List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
This is a list of sites and peoples visited by the
They met many varied Native American groups, most of them bands and chiefdoms related to the widespread Mississippian culture. Only a few of these ancestral cultures survived into the seventeenth century, or their descendants combined as historic tribes known to later Europeans. Others have been recorded only in the written historical accounts of de Soto's expedition.
Florida
- Uzita
- Mocoso
- Urriparacoxi
- Timucua
- Ocale
- Acuera
- Potano
- Alachua culture
- Northern Utina
- Yustaga
- Uzachile
- Anhaica
- Apalachee
- Narváez expedition's "Bay of Horses"
Georgia
The peoples the expedition encountered in Georgia were speakers of Muskogean languages. The expedition made two journeys through Georgia - the first heading northeast to Cofitachequi in South Carolina, and the second heading southwest from Tennessee, at which point they visited the Coosa chiefdom.
First Leg
- Capachequi
- Ichisi
- Ocute
- Hitchiti
After leaving Ocute, the expedition crossed the "Wilderness of Ocute" (the modern-day Savannah River basin) to arrive in present-day South Carolina. Artifacts from the first leg have been found in Telfair County, Georgia.
Second Leg
All territory the expedition crossed through during this leg was under the control of Coosa, a paramount chiefdom with territory in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
- Coosa chiefdom
- Little Egypt, the likely site of the Coosa capital
- Sixtoe Mound
- Bell Field Mound Site
- Talimachusi
- Etowah Indian Mounds (Itaba)
South Carolina
The primary destination of the expedition in South Carolina was the paramount chiefdom of Cofitachequi. The people of this chiefdom were likely the ancestors of the modern
- Hymahi
- Cofitachequi, likely located at the present Mulberry Plantation
- Talimeco
North Carolina
- Joara, near Morganton, North Carolina
- Cheraw (tribe)
- Chelaque
Tennessee
Alabama
Parts of
Mississippi
Arkansas
- Aquixo
- Casqui, believed by many archaeologists to be the same as the site of the Parkin Archeological State Park.[1][2]
- Pacaha, believed by many archaeologists to be the Nodena site.[1][2]
- Chaguate
- Coligua
- Tunica people
- Tula people
- Anilco, possibly the Menard complex in the southeastern corner of the state.[1]
- Guachoya
- Quapaw
- Caddoans
- Aays Caddo confederacy.
- Naguatex