Tocobaga Indians

SAFETY HARBOR CULTURE 900 - 1700 AD

on Florida's Gulf Coast
013-NTS
THE SURGERY

The ancient people had many of the same needs and problems that we do. Their use of herbal medicine was very sophisticated. Like us, work related injuries, hunting accidents, and war wounds, certainly required surgery.

This image depicts a young man hurt in a border skirmish. The arrowhead, embedded in his back, is actually the tip from a dart. The dart, its shaft made from Giant cane, Arundinaria gigantean, about five feet in length, was launched at its intended target by a spear-thrower, an atlatl. Spent when it found its mark, penetration isn’t very deep. Wedged between the warriors ribs, just below the scapula, it has not pierced the wall of his lungs.

A fellow soldier broke the shaft off the dart. The wound is about a day old. With the swelling around the wound, the skin has slipped up over the point. Bleeding under the skin was caused by motion during the jog to a town where a surgeon could be found.

The surgeon, or medicine man, has already given the warrior a concoction made from the bark of coastal willow, Salix caroliniana and common nightshade, Solanum americanum to reduce pain and help his breathing. The root of Adam's needle, Yucca filamentosa, provides a topical antiseptic. Its leaves supply a fine thread for suturing. Once the point has been removed and the wound closed, it will be covered by a pad of prickly pear cactus, Opuntia humifusa. The cactus pad is split so that the wet fleshy side can be applied to the skin.
For further discussion of Florida's paleobotony read

Understanding the Power of Plants.