Florida's Crystal River Archaeological State Park is known for large complex of ancient Indian mounds

Steps leading to top of Temple Mound A.

I recently spent a few days down in Citrus County, Florida. This county sits on the west central coast of Florida and is perhaps best known for being the “World Manatee Capital.” Lots of folks visit this area during the summer to see the hundreds of manatees that call local waters home.

This part of Florida was a veritable paradise for the thousands of Native Americans who lived there prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in the early 1500s. Evidence of this can be found at the Crystal River Archaeological State Park, a national historic landmark in Citrus County that’s known for its large complex of ancient Indian mounds. This park is very similar to Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park, only smaller.

The park at Crystal River has a museum that contains a wide variety of artifacts, including a large collection of spearpoints, pottery and ancient tools. One of the largest artifacts there is an old dugout canoe that was recovered from nearby waters. The museum also has a theatre, where you can watch a movie that tells all about the history of the park and its mounds.

When you leave the museum to see the actual mounds, you’re provided with a map that takes you on a self-guided tour of the park. Most folks go straight to what’s called Temple Mound A, which is the largest and most impressive mound in the entire park. I’m not sure how tall this mound is, but it’s 55 steps up the wooden stairs to the observation deck at the top. (My wife counted.)

What’s particularly awesome about this mound is that it’s what’s known as a “midden mound.” Midden mounds are built out of oyster shells, animal bones, broken pieces of pottery and charcoal discarded and built up over time. Archaeologists believe that it took the Indians about 200 years to construct this mound from these discarded items.

This type of mound is different from the mounds at Moundville, which are mostly earthen platform mounds made from basketfuls of dirt and clay. Crystal River does contain a few platform mounds like this, and these mounds were mostly used as burial mounds and for ceremonial purposes. Most of the Crystal River platform mounds are made from sand mixed with shells.

Another interesting thing to see at the park is a limestone slab that has a human face and torso crudely carved into its side. If you look at it long enough, it looks like the person has long hair thrown over their left shoulder. Archaeologists consider this carved stone an oddity because there’s nothing like it at other mound sites other than some in the Caribbean, South and Central America.

In the end, let me hear from you if you know of any old Indian mounds in Monroe County. I know where there are a couple, but I’m sure there are others that I’ve never heard about. Let’s make an effort to document their locations, so that this information can be passed on to future generations of Monroe County residents.