"Fort Walton Culture" is a term for a late prehistoric Native American people that flourished in southeastern North America from approximately 1200-1500 CE.
The Fort Walton Culture was named by archaeologist Gordon Willey, based on his work at the Fort Walton Mound site near the Indian Temple Museum in the 1930s. Archaeologists have now come to believe the Fort Walton site was actually built and used by people of the contemporaneous Pensacola Culture. The peoples of the Fort Walton Culture used mostly sand, grit, grog, or combinations of these materials as tempering agents in their pottery, whereas the Pensacola Culture peoples used the more typical Mississippian Culture shell tempering for their pottery.
From 1,000 to 1,200 CE, Weeden Island Culture people adopted maize agriculture, the building of platform mounds for ceremonial, political and religious purposes, and the making a new variety of ceramics. These cultural changes may have been influenced by contact with the Mississippian Culture centers to the north and west. This was the beginning of the Fort Walton Culture (1200 - 1500 CE). Fort Walton sites are similar to other Mississippian sites, with the exception of those in the Tallahassee Hills area, which because of the local geography, are located around lakes and swamps instead of along rivers. Settlement types include single family homesteads, multi family hamlets, small single-mound centers, and large multi-mound centers. The hierarchical settlement patterns suggests the area may have had one or more paramount chiefdoms.
By the Late Fort Walton period, increased contact with peoples from central Georgia saw another change in styles of decoration and manufacture of ceramics. This new phase is known as the Leon-Jefferson Culture. This period sees the collapse of the chiefdoms as aboriginal populations declined following contact with European explorers and colonizers. The Fort Walton and later Leon-Jefferson peoples are the direct ancestors of the Apalachee peoples, a tribe still in existence today.
Dr. Nancy White talks about the Fort Walton Culture and Indian Temple Mound
CERAMICS AND POTTERY
The ceramic tradition of the Mississippian Culture, (800 to 1600 CE) is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine (or more rarely marine) shell-tempering agents in the clay paste. Shell tempering is one of the hallmarks of Mississippian cultural practices. Designs probably had meanings related to events or beliefs. Burial vessels had depictions of skeletons, which over the years became stylized bones. Each culture had their own designs, which identify the tribe and the region they came from. Local differences in materials, techniques, forms, and designs are some of the major ways archaeologists understand lifeways, religious practices, trade, and interaction among Mississippian peoples like those of the Fort Walton Culture.
Many Mississippian ceramics are decorated by incising or engraving. Implements such as sticks, reeds, or bone fragments, were dragged through wet clay to incise it, or they were scratched into the surface of the dried but as yet unfired pieces to engrave. Sharpened reeds or fingernails were also used to punch small marks. Ornate designs and motifs are common decorative elements, which archaeologists use to track the spread of influences from one culture onto another culture. Many of the designs have symbolic meanings, usually associated with aspects of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.
Indian Temple Mound Museum features one of the largest collections of southeastern ancient ceramics in the United States.
CLAY TETRAPOD VESSEL (tetra=four pod=feet)
This vessel is one of the oldest found in Northwest Florida. It has been dated to the Deptford Culture, approximately 1170 BCE. The rim decoration was impressed into the clay using a knotted cord of fabric. Some Mississippian Culture pottery was decorated with textile imprints on them. Vegetal cordage or netting was impressed either over the entire external surface of a vessel, or just around the top rim area. Some archaeologists theorize that the textiles used for the imprints were older fabrics that were past their use as garments. Corncobs were also used to create texture on pots.
Although the vast majority of Mississippian pottery was produced for daily utilitarian uses, the finer varieties seem to have been made specifically for trade or for ritual use. Chronologies based on pottery have been essential for dating Mississippian cultures. Studies of southeastern pottery has provided one of the best insights into the culture. Because pottery is durable and often survives long after artifacts made from less durable materials have decayed past recognition, ceramics and stone tools are often the only objects that survive in great enough quantities to establish such insights. Combined with other evidence, the study of pottery artifacts is helpful in the development of theories on organization, economic conditions and cultural development. This has allowed inferences to be drawn about the daily life, religion, social relationships, and trade with other groups.
