Mound Key

A new WGCU documentary short explores how the Indigenous Calusa people created and shaped Mound Key from leftover shells. It is the second in the Decoding Ancient Florida series on Calusa history.

In recognition of March being designated Florida Archaeology Month, we’re listening back to a conversation with archeologist William Marquardt, Ph.D., about his findings published in the journal “Historical Archeology,” confirming the existence of Spanish fort built on Mound Key in Estero Bay in 1566. Mound Key was the capitol of the Calusa Native American tribe which dominated the region and had occupied Southwest Florida for more than 1,000 years at that time.