Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site
Coordinates: 36 ° 58 ′ 15 " N , 89 ° 5 ′ 34" W.
The Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site is a state park in Kentucky . The ten acre park is located near Wickliffe in Ballard County .
investment
The park preserves the archaeological site of a village of the Native Americans of the Mississippi culture . The village was on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi . Archaeologists have divided the history of the settlement into three periods: the early Wickliffe period lasted from 1100 to 1175, the middle Wickliffe period from 1175 to 1250 and the late Wickliff period from 1250 to 1350. The settlement was founded around the year 1100 as a small village, whose buildings were arranged around a central square. This place is under today's parking lot. The construction of the first mound, the so-called Mounds , began around 1175 . First Mound B was built, on which the chief probably lived with his family. Between 1175 and 1250, the villagers built Mound A and Mound C , they also extended Mound B. Maybe they had already begun with the construction of additional Mounds as Mound D . The settlement grew and there are signs of extensive trade links, particularly in what is now St. Louis , where Cahokia became the largest settlement of the Mississippi civilization. No more mounds were built after 1250, mounds A, B and D were still being completed. In addition to the cessation of the construction of new mounds, other interesting changes occurred in the late period, for example no more fishhooks were dug up from this period, so researchers assume that fish disappeared from the villagers' diet. However, the settlement itself grew until it occupied the entire cliff. Apparently around 1350 the residents left the settlement. The reasons for this are unknown and archaeologists are still seeking an explanation. Archaeologists are currently studying other Mississippi culture settlements in western Kentucky and exploring the relationships between the settlements. They are also investigating whether the settlements were abandoned at the same time as Wickliffe. Since the mounds will be destroyed by the excavations, new excavations will only be carried out in Wickliffe in the future if one is hoping for significantly new knowledge from them. The State Historic Site wants to preserve the excavation site and conduct research based on the findings so far, but avoid further excavations. The Historic Site is accessible, the museum displays excavation finds with exhibits about pottery, stone work, and shell and bone finds of the Mississippi culture.
The remains of the four visible mounds have been named mounds A to D in the order they were excavated:
- The Ceremonial Mound or Mound A is the largest mound in the settlement. He carried the ceremonial building on its top, which presumably served as a center for religious or political purposes.
- Mound B, the Architecture Building, consisted of two structures that were built in several stages over 200 years. The excavations revealed that the house of a family, probably that of the chief or high priest, stood on the mound. A corner of the house was reconstructed.
- Mound C is the so-called Cemetery Mound because graves were found in it. The mound was built in several sections, the graves are assigned to the time around 1200.
- Mound D is referred to as the Lifeway Mound. It was built over the residents' first huts. Most of the mound was removed by the excavations.
There were also at least four other mounds that were still recorded on the 1888 map, but were destroyed by private excavations in the 1930s. The records and reports of the excavations have unfortunately been lost.
history
The mounds were certainly known to the first white settlers, but the first written mention of the mounds was not made until 1888 when Robert Loughridge mapped the site for the Kentucky Geological Survey . In 1932 remains of pottery and other finds were unearthed during the construction of the road for Highway 51/60/62 . The amateur archaeologist and Colonel Fain W. King of Paducah acquired the site and began to excavate the mounds. He was later supported by his wife Blanche Busey King . The couple continued the excavations and operated the site as a tourist attraction under the name Ancient Buried City . Some of their excavations followed exact archaeological rules, but a large part of their records of the excavations have been lost. Blanche King published a book about the excavations in 1939 called Under your Feet . In 1946 the Kings handed the site over to the Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah. The hospital continued to operate the site as a tourist attraction until the site was handed over to Murray State University in 1983 . The university established the Wickliffe Mounds Research Center to research and preserve the archaeological site with specialist staff. New excavations were carried out from 1984 to 2004. In 2004 the university transferred the excavation site to the State of Kentucky, to which it dedicated on July 1, 2004 as the 11th State Historic Site . The site has been on the National Register of Historic Places since December 8, 1984 . In addition, the Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site has the status of a Kentucky Archaeological Landmark .
literature
- Susan Reigler: The complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky 2009, ISBN 978-0-8131-9208-6
- Kit W. Wesler: Excavations at Wickliffe Mounds. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press 2001, ISBN 978-0-8173-1064-6
- Blanche King: Under Your Feet: The Story of the American Mound Builders. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. 1939, ISBN 978-0-8369-5742-6
Web links
- State Park website
- State Park Brochure ( November 11, 2010 memento on the Internet Archive )
- Murray State University presentation of the excavations
- Homepage with photos of excavation finds
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 12, 2016