Etowah Indian Mounds

Etowah Indian Mounds
1
Etowah Indian Mounds
Etowah Mounds
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Mound B, seen from Mound A
Nearest city:
Cartersville, GA
Coordinates:
34°7′30.47″N 84°48′27.59″W
Governing body:
State
NRHP Reference#: 66000272
Significant dates
[1]
Added to NRHP:
October 15, 1966
Designated NHL:
July 19, 1964
[2]
Etowah Indian Mounds (9BR1) is a 54-acre (unknown operator: u'strong' m2) archaeological site in Bartow
County, Georgia south of Cartersville, in the United States. Built and occupied in three phases, from 1000–1550 CE,
the prehistoric site is located on the north shore of the Etowah River. Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site is a
designated National Historic Landmark, managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It is the most
intact Mississippian culture site in the Southeastern United States.
Etowah Indian Mounds
2
History
In the 19th century, European-American settlers mistakenly believed that the mounds had been built by the
Cherokee, who then occupied the region; however, the Iroquoian-speaking tribe did not reach this part of Georgia
until the late 18th century and could not have built the mounds.
Late 20th-century studies showed the mounds were built and occupied by prehistoric indigenous peoples of the
South Appalachian Mississippian culture (a regional variation of the Mississippian culture)[3] of eastern North
America. They were ancestors of the historic Muskogean language-speaking Muscogee (Creek) people who later
emerged in the area.[4] Etowah is a Muskogee word derived from italwa meaning "town". The federally recognized
Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Poarch Band of Creek Indians consider Etalwa to be their most important ancestral
town. From 1000–1550 CE, Etowah was occupied by a series of cycling chiefdoms over the course of five and a half
centuries.[5]
Site chronology
Archaeologists used changes in ceramic styles across multiple sites in the Etowah River Valley to determine
timelines for the region. The ceramics found at Etowah and other regional sites have been reconstructed and allow
Etowah to be placed into the following sequences.[6] The town was occupied in three distinct archaeological phases:
ca. 1000–1200 CE, ca. 1250–1375 CE, and ca. 1375–1550 CE. It was at its peak roughly from 1325–1375 CE.[7]
Period
Early
Mississippian
Middle
Mississippian
Late
Mississippian
[6]
Regional
periods
Etowah
Phase
Savannah
Phase
Lamar
Phase
Dates
Etowah Site
Phases
Ceramic markers
1000 –
1100 CE
Early Etowah
ladder base diamond predominant motif, shell tempering more common
1100 –
1200 CE
Late Etowah
2-bar diamond motif more prevalent, grit tempering more common, filfot cross,
Etowah Incised and Hiwassee Island red on buff first appear
1200 –
1250 CE
Unoccupied
no inhabited sites along Etowah river valley
1250 –
1325 CE
Early Wilbanks
coarse grit temper commonest, pottery thicker, bolder and with sloppier,
complicated, stamped designs
1325 –
1375 CE
Late Wilbanks
thinner pottery, more finely done stamping, minority vessel forms and designs
appear, Rudder Comb Incised, Dallas Incised, Pisgah-like and Lake Jackson
decorated
1375 –
1425 CE
Stamp Creek
lack of Lamar Incised, rim modifications appear,
1425 –
1475 CE
Mayes(provisional) wider rims than previous phase, boldly executed 3-line incised designs
1475 –
1550 CE
Brewster
narrower incised lines, stamping sloppy with most motifs no longer
distinguishable, rectilinear designs common, Brewster and Barnett are temporally
equivalent and are more of a geographic distinction in the valley
1500 –
1625 CE
Barnett
higher percentage of shell tempering than Brewster with types such as Dallas
Plain, Dallas Incised and Dallas Filleted
Etowah Indian Mounds
Site description
Etowah has three main platform mounds and three lesser mounds. The
Temple Mound, Mound A, is 63 feet (unknown operator:
u'strong' m) high, taller than a six-story building, and covers 3 acres
(unknown operator: u'strong' m2) at its base. In 2005-2008 ground
mapping with magnetometers revealed new information and data,
showing that the site was much more complex than had previously
been believed. The study team has identified a total of 140 buildings on
the site. In addition, Mound A was found to have had four major
Temple Mound (Mound A)
structures and a courtyard at the height of the community's power.[7]
Mound B is 25 feet (unknown operator: u'strong' m) high; Mound
C, which rises 10 feet (unknown operator: u'strong' m), is the only one to have been completely excavated.
