Timucua

The Timucua were a Native American people who thrived for centuries in the southeastern portion of what is now the US. In this study, Jerald T. Milanich uses information from archaeological excavations and historical documents to uncover details of the Timucua group's existence and eventual extinction. The Timucua were among the first Native Americans to come in contact with Europeans when the Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon landed on the Florida coast in 1513. Two hundred and fifty years after the explorer's voyage the Timucua had disappeared, extinguished by the ravages of colonialism. Thousands of archaeological sites, village middens, and sand and shell mounds still dot the landscape, however, offering mute testimony to the former presence of this people and their ancestors.