Clothing & Appearance

HOW TALL WERE THEY?  Although you might hear stories about 7 foot tall Timucua Indians, they really weren’t any taller than people you might meet today.  The men were usually between 5 1/2 and 6 feet tall.  Some Timucua chiefs were taller than this, and that might explain where the stories came from.  Timucua women were probably a little shorter than the men. 

WHAT KIND OF CLOTHING DID THEY WEAR?  The men wore a loin cloth (like a bikini bathing suit).  This loin cloth was made of animal skin (leather).  Women also wore a kind of loin cloth made of leather, as well as a skirt or sash made of boiled woven Spanish moss.  Babies usually went naked.  Boys dressed like men, and girls dressed like women.  If it was cold, Timucua people wore a matchcoat - a long wrap-around jacket with no holes for sleeves.  A matchcoat could be made of deerskin (for warmth) or from waterproof feathers (to keep dry in the rain).   The Timucua could also make moccasins to keep their feet dry, warm, and protected on long journeys, but they normally did not wear shoes.

WHAT ELSE IS SPECIAL ABOUT THEIR APPEARANCE?   Timucua people’s skin was a dark coppery brown.  Some of this color was caused by long days working in the sun.  Their hair was very dark brown or black.  The Timucua people only cut their hair to show sadness, if someone (like their husband) died.  As a result, almost everyone had very long hair.  To keep their hair neat and out of the way, Timucua men wore their hair up in a ponytail or a bun.  Styling their hair on top of their heads made them look taller and may have provided a spot for carrying arrows.  The men also decorated their hair with feathers, fox tails, and raccoon tails.  We don’t know much about how the women styled their hair.   They may have just let it flow naturally.   Timucua men and women wore ear decorations in both ears.  These decorations were made of shell, bone, pearls, or even fish bladders.  (They didn’t have gold or silver to make jewelry with.)  They sharpened their fingernails and toenails to a point.  This may have given them built-in weapons to defend themselves.   The Timucua made tattoos on their skin (permanent marks made by bone needles, ashes, and perhaps berry juice) for decoration and to show status (how important you were in the village).  The chief, his family, and his most trusted advisors, had more tattoos than anyone else in the village.

Go to Activity Page
Return to Kids' CenterPage

Provided by the Pelotes Island Nature Preserve
http://pelotes.jea.com