By 1000 A.D., the indigenous people developed agriculture and cultivated numerous plants, particularly varieties of maize, as the main staple food.
Native Americans lived in scattered villages made up of farmsteads but gradually developed agricultural surpluses that allowed more population density.
The elite organized workers to construct complex earthwork mounds for religious, political and ceremonial purposes.
After the Spanish began colonization and brought in missions, they called this cultural area the Apalachee Province.
The Apalachee Province was heavily depopulated with Carolina Governor James Moore's raids into the area during Queen Anne's War.