Encyclopedia of Florida Indians Donald B. Ricky3

Friday, March 20, 2015• Spanish!

- Though the first expeditions were by water (beginning with Juan Ponce de Leon’s 1513 voyage to the Atlantic coast of Florida and then the region of the Calusa Indians) the Spanish crown soon sanctioned overland expeditions intended to explore, found settlements, and extend Spanish control from New Spain (Mexico) around the Gulf coast into what became La Florida. !4

- These expeditions—by Pánfilo de Narváez (1528)(western florida), Hernando de Soto (1539)(western Florida) and Tristán de Luna y Arellano (1559)(west Florida)—all ended in failure. !5

- In 1566 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, founder of St. Augustine, Florida, established a fort and mission at an Ais town, which the Spanish called Santa Lucía. !6

- In 1605, the Governor, Pedro de Ibarra sent a soldier by the name of Alvaro Mexia on a diplomatic mission to the Ais Indian Nation. !7

• French!

- After the French established a small colony (Fort Caroline) on the St. Johns River east of Jacksonville in 1564, the Spaniards again sought a base in Florida. That was accomplished in 1565 when Fort Caroline was destroyed and the town of St. Augustine was founded. !8

- The influence of Windover and other Pre-Archaic peoples!

• their knowledge may have been passed down to the Ais indians through the generations!

- Influence of the Archaic and Glades Periods!

Our Ais Knowledge of Plants is limited - Historical sources are few!

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�2

http://teachingflorida.org/article/Florida-Indians-from-Ancient-Time-to-the-Present4

Ibid.5

http://www.houseofrefugefl.org/ais-native-american-artifacts.htm6

Ibid.7

http://teachingflorida.org/article/Florida-Indians-from-Ancient-Time-to-the-Present8

Friday, March 20, 2015• passed down to the present are several first hand accounts, but those accounts are

by no means numerous!

- Historical sources are general considering plant references!

• common names are used!

- either in the particular language of the writer!

- subsequent translations have tried to interpret the original writer's intent!

• latin nomenclature for plants was yet to be developed by Linneaus!

-  the manuscript was published as Systema Naturae (1735) !9

- as today, many common names for the same plant existed!

- Ais language is not well known!

• very few words are known!

• the words were translated into the writer's language, which corrupted their original pronunciation!

Use of Ais plants' knowledge limited as well - Historical sources do not expand upon the Ais's 'cornucopia' of plants!

• writers did not have an explorer's interest in cataloguing all the plants used!

• writers concentrated on plants they came in direct contact with the indians!

- Archeological sites have been destroyed, damaged, or limited in extending our knowledge of the plant materials used!

• Barker's Bluff !10

• shell middens were often used as a resource for road development before the archeological significance was ascertained!

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus9

http://www.academia.edu/1084655/10

The_Location_of_the_Paramount_Town_of_the_Ais_Indians_and_the_General_Location_of_the_Indians_of_Santa_Lucia, page 118

Friday, March 20, 2015

Using other sources, including history, needs to be incorporated to give a better understanding of Ais ethnobotany - contributions of other fields may help to piece together a better picture of Ais

ethnobotany!

- Archeology's contribution!

• Archaic contributions!

- Archaic sites in Brevard County!

• Windover Pond!

- Windover Archeological Site (8BR246)                                                                                    (added 1987 - - #87000810) Also known as 8BR246 Address Restricted , Titusville !

- Windover Pond discovers include many plant samples directly associated with the native population of the time.!

- These precursor plants help to know which plants were useful before the time of the Ais habitation!

• Duda Ranch Mound                                                                                                        (added 1994 - - #94000355) Also known as Turtle Mound;8BR18 Address Restricted , Rockledge !11

- Examination of the mound !12

• Indian Fields                                                                                                           (added 1994 - - #94000358) Also known as 8BR5 Address Restricted , Titusville !13

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�4

http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/fl/brevard/state.html11

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00065/17j, pages 101-106.12

http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/fl/brevard/state.html.13

Friday, March 20, 2015- 28°00′59″N 80°46′28″W !14

- "Indian Fields Mound - N28 36.051 W80 56.703 This mound does not seem to appear on maps, I was shown it by a friend. It rises quite a bit above the land around it, with a huge oak tree near the top. I was told it is considered an historical place, but like so many things in Florida, information about it is hard to come by. It is located in the Salt Lake WMA. You can get to it by boat (kayak) or by land. If you don’t mind crossing a creek, the closest access point is from the observation tower gate on Hatbill Road (N28 37.853 W80 56.851). You can take the long way in from the main entrance to the Salt Lake WMA (N28 38.401 W80 53.397). The area around it has quite a few wild grapefruit and orange trees, as this once was an orchard quite a ways back." !15

- "The Indian Fields are a collection of historic sites in Brevard County, Florida. They are located on the southeast bank of Ruth Lake, approximately eight miles west of Titusville. On April 14, 1994, they were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. " !16

• Moccasin Island                                                                                                         (added 1994 - - #94000356) Also known as 8BR16 Address Restricted , Rockledge !17

• Persimmon Mound                                                                                                         (added 1994 - - #94000357) Also known as 8BR17 Address Restricted , Rockledge !18

• Glades contributions!

