St. Augustine, Florida - Mayan Connection and the Conch Horn

The tradition of blowing a conch horn as been passed down over the centuries from Florida’s first inhabitants. 

 

John M. Grimsrud blowing a conch horn.

The horn pictured is of a “roller” or not fully matured conch shell; these produce the lowest-shrillest sounds. The beauty of these horns for boaters is their extreme loudness and simplicity (weatherproof with no moving parts or anything to recharge).

 

The prehistoric Timucuan people built mounds along Florida’s shores.  On the northeast coast of Florida, twenty-two large mounds made of stacked oyster shell were visible from seven miles out to sea and marked on sailing charts. These ancient mounds had a height of more than fifty feet and each covered two acres. Early seagoing traders and explorers used these mounds as aids to navigation .In 1917 twenty-one of these mounds were removed to be used for road fill. Today only one mound, Turtle Mound, remains.  It is located 9 miles south of New Smyrna Beach within Canaveral National Seashore.

The pyramid building Chontal Maya, who evolved from the Olmec of Mexico, used conch horns as signaling devices. They could have easily passed their inventive skills and more on to their many ports of call. It is not clear exactly where all of the innovative Mayan techniques were acquired or developed, but they had a huge impact on the Americas.

Since pre-Hispanic times, the seagoing Chontal Maya of Tabasco, Mexico, using large trading canoes ranged as far as Panama, Florida, Cuba, the Caribbean Islands, and Veracruz.  They understood celestial navigation and employed sophisticated navigational aids that included lighted range markers. The Maya excavated canals to connect the sea with inland river systems, thus extending commerce and spreading their knowledge.

Blowing a conch horn is the mark of a bona fide Florida sailor.

Learn about John Grimsrud’s connections to Florida and the Maya of Yucatan in his books:

And his latest:

Yucatan for Travelers, Valladolid to Tulum

   
More recommended reading:

More books  by John M. Grimsrud: 

Excerpt from The Maya by Michael D. Coe:

 “ Yucatan was the greatest producer of salt in Mesoamerica…commerce was cornered by the Chontal Maya, or Putun, such good seafarers that Thompson called them “the Phoenicians of Middle America.” …their great canoes put into exchange goods with the island Maya…for they had much to exchange- especially cacao and feathers of tropical birds for copper tools and ornaments…”