History of Tocobaga Indians
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Tocobaga Indians is the name that the inhabitants near Tampa Bay area at the Safety Harbor Site were called during the sixteenth century. The Tocobaga were in brief touch with certain Spanish explorers. However, there were no significant effects of their contact. The Florida tribes could not sustain the diseases spreading in Europe due to which the tribe completely vanished during the eighteenth century.
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The Tocobaga Indians lived in villages situated near the shore. The name “Tocobaga” refers to the chiefdom. The principal towns were situated in the area currently known as Old Tampa Bay. Each of the chiefdoms covered an area of about 24 kilometers of the shoreline and extended to about 32 kilometers into the land. A total of 15 such principal towns existed along the Gulf coast in Florida which extended right from southern Pasco County up to northern Sarasota County.
The principal towns encompassed a central plaza as well as a temple mound. The plaza was rectangular in shape and the pyramidal mound stood on one of the sides of this plaza. The mound was more than 6 m high and 40 meters long at each base. The top of this mound consisted of buildings and this was connected to the plaza through a ramp. The important residents lived around the plaza and the lesser privileged lived in small huts situated farther away.
The Tocobaga society was divided broadly into four different classes -- chiefs occupied the top position in the strata of society and were followed by headmen. The brave warriors formed the third strata. Ordinary people and slaves captured from other tribes occupied the lowest position in the social status.
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