Description
The Ocale were part of the western division of the Timucua people, together with the Potano, Northern Utina, and Yustaga, and may have spoken the Potano dialect of the Timucua language. Hann places the Ocale in the Alachua culture, which was practiced in central Marion County (where Itara may have been located), but Milanich and Hudson state that the Cove of the Withlacoochee and the area just east of the Withlacoochee River, where they believe Uqueten and Ocale were located, shared the Northern variety of the Safety Harbor culture found in Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties.
Language
The Ocale were part of the western division of the Timucua people, and may have spoken the Potano dialect of the Timucua language.
Culture
The Ocale, Potano and Acuera tribes were the major native cultures found in what would become Marion County when Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the land he named La Florida in 1513. All three were Timucuan-speaking tribes, and all depended on agriculture, as well as hunting and gathering, to drive their economies. The St. Johns people lived in villages with leaders who coordinated activities. Like the people who preceded them, the St. Johns people made extensive use of shellfish, fish and other wild foods in the region. It was not until about 750 A.D., or even later, that some of the northerly St. Johns people began cultivating maize, or corn. As a result, populations began to increase and new villages were established after about 1,000 A.D.