Timucua Tools

WHAT TOOLS DID THE TIMUCUA MAKE FROM STONE? The only tool-making stone available in Florida was “chert.”  Because this poor-quality flint was rare in many parts of the state, few tools were made from stone.  These stone tools included hunting points, knives, scrapers, and drills.  The term “projectile point” is used to describe all of these stone tools.   Once the wooden handle has rotted away, it’s very difficult to tell whether the point had been an arrow point or a knife, so archaeologist use one name to describe all.

WHAT TOOLS DID THE TIMUCUA MAKE FROM ANIMAL PARTS?  Sturdy whelk shells and clam shells could be made into pounding tools, hoes, shovels, axes, bowls, cups, dippers, fishing line spools, and net weights.  Animal bones were made into knives, fish hooks, handles, whistles, flutes, ear pins, and sewing needles.  Deer antler hammers were used to chip out stone points.  Turtle shells were made into bowls and rattles.  Sharp teeth and claws could be used as projectile points, knives, or jewelry.  Stringy sinew (the connector between muscle and bone) was used to attach points or shells to their handles, and scraps of animal hide were boiled to make glue.   Animal hides were also used to make clothing, blankets, bow strings, and pots.  Stomachs and intestines were used as canteens and baggies. 

WHAT TOOLS DID THE TIMUCUA MAKE FROM CLAY?  The Timucua dug up clay from stream beds, then rolled the wet clay into long ropes and coiled these ropes into a pot shape.  The lines were smoothed out, designs added, and the pot hardened in a fire.  Clay pottery helped native people protect stored grains and other foods from insects and rodents.

WHAT TOOLS DID THE TIMUCUA MAKE FROM PLANTS?  The Timucua made canoes and the supports for their huts from large pine trees.  They made canoe paddles and bows from hickory trees.  They made arrow and spear shafts from long rivercane stems.  They used grapevine to make baskets and support the walls of their huts.  Palm leaves were woven into mats and baskets and thatched to make the roofs of their huts.  The Timucua used gourds to make buckets, tree bark to make rope and fishing nets, Spanish moss to make women’s clothing, and wood to make food drying racks and tool handles.  Plants were also the main source of medicine.  For example, aspirin comes from the bark of a willow tree!

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