Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site
27°33′55″N 82°35′34″W / 27.56528°N 82.59278°W / 27.56528; -82.59278
The Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site is an archaeological site on Terra Ceia Island in northwestern Palmetto, Florida, United States. It is located on Bayshore Drive, west of U.S. 19, a mile south of I-275. On August 12, 1970, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is also a Florida State Park.
The 10-acre (0.040 km2) site was the first Native American location in Florida to be designated as a State Archaeological Site.
History
Archaeological excavations have established that indigenous occupation reaches back 2,000 years, and across three distinct periods: Manasota, Weedon Island, and Safety Harbor cultures. The people constructed a massive earthwork temple/ceremonial mound from shells, sand and detritus. It is still 20-foot (6.1 m) high, with a base nearly 100 by 170 feet (52 m).
Scholars believe that the mound site continued to be of great ceremonial importance to the historic Tocobaga Indians of the surrounding area, who coalesced as a people before European encounter in the late sixteenth century. They survived into the eighteenth century but disappeared as a tribe due to infectious diseases and warfare.
The site is named for Madira Bickel of Sarasota. She and her husband, Karl, purchased the land around the main mound and donated it to the state in 1948.[1]
The mounds
The point of greatest interest at the site is the 20-foot (6.1 m) high temple/ceremonial mound. Composed of shells (obtained from a midden to the west), sand, and detritus, the mound's base is 100 feet (30 m) by 170 feet (52 m). To more easily reach the top, the Tocobaga constructed a curved 10-foot (3.0 m) wide ramp on the western side.
The state park has graduated stairways for access, and at the top, has cleared an area (protected by a fence) for overlooking the park. Over the centuries, the mound has become covered with vegetation, including tall trees.
Also in the park are the remains of the Prine Burial Mound, which is circular, about 40 feet (12 m) wide, and about 2 feet (0.61 m) high at the center. It was used through the three major archaeological cultures described above, from 800-1500 AD. Since settlement and development, much of the mound's contents have been disturbed.
References
- ^ "Welcome to Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site". Florida State Parks. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
External links
- Madira Bickel Mounds State Archaeological Site at Florida State Parks
- Manatee County listings, Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- "Madira Bickel Temple Mound Site", School District of Manatee County
- Madira Bickel Mound Photograph Gallery, Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida
- v
- t
- e
cultures
sites
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/KMMaskPointedNose.jpg/110px-KMMaskPointedNose.jpg)
- Apalachee Bay
- Aqui Esta Burial Mound
- Bay Pines
- Bear Lake Mounds
- Big Heart West
- Big Mound City
- Big Mound Key-Boggess Ridge
- Bird Hammock
- Blueberry
- Bowers Bluff Middens
- Bubba Midden
- Burns Lake
- Butcherpen Mound
- Cayo Pelau
- Cayson Mound and Village
- C. J. Ostl
- Crystal River
- Cutler
- Demere Key
- Devil's Den Cave
- Dismal Key
- Douglass Beach
- Fort Center
- Fort Walton Mound
- Galt Island
- Garden Patch
- Green Mound
- Halfway Creek
- Helen Blazes
- Hickory Ridge Cemetery
- Hinson Mounds
- Horr's Island
- Indian Fields
- J&J Hunt
- Josslyn Island
- Jungle Prada
- Key Marco
- Kimball Island Midden
- Lake Jackson Mounds
- Lake Pithlachocco
- Letchworth-Love Mounds
- Little Salt Spring
- Madira Bickel Mound
- Mark Pardo Shellworks
- Miami Circle
- Mill Cove
- Monroe Lake
- Mound Key
- Mount Elizabeth
- Mount Royal
- Mount Taylor
- Mullet Key
- Myakkahatchee Creek
- Naval Live Oaks Cemetery
- Nocoroco
- Ormond Mound
- Ortona Prehistoric Village
- Otis Hare
- Page-Ladson
- Persimmon Mound
- Pierce
- Pineland
- Platt Island
- Plaza
- Pompano Beach Mound
- Portavant Mound
- Porter's Bar
- Princess Mound
- River Styx
- Roberts Island
- Rock Mound
- Rookery Mound
- Ross Hammock
- Safety Harbor
- Shark River Slough
- Shell Bluff Landing
- Spruce Creek
- Third Gulf Breeze
- Thomas Creek
- Turner River
- Turtle Mound
- Twin Mounds
- Upper Tampa Bay
- Useppa Island
- Velda Mound
- Waddells Mill Pond
- Wakulla Springs
- Yent Mound
- Yon Mound and Village
remains
- Related
- Pre-Columbian era