- Biology's contribution!

• maps of biological communities!

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Fields14

http://tomchoma.blogspot.com/2009/07/st-johns-river-mounds-there-is-mess-of.html15

http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/indian_fields16

http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/fl/brevard/state.html.17

http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/fl/brevard/state.html18

Friday, March 20, 2015- plant community map !19

- various environmental studies!

• studies of subspecies!

- as part of this study, subspecies will be discussed due to their regional interest!

- example: coontie!

- Geology's contribution!

• Maps of discovery!

- Alberto Cantino planisphere of 1502 !20 21

- Genoese Caveri map (ca. 1504) !22

- Martin Waldseemiiller (ca.1507). !23

• maps of soil surveys of Brevard County !24

• Florida geologic formations !25

- Beach ridge and dune!

- Anastasia Formation!

- Holocene sediments!

• Estuary use!

- Ais used the middle St. Johns !26

- The Gulf Stream!

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�6

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/images/maps/vegetation_map_large.pdf19

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantino_planisphere 20

THE FIRST EUROPEAN CHARTING OF FLORIDA ANDTHE ADJACENT SHORES, 21

DOUGLAS T. PECK, Volume 34, 2003, The Florida Geographer, page 86.

Ibid, page 8722

Ibid.23

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00026071/00001/1x24

http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/fips-unit.php?code=f1200925

The Early History of the St. John's River By Ed Winn, pages 7-826

Friday, March 20, 2015• Wreckage!

• Ambergris !27

- The intercoastal waters!

• Indian River Lagoon!

- Zoology's contribution!

• midden contents!

- containing charred fish ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !bones, fiber tempered pottery and shells !28

• zoological populations!

- Economy's contribution!

• Jeaga trade route to the north!

• Spanish influence on Ais trading!

• Calusa trading!

- Ecology's contribution!

• Beneficial ecologies for tribe survival!

• Barrier ecologies!

• Wetlands!

- LINEWETLAND CLASSESLacustrine, limnetic and littoralPalustrine, aquatic bedPalustrine, emergentPalustrine, forestedPalustrine, scrub-shrubPalustrine, unconsolidated bottomRiverineCITYCOASTLINEBasefromU. !29

- Politic's contribution!

• The political pecking order of the tribes of southern Florida!

- The Calusa seem to be the dominate tribe over the Ais !30

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�7

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2005-06-12/news/sjimr12.020_1_spanish-florida-ais-whale27

http://www.houseofrefugefl.org/ais-native-american-artifacts.htm28

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1342/pdf/C1342_Appendix.pdf, page 11329

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa30

Friday, March 20, 2015• Relationships with outsiders and colonists!

• refugees from the Spanish takeover of Cuba by the Spanish to the Calusa !31

- Using a holistic approach to better understand Ais ethnobotany!

- Ways to organize Ais Ethnobotany !

• By elevation!

- Flood Zone Maps !32

- USGS topography maps !33

• By distance from the ocean!

• By soil type!

• By plant community!

- Plant Communities in Brevard County!

• 1 - Beach Dune Zone 9 !34

• 1 - Beach Dune Zone 10 !35

• 2 - Pine Flatwoods Zone 9 !36

• 2 - Pine Flatwoods Zone 10 !37

• 5 - Scrub Forests Zone 9 !38

• 5 - Scrub Forests Zone 10 !39

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�8

Discovering Florida: First-Contact Narratives from Spanish Expeditions along the Lower Gulf 31

Coast, Edited and translated by John E. Worth, page 8.

