Turtle Mound is a prehistoric archaeological site located south of

New Smyrna Beach New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau. The downtown section o ...

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, on State Road A1A. On September 29, 1970, it was added to the

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. It is the largest shell midden on the mainland United States, with an approximate height of . The mound extends for over along the Indian River shoreline and contains over of shells. Turtle Mound was estimated to be high before it was reduced by shellrock mining in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because it is visible seven miles out at sea, early

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

explorers and subsequent mariners used the large mound as a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

for coastal navigation. Today, the site is owned and managed by the

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as part of Canaveral National Seashore. The turtle-shaped mound contains oysters and refuse from the prehistoric

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

n people, who caught a variety of small mammals and reptiles here. Archaeologists believe that these people may have used this site as a high-ground refuge during hurricanes. It has been estimated to have been constructed between 800 and 1400 CE; recent radio-carbon dating has dated it toaround 1000 BCE.name="lostworlds" The Timucuan experienced greater competitive forces for finite resources such as arable land resulting in increased open conflict. This is apparent in some of the material found in the Turtle Mound location where it occupied an important location along the coast. Archaeologists have recently found 1,200-year-old pottery on the site.

Characteristics

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

mound is a deposit of refuse composed mostly of oyster shells,Small, John Kunkel (1929). ''From Eden to Sahara: Florida's Tragedy.'' Seminole Soil & Water Conservation District. but no extensive excavations have been made. The mound contains several species of tropical

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

s. Surveys have confirmed the presence of '' Amyris elemifera, Heliotropium angiospermum,

Plumbago scandens ''Plumbago zeylanica'', commonly known as Ceylon leadwort, doctorbush or wild leadwort, is a species of plumbago with a pantropical distribution. Carl Linnaeus described the paleotropical ''P. zeylanica'' and Neotropical ''P. scandens'' as separa ...

, Harrisia fragrans, Sideroxylon foetidissimum,

Schoepfia chrysophylloides ''Schoepfia'' is a genus of small hemiparasitic trees, flowering plants belonging to the family Schoepfiaceae. The genus has long been placed in the Olacaceae family. Description Plants in this genus are small trees or shrubs which exhibit het ...

,'' and other species. The site represents the northernmost distribution for several species. The heat retention of shells and the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean maintains warmer temperatures than surrounding areas.Norman, E. M. (1976). An Analysis of Vegetation at Turtle Mound. Florida Scientist 39: 19-31.

History

Currently called Turtle Mound, it has had several names throughout history including Surruque in the 16th century, named after the cacique (chief) and Indian tribe that lived in the area, Mount Belvedere (1769), The Rock (1769), Mount Tucker (1796), and Turtle Mount (1823). In 1605, the Spanish explorer Alvaro Mexia visited the site and reported natives launching their dugout canoes at the mound's base. Over many years of this practice, the mound began to take the form of a turtle, giving the feature its name.

Gallery

File:Turtle Mound - Canaveral National Seashore Florida.jpg, Oyster shells visible beneath the overgrowth File:TurtleMound1924_sm1968.jpg, 1924 Photo of Turtle Mound File:TurtleMound1929_ge1157.jpg, 1929 Photo of Turtle Mound File:CNS Turtle Mound sign01.jpg, Sign pointing the way to mound File:CNS Turtle Mound walkway01.jpg, Walkway towards mound File:CNS Turtle Mound shells03.jpg, Shells visible through vegetation File:CNS Turtle Mound top west02.jpg, Looking west from top of mound File:CNS Turtle Mound boardwalk03.jpg, Boardwalk to top of mound

References

External links

Volusia County listings
a
National Register of Historic Places: Turtle Mound

Volusia County listings
a
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs - ''Turtle Mound ''
{{National Register of Historic Places in Florida Shell middens in Florida Woodland period Native American history of Florida Archaeological sites in Florida Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Volusia County, Florida Protected areas of Volusia County, Florida Mounds in Florida Florida Native American Heritage Trail Timucua