Charles Ringling has been our tour guide through the archaeology of Sarasota/Manatee; since 1926, we have learned, and we have gained . . .
- Archaeological records consist of materials belonging to the Indigenous peoples of Florida, the ancestors of today’s Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, and are represented by the Seminole Tribe of Florida; the history is organized by their HERO
- The post-Archaic people of the region developed a way of life scholars recognize as Manasota, lasting from 2500 to 1300 years ago
- Most archaeology is done for Cultural Resource Management (CRM); Archaeological Consultants Inc is a Sarasota-based company that has documented sites across the region in the public interest
- Sarasota County has an archaeologist on staff to facilitate decisions on development and support efforts by Historical Resources
- The public cares about the past of this region, with the New College Public Archaeology Lab (NCPAL) facilitating multiple programs and projects
- Much of the coastal heritage will be inundated as sea levels rise
- We can act to create new, sustainable landscapes for our future
The Names for the Pre-Columbian Peoples of Sarasota/Manatee
Across Sarasota and Manatee counties, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, there are layers and layers of history. Often times the question arises: what were their names?
The names we use across Florida for the Indigenous peoples at the time of European contact, when the Spanish first started coming to these shores, is incomplete. The Spanish did not record the name(s) of the people between Tampa Bay/Tocobaga and Charlotte Harbor/Calusa.
The only mention of names:
• From the 1539 Hernando de Soto Expedition: Uzita
• Later Spanish accounts invoke Pojoy, as the people just north of the Manatee River
That is all we have for the people 500 years ago.
The Name Sarasota
Sarasota was not named for Sara de Soto, a fictional person whose name came from the imagination of George F. Chapline, the poet of the "Legend of Sara de Soto". The British provide the intriguing maps of the region, first George Gauld (1765), Thomas Jefferys (1775) whose 1776 revision has “Sarazote.” Cartographer Jose Eligio del Puente changed it to Sarasota.
We have learned a lot since Charles Ringling’s time but there is still much to study about the rich heritage of Sarasota/Manatee.