http://gis.brevardcounty.us/flood_map/32

https://www.topoquest.com/33

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/beach-dunes-zone-934

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/beach-dunes-zone-1035

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/pine-flatwoods-zone-936

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/pine-flatwoods-zone-1037

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/scrub-forests-zone-938

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/scrub-forests-zone-1039

Friday, March 20, 2015

• 8 - Hydric Hammocks Zone 9 !40

• 8 - Hydric Hammocks Zone 10 !41

• 9 - Mangrove Swamps Zone 9 !42

• 9 - Mangrove Swamps Zone 10 !43

• 13 - Prairies Zone 9 !44

• 13 - Prairies Zone 10 !45

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�9

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/hydric-hammocks-zone-940

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/hydric-hammocks-zone-1041

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/mangrove-swamps-zone-942

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/mangrove-swamps-zone-1043

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/prairies-zone-944

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/prairies-zone-1045

Friday, March 20, 2015• 15 - Forests of Abundant Cabbage Palm Zone 9 !46

• 15 - Forests of Abundant Cabbage Palm Zone 10 !47

• 16 - Freshwater Marshes Zone 9 !48

• 16 - Freshwater Marshes Zone 10 !49

• By economic value!

• By trade value!

• By trade route!

• By political value!

- too general!

• By historical means!

Ethnobotany subjects known to the Ais - Beach Species!

• Coccoloba uvifera - Sea Grape!

• Flowering Time - "flowering is generally concentrated between January and August" !50

• Flower - DescriptionCoccoloba uvifera flower.jpgCoccoloba uviferaEnglish: Sea Grape Flowers.Français : Fleurs de Raisin de bord de mer.DateSourceOwn workAuthorIanaré Sévi !51

• !

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�10

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/forests-of-abundant-cabbage-palm-46

zone-9

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/forests-of-abundant-cabbage-palm-47

zone-10

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/freshwater-marshes-zone-948

http://www.plantrealflorida.org/plant-communities/detail/freshwater-marshes-zone-1049

http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Coccoloba%20uvifera.pdf50

DescriptionCoccoloba uvifera flower.jpgCoccoloba uviferaEnglish: Sea Grape 51

Flowers.Français : Fleurs de Raisin de bord de mer.DateSourceOwn workAuthorIanaré Sévi

Friday, March 20, 2015• Fruiting Time - "fruiting between March and October" !52

• Fruit lasts?, ripe when purple in color, takes two months to ripen. "They remain green and hard for a long time but eventually one by one they change to their mature deep purple color." !53

• Food uses!

• Offered to Jonathan Dickinson in 1699 at Jupiter Inlet !54

• Wood uses!

• Said to be used by the Ais, but no evidence is given by the author !55

• Sabal palmetto - Palmetto!

• Food Uses!

• Berries and Heart eaten!

• Building uses!

• Leaves for thatch!

• trunks for piers!

• .Serenoa repens (W. Bartram) - Saw palmetto!

• food - the berries were a major nutrition source for the Ais !56

- Hammock Species!

• Tillandsia usneoides - Spanish Moss !57

• Clothing !58

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�11

http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Coccoloba%20uvifera.pdf52

http://www.garden.org/searchqa/index.php?q=show&id=52871&ps=38&keyword=dwarf53

%20fruit%20trees&adv=0

Florida Ethnobotany, Daniel F. Austin, Page 22454

Ibid.55

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00003/23j56

https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_tius.pdf 57

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/011704/D804LEM01.shtml58

Friday, March 20, 2015• Pillows!

• Phytolacca americana L. var. americana - Pokeweed, Wild Poinsettia!59

• found in Brevard County at Hog's Point. !60

• Food - the berries were eaten once ripe. Only young leaves can be eaten after 61

being boiled to remove any poisons. !62

• Medicine - no sources found yet!

• Ink or dye - no sources found yet!

- Estuary Species!

- Mainland Species!

• Diospyros virginiana L. - Common Persimmon!

• found on the western side of the Indian River !63

• Ilex vomitoria - Yaupon!

• Found in northern Brevard County !64

• seems to have been the preferred holly for the "black drink"!

• may have been a trade item from the north !65

• Ilex Cassine - Dahoon - found in Brevard County west of Interstate 95 !66

• Ilex cassine L. var. myrtifolia (Walter) Sarg. - MYRTLE DAHOON - found north and west of Brevard County with Orange and Flagler counties being the closest !67

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�12

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PHAMA359

Hog Point Sanctuary Management Plan, Appendix B60

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytolacca_americana61

Ibid.62

http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/SpecimenDetails.aspx?PlantID=385863

http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/SpecimenDetails.aspx?PlantID=233764

Ibid, page 19.65

http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?ID=386666

http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=80967

Friday, March 20, 2015• may have been a substitute for Ilex vomitoria !68

• brewed into a tea of sorts !69

• May have been used in medicinal ways by the Timucuans !70

- Inland Swamp Species

Copyright 2014 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders�13

Ibid.68

http://entheology.com/plants/ilex-cassine-cassina-tree/#comments69

http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/yaupon-holly-make-tea-from-leaves/70