WARE HUMAN EFFIGY VESSEL
In 1971, the Ware family found pieces of a clay vessel at a small mound, possibly a domiciliary or a house mound, about four miles west of The Indian Temple Mound Museum. The pieces were made of light brown to tan colored clay, coiled into a rough shape with features molded on the outside. When the clay fragments were carefully placed together, an Effigy (made to look like) of a human male was formed. Although it is unknown, the figure was probably made to resemble a specific individual. Like a portrait, this figure shows details of clothing and decoration. The hair is worn pulled back and a decorative band resembling a crown surrounds the head. The eyes are closed, suggesting a man already dead. The ears contain a set of decorative earrings that dangle. The body is naked, but bracelets can be seen on the wrists and a lip ornament is worn in the pierced bottom lip.
This vessel may have been shattered atop a burial mound as part of a ritual conducted 1300 years ago. Similar vessels are known to have served as status symbols, family heirlooms, burial urns, or statements of political and religious control. The Ware Human Effigy Vessel dates back to the Weeden Island Culture (600-900 CE) known for beautifully crafted ceramic works; however items such as this vessel are very rare. Effigy pots were a mainstay of many Mississippian peoples, although they come in many different varieties. Some come in anthropomorphic shapes, some zoomorphic shapes and others in the shape of mythological creatures associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.
THE BUCK-LONG EFFIGY URN
This artifact was found in 1961 at the Fort Walton Mound and reconstructed from over 100 shattered fragments. In 1966, the face and topknot were located down the slope on the mound, indicating that it was purposefully shattered on the slope of the mound. This vessel resembles a human with four legs. The two forward legs are clearly human while the two following legs are stumps, presumably reflecting a stool. It is known that the burial practices of the Woodland Time Period sometimes took the form of cremations, especially for important persons. Evidence suggests that the ashes of an important leader may have been retained in this effigy urn.
The vessel is 15 inches tall, made of red paste clay decorated with incised designs. A red and white cloak covers the body and attaches at the human wrists with white bands. The ears are pierced and the face-blackened to resemble a mask, which may represent a masked and costumed figure from a ritual event. The use of this vessel is difficult to determine. Such exotic wares are thought to have been status symbols, family heirlooms, or statements of political and religious control. They might have been cult objects or guardian figures.
Two methods were used to create this vessel. The legs were shaped from slabs and are hollow. The coil method was used to make the face and body. The firing of the vessel was at low heat resulting in a brittle finish. It has been called the "finest ceramic vessel in the Southeast" and only a few vessels with similar paste and shape have been found. The styling of the hands and general appearance suggest cultural contact with Central America, but in actuality this artifact is most closely related to the Mississippian Cultures.
SIX SIDED PLATES OR SALT PANS
Six sided plates are unique to the Fort Walton culture. In the five major Fort Walton Sites in the Florida panhandle, more than 350 bowls have been found. Over 50 of these are six sided plates. They may have been used as salt drying pans evaporating pans for drying salt, or a passing plate for ceremonies or a representation of the tribal community house. Large salt pans were common in Mississippian regions, but are usually ovular or even rectangular. These could hold from 10 to 26 liters of liquid. A heavy slip made them more waterproof. They were most likely formed from a mold, possibly a basket. They were lined with grass or textiles to keep from sticking to each other or the mold before firing.
HOODED CONTAINERS
Globular containers, resembling gourds, with a rounded base and a smaller "head", may have been used to carry and store liquids. One side of the head was shaped like an animal or human face, while the other side was a black, hollow opening. They were slipped on their exterior surface to make them smoother and water-resistant. Another theory is that these were used to store seed grain, and unfired clay plugs sealed the opening. Owls and opossums are often featured on hooded vessels.
