Marco Island Historical Museum Welcomes Companion Artifact to Key Marco Cat Exhibit

The Marco Island Historical Museum welcomes an additional Key Marco artifact to the current exhibit featuring the Key Marco Cat and companion artifacts. The ancient and incredibly well-preserved Key Marco deer figurehead has just been added to the exhibit. It is on loan from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) and will be on view June 27, 2023 until June 2024.

The Key Marco deer figurehead is one of several painted wooden animal carvings excavated in 1896 from the Key Marco archaeological site on what is now Marco Island. Second only to the Key Marco Cat in terms of famous objects from the site, the deer figurehead was likely created by a Calusa or Muspa artist for use in masked religious processions. It was masterfully decorated with blue, black, and white pigments (now faded) and its detachable ears may have moved realistically using a system of cords. The object is generally anywhere between 500 and 1,500 years old but recent radiocarbon dates of other Key Marco artifacts at the Penn Museum indicate a more specific approximate age of 800 years old.

For hundreds of years, Marco Island held in its earth some of the mysteries of the Island’s ancient peoples — the Calusa and their ancestors. In 1896, Marco Island revealed one of the most important finds in the history of American archaeology. Smithsonian anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing discovered the now world-famous Key Marco Cat and other 500-to-1,500-year-old artifacts on Key Marco during the famed Pepper-Hearst archaeological expedition. 

These artifacts of wood and plant fiber were astonishingly well preserved because they were buried in an oxygen-free muck. Some were painted and their original colors were still intact. Many began disintegrating upon exposure to the air. They would have been lost forever if not for expedition artist and photographer Wells Sawyer who captured them in watercolors and photos as they were brought out of the ground. 

The Key Marco Cat and other rare pre-Columbian Native American artifacts discovered with it are reunited at the Marco Island Historical Museum (MIHM). 

The Key Marco Cat, on loan to the MIHM from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, is on exhibit at MIHM now through April 2026. 

The Key Marco Deer, on loan from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum), is on exhibit now until June 2024.

Sixteen additional Key Marco artifacts, on loan from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum), are on exhibit at the MIHM now until June 2024. 

The Key Marco Cat, a half cat/half human figure, is considered one of the finest pieces of pre-Columbian Native American art ever discovered in North America. At just six inches tall, the enigmatic feline has captured the public’s imagination for over a century and continues to intrigue all who view it. 

The Key Marco artifacts are showcased in MIHM’s award-winning permanent exhibit Paradise Found: 6,000 Years of People on Marco Island. This exhibit features a life-size Calusa village and more than 300 pre-Columbian Native American artifacts from Marco Island. Original artwork depicts the lives and ceremonies of the Calusa and the 1896 archaeological dig. A Calusa-inspired soundtrack by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning composer Kat Epple enhances the immersive visitor experience.

“The Key Marco Artifacts exhibit is the culmination of a 25-year vision on the part of the Marco Island Historical Society to bring these incredibly important artifacts back to Marco Island in order to educate and inspire people of all ages about the fascinating history of our region,” says MIHS Curator of Collections Austin Bell. “It has taken years of planning and discussions with the lending institutions and the support of a public-private partnership that includes the Marco Island Historical Society, Collier County and the community.”

The Key Marco Artifacts exhibit is supported in part by the Collier County Tourist Development Council. For information on Collier County, visit www.paradisecoast.com.

The Marco Island Historical Museum is located at 180 S. Heathwood Drive. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Admission is free and the site is handicapped accessible. For information, call 239.389.6447 or visit www.theMIHS.org.