as high as 100, but most held fewer than 25. After 1050 influence from the Mississippian culture led some groups to construct platform mounds, which may have been topped by temples and/or chiefs' residences. One of these mounds, the Shields Mound in Duval County, eventually reached along each side of the base, and held 150 burials. Another mound, Mt. Royal Mound, just north of Lake George, which was high and in diameter, was primarily a burial mound. This mound also contained many items apparently received as trade goods from the region of the Mississippian culture. Chiefdoms in the St. Johns culture region did not achieve the size and power of those to the west, from the Florida panhandle through to the Mississippi valley, and large platform mounds were rare in the St. Johns region. Notes References Milanich, Jerald T. (1998) "Chapter 3: St. Johns Culture of East and Central Florida", Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present. University Press of Florida. External links Southeastern Prehistory - Middle Woodland Period - Retrieved July 17, 2007 An Environmental History of Northeast Florida By Miller, James J. - Retrieved July 17, 2007 Ceramic Pots at A History of Central Florida Podcast Pre-Columbian cultures Mound builders (people)