Archaeologists examining Tallahassee site of DeSoto's 1540 camp

By the time John Smith met Pocahontas in Virginia, Europeans had already come to the Florida Panhandle and left.

But the conquistador Hernando de Soto and his men - the first tourists to visit Florida for the winter - left behind remnants of their time on a hilltop that is now almost in the shadow of the state Capitol.

They also left behind a native culture that had thrived in this area, but was changed forever by contact with the Spaniards and the diseases they brought.