Magnetometers enabled archaeologists to determine the location of temples of log and thatch, which were originally
built on top of the mounds. Adjacent to the mounds is a raised ceremonial plaza, which was used for ceremonies,
stickball and chunkey games, and as a bazaar for trade goods.
When visiting the Etowah Mounds, guests can view the "borrow pits" (which archaeologists at one time thought
were moats) which were dug out to create the three large mounds in the center of the park.
Older pottery found on the site suggest that there was an earlier village (ca. 200 BCE–600 CE) associated with the
Swift Creek culture. This earlier Middle Woodland period occupation at Etowah may have been related to the major
Swift Creek center of Leake Mounds, approximately two miles downstream (west) of Etowah.
War was commonplace; many archaeologists believe the people of Etowah battled for hegemony over the Alabama
river basin with those of Moundville, a Mississippian site in present-day Alabama. The town was protected by a
sophisticated semicircular fortification system. An outer band formed by nut tree orchards prevented enemy armies
from shooting masses of flaming arrows into the town. A 9 feet (unknown operator: u'strong' m) to 10 feet
(unknown operator: u'strong' m) deep moat blocked direct contact by the enemy with the palisaded walls. It also
functioned as a drainage system during major floods, common for centuries, from this period and into the 20th
century. Workers formed the palisade by setting upright 12 feet (unknown operator: u'strong' m) high logs into a
ditch approximately 12 inches (unknown operator: u'strong' mm) on center and then back-filling around the
timbers to form a levee. Guard towers for archers were spaced approximately 80 feet (unknown operator:
u'strong' m) apart.
3
Etowah Indian Mounds
4
Artifacts
The artifacts discovered in burials within the Etowah site indicate that
its residents developed an artistically and technically advanced culture.
Numerous copper tools, weapons and ornamental copper plates
accompanied the burials of members of Etowah's elite class. Where
proximity to copper protected the fibers from degeneration,
archaeologists also found brightly colored cloth with ornate patterns.
These were the remnants of the clothing of social elites.
Illustration of a Rogan Plate (Catalogue No.
A91117, Department of Anthropology, NMNH,
Smithsonian), a repoussé copper plate falcon
dancer found at Etowah, but believed to have
[8]
been fabricated at Cahokia in the 13th century
Numerous clay figurines and ten Mississippian stone statues have been
found through the years in the vicinity of Etowah. Many are paired
statues, which portray a man sitting cross-legged and a woman
kneeling. The female figures wear wrap-around skirts and males are
usually portrayed without visible clothing, although both usually have
elaborate hairstyles. The pair are thought to represent lineage
ancestors. Individual statues of young women also show them
kneeling, but with additional characteristics such as visible sex organs,
which are not visible on the paired statues. This female figure is
thought to represent a fertility or Earth Mother goddess.[9] The
birdman, hand in eye, solar cross, and other symbols associated with
the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex appear in many artifacts found
at Etowah.
Trade
The Etowah River is a tributary of the Coosa and Alabama rivers, and forms the border between the southern edge of
the Ridge and Valley Appalachians and the Piedmont Plateau. Trade and tribute brought whelk shells from the Gulf
of Mexico; copper, mica and flint from the Cumberland Plateau; and "galena, graphite, and an array of ochers to
provide pigment for painting buildings, bodies, and works of art; greenstone and marble to furnish raw material for
tools, weapons and ritual objects" from the Piedmont.[10] The loamy riverbed soil could be easily tilled with digging
sticks and stone and shell hoes. Its fertility was annually renewed by the river's floods. Free of frost most of the year,
the land yielded rich harvests of corn, beans, and squash.
Habitat
Chestnut, walnut, hickory, and persimmon trees that grew in upland forests provided nuts and fruit for both the
people of Etowah and the white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and smaller game they hunted. Other plants that were
gathered include stinging nettle, paper mulberry, and a native holly whose leaves and stems were brewed into the
Black drink imbibed in ritual purification ceremonies. River cane grew in dense thickets and was made into arrow
shafts, thatching for roofs, splits for baskets, benches, and mats for walls and floors.