MAIZE (corn) A cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago, the maize that the Indians grew at the time of Fort Walton did not look anything like the corn of today. The corn cob was a lot smaller in size and the kernels were characteristic of flint corn and not flour corn. Flint corn (Zea mays var. indurata; also known as "Indian corn" or sometimes calico corn) is a variant of maize. Because each kernel has a hard outer layer, it is likened to being hard as flint; hence the name. Flint corn is also the type of corn preferred for making hominy, a staple food in the Americas since pre-Columbian times.
YAUPON HOLLY (Ilex vomitoria) Indians throughout prehistoric Florida made a drink by boiling the leaves of the Yaupon Holly. Among the purposes of consuming the "black drink", was to empty the contents of the stomach in preparation for the consumption of the green corn. The principal active ingredient of Ilex vomitoria is caffeine. Vomiting was not caused by the drink, but is connected to the ceremonial expelling, and was a learned behavior. Large drinking vessels made from shells, often with incising, have been found throughout the state. Special pottery cups, some in effigy forms, may also be associated with the "black drink" and "green corn" ceremonies.
HICKORY (genus Carya) Hickory nuts were found in the Fort Walton Mound. They would have been gathered from the ground in the fall. The nut of the hickory tree has nutritious meat, and the flexible wood of the hickory tree was favored for the making of bows. There are nine varieties of hickory found in North America, with almost half available throughout Florida. Hickory nuts were a staple food for prehistoric Floridians.
PERSIMMON (genus Diospyros) Remains of persimmons were found in the Fort Walton Mound. Persimmon fruit matures late in the fall and can stay on the tree until winter. Ripe fruit has a high glucose content and is sweet in taste. The persimmon was first mentioned in print about the middle of the sixteenth century in a journal of Hernando de Soto's expedition in Florida. The account mentions the Indians using both the fresh and dried fruits as food. 
HUCKLEBERRY (Gaylussacia baccata) The remains of berries were found in the Fort Walton Mound. Huckleberries (shown here) and Blackberries are common in the Florida panhandle. Other berries consumed by Fort Walton people include Beautyberry, and Saw Palmetto. Berries were also used in the making of pigments, and early accounts of Florida indigenous peoples talk of their blue and purple body paint.
PUMPKIN (Tetrazygia bicolor) A member of the gourd family, pumpkin varieties are found throughout Florida. The flesh and seeds were consumed. Seeds were often dried or roasted for winter storage and provided useful nutrition. 
ACORNS One of many types of oaks in this area, the Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) provides sweet tasting acorns. Collected when they ripened in fall, the Indians may have dried them in the sun and stored them. Raw acorns can be stored for months without spoiling. Acorns can be boiled, roasted or ground into a meal and used as flour. A Native American method for processing acorns involves placing the shelled nuts into a tightly woven basket, and allowing them to soak in a clean, flowing stream for a few days until no brown colored water is seen when checking their progress.
SEAFOOD AND SHELLFISH As witnessed by the amount of shells in the middens around Fort Walton, a large part of the diet of the people of this region was provided by the bays, rivers, and Gulf of Mexico. Trout, mullet, red drum, and more local fishes were caught by spear or net, from the shoreline, or from a dugout canoe. Shellfish could be gathered in the shallows. Eastern Oysters, (Crassostrea virginica) occurring in coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, are a primary component of Florida middens. 
Until the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500s, the most common land mammal hunted by the people of the Fort Walton Culture was deer. They would have used a bow and arrow, or hurled darts with a throwing stick called an atlatl. Some hunters might disguise themselves by wearing a deerskin with the head still attached. All parts of the deer were useful to the tribe. Other mammals were hunted, such as; raccoon, squirrel, armadillo, rabbits, opossum, fox, bear, and bobcat. (Painting by Brett Pigon)