"A superb book—and one that is long overdue…. A fine sampling of a unique native American artistic heritage is laid out before you, in text and in pictures, in this exciting book."--Gordon R. Willey, Peabody Museum, Harvard University

For thousands of years, the Indians of Florida created exquisite objects from the natural materials available to them--wood, bone, stone, clay, and shell. This stunning full-color book, the first devoted exclusively to the artistic achievements of the Florida aborigines, describes and pictures 116 of these masterpieces.

A brief history of the consequences of European infiltration and laterinvestigations by explorers and archaeologists sets the stage for consideration of the works themselves. They date from the Paleoindian period (ca. 9500-8000 BC) to the mid-16th century and include utilitarian creations, instruments of personal adornment and magic, objects indicating status, and those paying homage to ancestors or aiding the dead in their journey into the next world.

Because European explorers took little notice of the adornment of the Florida natives and the people themselves did not survive, no enduring artistic traditions prevail from this early period. This collection, a record of the quality and beauty of their art, includes representative objects in all media used and from all cultural periods, geographic areas, and environmental settings in which the pieces functioned.

Barbara A. Purdy (1927-2024) was professor emerita of anthropology and curator emerita in archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Purdy is the author of numerous books, including How to Do Archaeology the Right Way, second edition. Roy C. Craven, Jr., is professor of art emeritus, founding director of the University Gallery at the University of Florida, and author of Ceremonial Centers of the Maya and A Concise History of Indian Art.

No Sample Chapter Available

Awards
Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Award - 1998

"The attractive book is worthy of the exquisite art objects it shows representing thousands of years of Indian life in the Florida peninsula."
--Naples Daily News

"Barbara A. Purdy has brought the history, color, art, and sophistication of Florida's missing aborigines to our consciousness. Purdy takes us from the Pre-paleoindian period before 9,500 BC through Paleoindian, Archaic, Ceramic, and Historic periods of Florida's early cultures. Each step of the way she documents the introduction of art, adornment, design in tools, cooking ware, hair ornaments, religious icons and burial urns. Photographs of decorated bone, shell, ceramic, wood carvings and paintings of animals, birds, fish and the human form are generously displayed in this book."
--Florida Wildlife

"Here's a delightful look at the artistic bent of Florida's native Americans."
--Naples Daily News

"Indian Art of Ancient Florida, with text by Barbara A. Purdy and photos by Roy C. Craven, Jr., gives us an illuminating look at some of our state's earliest inhabitants and the things they left behind." "This fine book is a treat, and should greatly add to Floridians' appreciation of the ancient peoples who were here long before we arrived."
--Stuart News

"a remarkably beautiful compilation of archaeologically-recovered Native American art from Florida." "This is a beautiful volume, and it will be enjoyed by many people."
--Mississippi Archaeology