Ancient Native Americans Used The Poison Of This Toxic Fish, But It Remains A Mystery What They Did With It
An unprecedented number of burrfish remains were found at the Mound Key archaeological site in Florida, indicating that ancient Native Americans used the fish’s poison. However, it’s unclear what the poison’s purpose was. Burrfish have a toxic compound that can be fatal if ingested.
The remains are associated with the Indigenous Calusa people. A researcher has proposed that the burrfish remains represent the use of a toxic resource for reasons unrelated to food. Such a discovery had not been identified in the U.S. Southeast region before.
The Calusa culture is native to the coastal areas of southwest Florida. It was a fishing, hunting, and gathering society that emerged around A.D. 500. It developed from the archaic people of the Everglades region.
By the 16th century, the Calusa culture was the most dominant in the area. It was known for its complex social structure, mound-building practices, and resourcefulness.
The people used the local environment to their advantage, which included estuaries, coastlines, and small islands. As a result, they could thrive without agriculture.
But by the 18th century, the Calusa culture was mostly wiped out due to diseases introduced by Europeans and conflicts with colonizers and other Indigenous groups.
Mound Key is one of the most important sites linked to the Calusa. It is an artificial island located in what is now known as Estero Bay in southwest Florida.
The Calusa and their ancestors developed Mound Key Island over several centuries, as evidenced by layers of fish bones, shells, and other materials from daily activities like tool-making and food consumption. As the Calusa continued to populate and use the area, the land got more elevated.
Occupation of the island spanned from A.D. 500 to the 17th century. Eventually, it became the ceremonial and political center of the Calusa kingdom.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
It contained canals, causeways, mounds, and watercourts, which were structures that the Calusa may have used for storing live marine animals until they were ready to be eaten.
The deposits of burrfish remains at Mound Key date back between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1600. Burrfish are common in the Gulf of Mexico.
They swallow mouthfuls of water to inflate their bodies as a way of defending themselves against predators. The sharp spines that stick out from their skin also help deter enemies.
In general, burrfish are not considered to be desirable sources of food. They don’t have much meat, and they contain a compound called tetrodotoxin. It has the potential to kill a human within an hour of ingestion.
The toxin attacks the central and peripheral nervous systems. It can cause numbness, paralysis, gastrointestinal distress, and respiratory failure. The toxin can be found in the skin, liver, or intestines of burrfish.
No spines were detected among the remains recovered at Mound Key. This is unusual because spines on burrfish remains are common across other sites in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean.
So, it appears that the Calusa made some kind of product from the spines, skins, or innards of the fish. They could’ve been for bloodletting practices, tattooing, weaponry, and medicinal or ritual purposes. Evidence of such use has yet to be identified.
The study was published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.
More About:News
Read This Next
