In 1566, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés arrived at Mound Key, the capital of the Calusa polity. What he saw there was unlike anything else he would encounter in La Florida, a capital teaming with people and complex architecture that was essentially a terraformed anthropogenic island constructed mostly of mollusk shells situated in the middle of Estero Bay. The Calusa literally raised this landscape—51 ha in area—from the sea and built a complex canal system to the capital’s interior. The capital and its outlying towns did not practice large-scale agriculture, but rather relied upon harvesting and management of aquatic resources. Here, I outline the nature of urban processes at the settlement. From this evaluation, I argue that there are many similarities between the settlement and other urban areas of research, particularly in other parts of the Americas. I explore how the occupants of Mound Key worked through some of the experiences of urban processes present via collective action, specifically regarding waste management, transparent governance, and sustainability.

1566 年，佩德罗·梅南德斯·德阿维莱斯 (Pedro Menéndez de Avilés) 抵达卡卢萨政体首府芒德基 (Mound Key)。他在那里看到的一切与他在佛罗里达州遇到的任何其他东西都不一样这座首都由人和复杂的建筑组成，本质上是一个人工改造的岛屿，主要由软体动物贝壳建造，位于埃斯特罗湾中部。卡卢萨人确实将这片面积达 51 公顷的景观从海上升起，并修建了通往首都内部的复杂运河系统。首都及其边远城镇没有实行大规模农业，而是依靠水产资源的捕捞和管理。在这里，我概述了该定居点城市进程的性质。根据这一评估，我认为该定居点与其他城市研究领域有许多相似之处，特别是在美洲其他地区。我探讨了 Mound Key 的居住者如何通过集体行动经历城市进程的一些经验，