River shoals abounded in freshwater mussels and turtles. The Mississippians built v-shaped rock weirs to pen and
channel catfish, drum and gar, which they caught in rivercane baskets.[11] Researchers have found remains of more
than 100 rock weirs along the Etowah River. One has been restored within the grounds of the historic site.[12]
Etowah Indian Mounds
5
Post-contact
Archaeological research on the subject is not conclusive, but
the Etowah site may be the same as a village of a similar
name visited by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in
1540. The chroniclers of the de Soto Expedition made no
mention of any large mounds in their record of visiting a
town named Itaba. Itaba means "boundary" or trail crossing
in the Alabama language. The origin of the English name for
the mounds, Etowah, is an archaic Muscogee place name,
Etalwa. Etalwa probably referred to the solar cross symbol
originally. In Modern Muskogee it means a "mother town."
Mounds A and B as seen from Mound C
Until studies of the late 20th century were publicized, most Georgians believed Etowah to have been built by the
well-known historic Cherokee. But, the Cherokee did not arrive in this part of Georgia until the late 18th century,
two to seven centuries after the mounds' construction. Scholars have evaluated sufficient evidence to determine the
mound complex was unquestionably built and occupied by peoples more closely related to the Muskogean-speaking
Creeks.
Both the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Poarch Band of Creek Indians consider Etalwa to be their most important
ancestral town. Related to this, the official title of the Creek Nation's Principal Chief is Etalwa Mikko, from this
source (the Creek word for chief is miko). A new, large-scale model of Etalwa is on permanent display in the rotunda
of the Muskogee (Creek) Capitol in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
History of excavation and studies
Missionary Elias Cornelius visited the site in 1817 and
described it in his journal published by Bela Bates Edwards
in 1833. He realized a mound must have been over two
hundred years old, due to the size of trees growing on it, but
had little idea of its real history.[14] Cyrus Thomas and John
P. Rogan tested the site for the Smithsonian Institution in
1883. But, the first well-documented archaeological inquiry
at the site did not begin until the winter of 1925, conducted
by Warren K. Moorehead. His excavations into Mound C at
the site revealed a rich array of Mississippian culture burial
goods. These artifacts, along with the collections from
Cahokia, Moundville Site, Lake Jackson Mounds, and Spiro
Marble effigies from the Etowah Mound C, ca. 1375–1375:
[13]
kneeling woman on left, and man on right
Mounds, would comprise the majority of the materials which
archaeologists used to define the Southeastern Ceremonial
Complex (SECC). The professional excavation of this enormous burial mound contributed major research impetus to
the study of Mississippian artifacts and peoples. It greatly increased the understanding of pre-Contact Native
American artwork.
In 1947, the government built the Allatoona Dam upstream for flood control. The Etowah site was designated a
National Historic Landmark in 1964.
The Etowah Indian Mounds museum displays artifacts found at the site, including Mississippian culture pottery,
monolithic stone axes, Mississippian stone statuary, copper jewelry, shell gorgets, and other artifacts.
Etowah Indian Mounds
6
Gallery
Model of Etowah at its height
Statue of Etowah chief, Georgia
State Capitol, based on
archaeological findings and the
descriptions of early European
explorers
Ceremonial flint blades and
chunkey stones
Rock weir on the Etowah River
Mounds B, and C from the top of
Mound A.
Notes
[1] "National Register Information System" (http:/ / nrhp. focus. nps. gov/ natreg/ docs/ All_Data. html). National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service. 2006-03-15. .
[2] "Etowah Mounds" (http:/ / tps. cr. nps. gov/ nhl/ detail. cfm?ResourceId=170& ResourceType=Site). National Historic Landmark summary
listing. National Park Service. . Retrieved 2008-06-20.
[3] "Southeastern Prehistory:Mississippian and Late Prehistoric Period" (http:/ / www. nps. gov/ seac/ outline/ 05-mississippian/ index. htm).
National Park Service. . Retrieved 2012-04-10.
[4] "Creek (Mvskoke)" (http:/ / digital. library. okstate. edu/ encyclopedia/ entries/ C/ CR006. html). Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History &
Culture. . Retrieved 2010-07-27.
[5] Snow, Dean (2010). "Etowah". Archaeology Of Native North America. Prentice Hall.
[6] King, Adam (2002-12-04). Etowah : The Political history of a Chiefdom Capital. University of Alabama Press. pp. 28–32.
ISBN 978-0-8173-1224-4.
