![]() ![]() The network of shell trails, boardwalks, and paved bike lane provides six miles of natural beauty. Emerson Point Preserve provides numerous recreational opportunities including hiking, biking, fishing, bird and animal watching. Ancient and historic remains of its inhabitants are accessible and well interpreted to give a sense of what life in Manatee County was like prior to and during its settlement. It offers a network of hiking and kayak trails to experience a wide variety of coastal Florida wildlife and habitats. Archaeological evidence suggests the site's builders were already integrated into another culture or had moved on to a different location by the early 1500s.Įmerson Point Preserve is situated on the West end of Snead island on the north shore of the Manatee River with Terra Ceia Bay to the north. It is unknown if this site is one of the places recorded in the expedition's journals. The ceremonial complex and village at Emerson Point was likely on the decline and all but abandoned when Hernando de Soto's expedition arrived in the Tampa area. Coastal erosion, modern day usages, and time have made the shapes less obvious, but at one time there were serpent and bird shaped mounds right along the river edge. Though not as clearly defined as other effigy mounds in the southeastern United States, this formation of shaped middens is unique among the dozen or more Tocobaga/Safety Harbor cultural sites around Tampa Bay. As new structures were built and then burned, the temple mound grew to become one of the tallest around the bay.Īt Emerson Point, some smaller mounds near the temple mound were intentionally formed in shapes. Periodically, these ritual and chiefly structures would be burned down, and capped off with new layers of midden material and sand. Religious ceremonies would be observed by the villagers below. Its height and position on the narrow island gave a strategic vantage point for the chief's house and likely a ceremonial mound-top plaza. At some point around AD800, they began to build the temple mound with midden materials and layers of sand. They lived upon the middens in palm-thatched dwellings. They were part of the Safety Harbor Culture which encompassed the coastal zones around Tampa Bay.ĭiscarding their refuse of shells, fish and animal bone, as well as broken pottery and tools, the people created mounds called "middens". Indigenous people referred to as the "Tocobaga" are the most likely builders of the temple mound. The Preserve contains a variety of native ecosystems including beaches, lagoons, salt marshes, mangrove swamps, extensive underwater grass flats, tropical hardwood hammocks, coastal strands, and upland wooded areas. Several historic home sites, occupied from the late 1800s to the 1960s, can be found along the Pioneer and restoration trails, including one site located on top of the Temple Mound. Interpretive signs describe the lifeways of ancient inhabitants as well as subsequent Florida pioneers. Several other mounds, also consisting of soil mixed with midden debris, are near the "temple mound". The Portavant Mound was made from soil mixed with debris from middens. There is a lower (one m high) platform, about 30 m by 30 m, that abuts the main mound. Unlike other "temple mounds" around the Tampa Bay area, the Portavant Mound does not have a ramp to the top of the mound. The mound is four meters high, measures 45 m by 75 m at the base, and has a flat top that is 24 m by 46 m. The Portavant Mound (or Snead Island Temple Mound) is one of fifteen or more "temple mounds" produced by the Safety Harbor culture (900-1725) found in the vicinity of Tampa Bay. Historical resources include the Portavant Temple Mound, southwest Florida's largest Native American Temple Mound, and the surrounding midden complex. Visitors can take in the beauty of Florida's wildlife and native plant communities while exploring both prehistoric and historic sites. ![]() ![]() This 365 acre state-owned, county-managed preserve is located at the west end of Snead Island, west of Palmetto in Manatee County, Florida. Explore the preserve's unique history and wander the shady trails through the tropical hammock. Emerson Point has a special location at the mouth of the Manatee River where it meets Lower Tampa Bay. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |