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Moundville
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Moundville, Woodland and Mississippian culture
A view of Moundville from atop Mound B. Mound B is the tallest mound at this complex. The tiny dot by the road is a jogger (so you have a concept of scale here). The best photos of this site I've come across are taken with a wide angle lens from small planes or 'copters, but this will have to suffice. Moundville is located twelve miles outside of current day Tuscaloosa Alabama. There is an archeaological studies post there, associated with the University of Alabama. There is also a museum. On top of Mound B, they "reconstructed" a temple building, sort of a rectangular affair of which I took no pictures because they did such a bad job that when I arrived I assumed that they'd crazily built some sort of shack with a tin roof that was either for storage or for the tourist bathrooms, up there. I'm guessing they built this back in the '50's or '60's, when people got away with such things. Anyhow, I didn't check out the inside of the reconstructed "temple". No burials have been found in Mound B. The mound may have had some residential function for the elite. There are 29 known mounds at the site (early European farmers may have demolished one or two of the original mounds). There are fifteen prominent mounds defining four sides of the plaza. The Indians who lived here built structures both upon the mounds, and in other locales at the site. The southern edge of the site has yielded these "non mounded" signs of building structures. Mound A is the central mound, and the largest one in your field of vision in the above photo. It is the only mound not built on the same axis of orientation as the other mounds. There is a degree of bilateral symmetry at the site. Small mounds may have been temple and burial mounds. Larger ones may have had residential functions. There is a thought that the alignment of mounds might predict the winter solstice. There are three ponds at the site, it is thought that some of these were dug to provide the dirt for the mounds themselves. The ponds filled with water, and seem to have provided some fish for the inhabitants. Near the site is the Black Warrior River, which provided a link for trade, as well as for other fishing endeavors. These Indians lacked the wheel, and also any pack animals; they did all the work on mound building by hand, which implies an organized social structure and government. The mounds of Moundville were constructed in a rectangular plan, sometimes squared, sometimes not. Essentially, they were pyrimidical in appearance, with sliced-off tops. They were built from dirt, one basketful at a time. The mound upon which I stood was the tallest at this site, at 60 feet. At least one small mound was abandoned early in the history of Moundville, as signs of a wooden palisade barrier built during an early phase of Moundville life were found running over a portion of it.
At the northeast boundary of the larger community of Moundville runs the Black Warrior River, which eventually runs south into the Tombigee River. The Tombigee River and the Alabama River join forces to become the Mobile River, which empties into the Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. This river is about 60 feet below a buff. The Moundville community was built on a relatively flat terrace of land here, and is one of the few places along the river that geologically are both elevated well above a 100 year floodplain and are as flat as this. There is evidence that the Indians flattened down the terrain somewhat further for purposes of settlement. Along the shore here there has been some erosion, brought under control in the last half century. Some archaeologially significant sections have been lost to such erosion. I angled out the more evident portions of erosion control in the above photograph. Along the bank here where I am standing researchers have found signs of residential activity during the period of Moundville known as Moundville I. Some craft activity was undertaken at this time in this locale, as well. During Moundville II and III, this area was used more for burials. Indeed, it seems that during those periods, people from outlying districts not included in Moundville proper may have often brought their dead here for burial. Those low mounds mentioned above which held burials, seemed to be reserved for the elite of the elite, as evidenced by the nature of grave goods. Southeastern Indian cultural timeframe for the Tennessee River Valley and the upper Alabama region: Paleo Indian. Migratory hunter-gatherers, hunted with spears. Pleistocene. Archaic (beginnings of modern climate conditions). Spear throwers, known as atlatls, were often used. Roughly 8000 to 1000 BCE, with regional variations in termination time. Some excellent sites for perusing Southeast Indian Archaic period appear to be Russell Cave, located northeast Alabama, and the Stanfield-Worley bluff shelter, located northwest Alabama. Woodland. Mounds began to be built by these cultures. Ceramics often had fabric-impressions for design. Cultivation of squash and corn began. Moundville has signs of late Woodland activity (the West Jefferson timeframe). Bow and arrow introduced. Woodland culture seemed to have diffused down to the Moundville general region from the Midwest. The stage ended ca 800 - 1000 CE, depending on location, and may have occurred by some mixture of cultural diffusion and population displacement. Mississipian. Seemed to have some Mesoamerican influences (mound structure, art influences), heavier cultivation practices. Cultural height from 1200 - 1400 CE. There tended to be communities centered around central plazas, and temples were often situated on top of mounds. These would be built of wood, mud and thatch. Mounds might be rebuilt, or added to, over the course of time. A fire-sun deity was an important figure. This culture probably began in the central Mississippi valley starting around 700 CE, and spread. Cultural signs existed until about 1700 CE. Main centers of known Mississipian culture: Spiro OK, Cahokia IL, Hiwassee Island TN, Etowah GA, Macon GA, and of course, Moundville AL. Timeframe of materials found at Moundville itself: West Jefferson (900-1050
CE) Woodland. Moundville I (1050 - 1250) Mississippian.
Moundville II (1250 - 1400)
Mississippian.
Moundville III (1400 - 1550)
Mississippian.
Moundville IV (1550 - 1650)
Mississippian, very small population.
Moundville seemed to go into
decline starting ca 1450, dates indefinite however. It is also very difficult
to know how many people lived within the district of Moundville at any given
time. It is thought that the Moundville chiefdom during its heyday may have
directly controlled an area possibly 25 kilometers in each direction along the
river.
The above artifact was found
at Moundville. A variety of arrowheads, pipes, pottery and palettes were found
at the site. There is sort of a Mesoamerican feel to a lot of the artwork of
the Mississippean culture, but no direct trade link has yet been found in either
direction.
Information provided from
personal observation, discussion at the museum, and the books: |
Repository of Mouldy Articles
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Aztecan and Southwestern Agave Beverages of the Maya Teas of North America More Beverages from Around the Americas The Haudenosaunee Confederation Chicha and Beverages of Peru Ties of Blood: Mesoamerica from the Olmecs to the Mexica (by Quebrado Amaru) |
