(Source of picture: Florida State Archives)

A FAMILY OUTING -- Most people like to have fun, be it today or over 400 years ago.  This cute picture dates from from 1562.  It shows several Timucua swimming to an island for a picnic with their kids.  The Timucua also loved to go to the beach.  And in this fanciful picture, they could've also headed to the mountains.

Notice how strong the lady must have been.  She's shouldering two youngsters, one of whom is carrying the picnic basket.  According to the Spanish, Timucua women could swim across a wide river while holding a baby above the water with one hand. 

GATORS -- The Jacksonville rock band Molly Hatchet used to sing about their hometown as being "Gator Country."  One thousand years ago, it really was!  Over one million alligators lived in Northeast Florida, with some measuring 20 feet long.  The Timucua kept watch for the reptiles at night and sometimes during the day, such as during swimming trips.  In the picture above, the man keeps his bow & arrow ready.  The Timucua feared death from an animal attack more than they feared getting killed from an assault by another person.

KIDS -- Timucua children grew up faster than young Americans today.  Some critics say that American adolescence has been extended through the college years.  By age 11 or 12, in contrast, Timucua kids were assisting in such adult work as hunting animals, crafting pottery, planting & harvesting crops, and constructing huts & canoes.  Older children began to receive tattoos when they started to shoulder grown-up duties. 

The Timucua married at about fifteen years old.  The wedding ceremony went like this:  A young man would hunt a deer for his bride, and she would make a meal from corn for him.  This ritual indicated that they would take care of each other.  And hopefully, they would live together happily ever after.  If not, the wife could rather easily divorce her husband.  She simply tossed his clothes & other belongings out of the family hut, which she owned.