Moundville

Today Jeff and I visited Moundville, a University of Alabama archaeological site, and I thought I'd share the pictures and information.


The area we call Moundville today was once one of the largest and most powerful cities in North America and reached it's height around 1200 AD.





All the mounds were aligned to the cardinal point of north except for mounds A and C, and all the mounds are flat topped. Mound A is a very large mound and is surrounded by the flat and level "plaza" area of the city, mound C is located on the edge of the flood plain of the river and there are sharp "drop offs" around three sides of the mound. Except for their unique alignment mounds A and C have nothing else in common and archaeologists are unsure why these two mounds were not also aligned to north.





This is Mound A as seen from atop Mound B (the Chief's mound, or mound B ) off in the distance you see mounds K, J, and I. Slightly closer in and off to the left is mound T. From depressions found on the top of mound A, archaeologists think that this mound had a large building with interior seating for gatherings and communial meetings.





Mound B, or the Chief's mound, is the largest mound at Moundville. The mound itself is over 60 feet tall and the flat top is 2 acres. The picture shown above was taken from the southeast, off the north ramp of the mound is mound V, although this mound is only about four feet in height it's very long and wide.


You'll notice on the map that Moundville is located on the Black Warrior River, the Mississipian Indians depended on the river for travel and trade, and also for the flooding that kept the soil refreshed for agriculture.





The remains of a dugout canoe found on the banks of the Black Warrior River.





The Mississippian Indians smoked a mixture of tobacco, sumac, and the inner bark of dogwood trees in their pipes. This pipe was made to look like a dog, maybe in humor the hole to draw in the smoke is located in dog's posterior.






The Mississippian Indians raised pottery to an art form, with many different styles and designs.



The remains of a gorget made of conch shell, imported from the coastal areas.



This is the Rattlesnake Disk, no one is sure what the symbolism of the disk is, it's thought however that the two Diamondback Rattlesnakes symbolize war. Mississippian Indians often used the symbol of the hand with an eye in the palm, but no one is sure as to it's meaning. The Rattlesnake Disk is extremely unique, it is the only example of a carved stone disk from the Mississippian culture.




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2005 02:10PM by Katherine Reece.