St. Johns culture

The spicules in the clay helped strengthen the pottery, and created a "chalky" surface, soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail.

During the 2000 years of the St. Johns culture, large middens of shell and other debris, sometimes covering several acres and often up to 25 feet (7.6 m) high, accumulated throughout the region (Turtle Mound, near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, was estimated to be 75 feet (23 m) high before it was reduced by shellrock mining in the 19th and 20th centuries).

[7] The St. Johns diet consisted of a wide variety of fish, shellfish, reptiles, mammals and birds.

[8] Maize cultivation reached the Timucua speakers of the St. Johns culture area around 750, although some authorities think the arrival was as late as 1050.

The southernmost part of the St. Johns culture area (the Mayacas) had not acquired maize cultivation at the time of first European contact.

[2][9][10] Except along the western fringes of the region, the only stone resources available were soft coquina and sandstone, which were used for grinding and abrading tools.

[2] Purpose-built mounds of sand (as opposed to shell middens) first appeared in the St. Johns culture region around 100 CE.

After 1050 influence from the Mississippian culture led some groups to construct platform mounds, which may have been topped by temples and/or chiefs' residences.