In 1896 a curious artifact was unearthed in Florida. In this post, you will find the YouTube video exploring the curious feline artifact unearthed in Florida, and a full video transcript (with relevant sources and links).

YouTube Video

YouTube Video Transcript

Here, you will find the complete transcript of the video in the previous section with hyperlinked references/citations.

Intro

What happens when archaeologists unexpectedly uncover something unlikely to survive in the ground, especially in Florida’s environment?

That’s exactly what happened with this artifact. It’s not only remarkably well-preserved, it’s also incredibly rare.

Hi! I’m Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I’m an archaeologist. In this video, we’re going to explore the story behind this curious artifact and what it might mean. 

Background

This is the Key Marco Cat. It’s a Pre-Columbian object that was carved by the Calusa people or their Muspa ancestors. The Muspa were most likely absorbed into the Calusa sphere around 1300 CE.

It was excavated in 1896 by anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing at the site of Key Marco, in Southwest Florida. It was most likely created between 500-1,500 years ago. Scholars are unsure of its exact age, but argue it must be at least 500 years old due to a “lack of European goods found at the site”.

If we zoom in, we see the Key Marco Cat is 6 inches tall, weighs less than half a pound, and is carved from unidentified hardwood. We haven’t been able to identify the wood because this would require extracting a sample, which, given our current technology, would be destructive to the artifact. Wooden objects often don’t preserve well in the archaeological record because they decompose over time. When it comes to Florida, many areas of the state are warm and humid, which promotes microbial activity that would especially help things decompose. Oxygen plays a key role in this process because most microbes and fungi responsible for decay need oxygen to survive. However, the incredible preservation of this is owed to its burial in a layer of oxygen-free muck.

Interpretations

Scholars have interpreted this artifact to be an anthropomorphic feline statuette.

What do we mean by anthropomorphic?

This means the statue has both animal and human characteristics, but it’s referred to as a cat due to its general feline appearance. A leading hypothesis is that it was most likely modeled on a Florida panther, but more on that soon. The figure is depicted squatting with its front paws stretching down and resting on its hind legs. In fact, one theory proposes that the statue might be an individual in the midst of a transformation between human and panther.

But there are a lot of theories surrounding this enigmatic artifact. Explanations range from a piece of sacred furniture to representing a living deity.

Scholars have turned to colonial European accounts of the Calusa people to determine how this object might have been used, as there are no known written records by the Calusa. Such documents mentioned idols being worshipped in local temples. They also attest to Calusa religious ceremonies where priests wearing masks would walk in processions with singing women.

Other wooden objects found at the site also provide a glimpse into the ceremonies of the Calusa people. For example, brightly colored, wooden ceremonial masks, perhaps like those mentioned in the Spanish texts, were unearthed alongside the Key Marco Cat. In fact, some scholars have argued that the figure may represent a masked individual.

However, these accounts were written after European contact with the Calusa and may not reflect practices at that time or the time artifact’s creation. It’s also important to bear in mind that these accounts did have their biases, and some included disparaging remarks about the Calusa.

The Calusa, like many Indigenous peoples, suffered immense disruption and loss as a result of European colonization. By the end of the 1700s, disease, enslavement, and forced migration fractured their society, and those who survived were displaced, often apart from one another. So this is why we don’t know more about the people who probaby created this artifact 

Ethnographic Analogy

Now, Colonial European accounts are not the only way scholars have tried to better understand the Key Marco Cat. In his book, The Nine Lives of Florida’s Famous Key Marco Cat, Austin Bell, curator of the Marco Island Historical Museum, draws upon ethnographic analogies with other Indigenous peoples from the Florida peninsula to offer possible explanations for how this object might have been used.

For example, Bell mentions that southeastern Indigenous cultures generally portrayed panthers as a “dangerous creature in myths relating to hunting or warfare,” and the Key Marco Cat was found in the vicinity of other objects such as arrows and “other remains of warrior-and hunter-paraphernalia.”

Among the 16th-century Tampa Bay Ucita people, individuals were venerated after killing a panther. Could the Key Marco Cat have been created in their likeness and presented to someone after they killed a panther?

Other evidence might point to the Key Marco Cat acting as a representative of a kinship group at Key Marco. Bell argues that in Southeastern cultures, including the Florida Seminole, who may have lived alongside the Calusa, special offices were held by members of specific clans. Wood carvings, including felines, found at the nearby Fort Center have been argued by some to represent clan totems. Thus, certain Key Marco houses may have represented lineages such as the “Panther Clan.”

In the Mississippian Southeast, temple shrines containing ancestor cult figurines were erected on the tops of mounds. The Key Marco Cat may have represented a founding ancestor of the community.

These are just a few of the ethnographic comparisons that have been made to the Key Marco Cat. It’s important to bear in mind that these comparisons are speculative. While neighboring Indigenous communities might have had some shared beliefs, it doesn’t guarantee it. In fact, since the artifact is likely a pre-contact object, even the beliefs of the Calusa that European colonizers encountered might have differed from those of the Calusa who might have created the artifact in the first place. So while these different accounts can be helpful in informing our interpretations, we need to approach them with care and understand their limits.

Impact

In its lifetime, the Key Marco Cat has been on display for 74 years at the Smithsonian, and has traveled to eight other US cities as part of nine different exhibitions. However, in 2018, it went on display at the Marco Island Historical Society (MIHS) for the first time in 100 years. Marco Islanders and local museum stakeholders had long anticipated the return of this important artifact, particularly with the opening of the Marco Island Historical Museum (MIHM) in 2010. At the moment, it will remain on loan there until 2026.

The Key Marco excavations and the objects found there are incredibly important because these finds constitute the “most complete and comprehensive assemblage ever discovered in a pre-Columbian Florida archaeological deposit.” The Key Marco Cat is also important due to its rarity. About 25% of objects excavated from the Key Marco site did not survive due to the fragility of the wood. Many objects, upon exposure to the air, disintegrated. The remarkable artistry, completeness, and context of the Key Marco Cat make it an intriguing artifact.

Outro

We actually have a video on the archaeology of house cats linked below, if you want to learn more about other felines.

This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series, where we take a quick look at one intriguing object from the past. If you’re interested in watching another artifact of the day video, check out the video here.

Credits

Brooke Norton: Series Lead, Co-Producer, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Noor Hanania: Lead Video Editor, Peer Reviewer, Logo Designer

Anya Gruber: Peer Reviewer

Sneh P. Patel: Peer Reviewer

Smiti Nathan: Director, Co-Producer, Support Video Editor, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Patreon Supporters

Thank you to our paid Patreon members for supporting the creation of this video:

Nancy Fulton, James D., Giancarlo Annese, Thomas Martin, Stuart A. Griffin, Tagg, Ann Brookens, Diana Madden, Cole Guinn

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