[7] Mike Toner (November/December 2008). "City Beneath the Mounds: Mapping a prehistoric American metropolis" (http:/ / www.
archaeology. org/ 0811/ abstracts/ etowah. html). Archaeology 61 (6). . Retrieved 2010-07-27.
[8] Townsend and Sharp 151
[9] Kevin E. Smith; James V. Miller (2009). Speaking with the Ancestors-Mississippian Stone Statuary of the Tennessee-Cumberland region.
University of Alabama Press. pp. 27–36. ISBN 978-0-8173-5465-7.
[10] George E. Stuart (October 1981). "Etowah: A Southeastern village in 1491". National Geographic 180 (4).
[11] "Notice of Inventory Completion: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta, GA." (http:/ / edocket. access. gpo. gov/ 2009/
E9-6507. htm). National Park Service. 2009-03-02. . Retrieved 2010-09-16.
[12] "Etowah Indian Mounds State Park", Informational Guide, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
[13] Townsend and Sharp 154
[14] Bela Bates Edwards (1842) [1833]. Memoir of the Rev. Elias Cornelius (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=zz4AAAAAYAAJ&
pg=PP84). Boston: Perkins & Marvin. pp. 80–85. .
Etowah Indian Mounds
References
• Hudson, Charles; Marvin Smith; David Hally; Richard Polhemus; Chester DePratter (1985). "Coosa: A Chiefdom
in the Sixteenth-Century Southeastern United States". American Antiquity 50 (4): 723–737.
• Townsend, Richard F.; Sharp, Robert V., eds. (2004). Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the
Anicent Midwest and South. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10601-7.
• Warren King Moorehead, ed. (1932). Explorations of the Etowah Site in Georgia: The Etowah Papers. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Snow, Dean (2010). "Etowah". Archaeology Of Native North America.. Prentice Hall.
External links
• Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site (http://www.gastateparks.org/info/etowah/), official site
• Etowah Mounds near Cartersville, Georgia (http://www.ngeorgia.com/ang/
Etowah_Indian_Mounds_State_Historic_Site)
• "Mississippian Period" (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-707&sug=y), New
Georgia Encyclopedia
• "Etowah: Remote sensing" (http://www.archaeology.org/0811/abstracts/etowah.html), Archaeology
magazine
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Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Etowah Indian Mounds Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=491027218 Contributors: -Midorihana-, Aaron Walden, Adamsan, Aerobird, Appraiser, Asarelah, Augwp,
Bluemoose, Catapult, D-Rock, DMG413, Dmadeo, Dmitri Lytov, Doncram, DuncanHill, Ebyabe, Elkman, Eoghanacht, Eric0124, FSII, Freechild, GrahamHardy, Heironymous Rowe, Hmains,
Infrogmation, Jevansen, Jflo23, Jllm06, Jolomo, Kaare, Laraed, Lightmouse, Look2See1, Lvklock, Naughtbutchrist, Ohconfucius, Owen, Parkwells, Pschemp, R'n'B, Roswell native, Sorie,
Steevo714, Steinsky, Stepheng3, Swampyank, Talamachusee, Thewatchman433, Torqtorq, TriNotch, Uyvsdi, Vorb11, W Nowicki, Woohookitty, Wuapinmon, Zainaldin, 112 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:USA-Georgia-Etowah_Indian_Mounds-Mound_B.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:USA-Georgia-Etowah_Indian_Mounds-Mound_B.jpg License: Creative
Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: Kåre Thor Olsen
file:USA Georgia location map.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:USA_Georgia_location_map.svg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Alexrk2
File:Red pog.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Red_pog.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Anomie
File:Etowah Indian Mound A.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Etowah_Indian_Mound_A.jpg License: Creative Commons Zero Contributors: Torqtorqtorq
File:Rogan plate 1 birdman HRoe 2012.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rogan_plate_1_birdman_HRoe_2012.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Herb Roe, www.chromesun.com
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Contributors: Herb Roe. Original uploader was Heironymous Rowe at en.wikipedia
File:Etowah statues HRoe 2007.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Etowah_statues_HRoe_2007.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
Contributors: Heironymous Rowe at en.wikipedia
Image:EtowahModel.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:EtowahModel.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Jflo23
Image:EtowahChief.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:EtowahChief.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Jflo23
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Image:Mounds B and C, Etowah Mound Site (April 2011).jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Mounds_B_and_C,_Etowah_Mound_Site_(April_2011).jpg License:
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