Mound State Monument, Moundville, Alabama - free ebook by Alabama Museum of Natural History

Mound State Monument MOUNDVILLE ALABAMA

Museum Paper 20 ( Revised )...

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Milestones

OPEN ALL YEAR A blisful lyf, a paisible and a swete, Ledden the peples in the former age — Chaucer, Former Age, line 2 The Black Warrior River winds slowly among the rolling southern foothills. On the banks of this river many centuries ago there flourished a great Indian metropolis. Here dwelt a pleasant and contented people whose story is not of warring braves but of peaceful artisans. Theirs were days not of strife and treachery, but of quiet toil and worship. These people, given to potter

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Their physical appearance.

The Indians dwelling in the ancient city, though of medium stature, were well built and muscular. Their faces were finely molded and handsome. Considered stylish were “flattened heads”. Head-flattening was caused by strapping the young Indian to a wooden cradle board. The pressure of the leather thongs on the soft bones of the baby’s head caused a flattening which remained throughout life. Such a head seems to have become a mark of good rearing, and greatly to be desired, for many mothers went s

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Their dress and ornamentation.

Leather and fabrics woven of vegetable fibres were fashioned into garments. In extremely cold weather robes made of feathers may have been worn over the rest of their clothing. The Moundville Indians, both men and women, were fond of personal adornment. They wore ear plugs, bracelets and arm bands of copper, and beads and pendants of bone, stone, shell and copper. Many of their pendants, carved with intricate and delicate designs, would invoke the envy of women of today. Long hairpins were made

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Their houses.

From virgin forests the Moundville Indians gathered logs and poles to construct frameworks for their homes. Of reeds and canes gathered along the river they wove house walls, plastering them with thick coatings of moistened sand and clay. Thatched roofs were made of heavy swamp grass. A hole was left in the center to serve as a chimney. The floors were of hard-packed clay frequently covered with sand. These structures were neat, comfortable and weatherproof. SHELL BEADS WHICH ONCE ADORNED A MOUN

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Their food.

Living in a temperate climate amid forests teeming with wild game and streams abundant with fish, the Moundville Indians had little difficulty, experienced few uncertainties, in obtaining their food. In addition to meat and fish obtained from forest and stream there were vegetables from fertile fields which produced with little man-made effort an ample supply of maize, squash, beans and pumpkins....

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Their implements.

A community of skilled artisans, these people fashioned many tools for food-getting, shelter-making and clothing-manufacture as well as for more aesthetic pursuits. With nets woven of vegetable fibre and barbless fishhooks of bone and copper they took fish from nearby streams and lakes. With small, skillfully chipped arrowheads they brought down fowl. Ingenious traps ensnared large game. Stone fleshers were used for stripping the meat and dressing the leather. With bone awls and needles sharpene

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Their religion.

Of paramount importance to the Moundville Indian was his religion. The mounds, on which he worshiped, are enduring monuments to the strength and fervor of his faith. Tons and tons of clay, loam and sand he carried to form these towering structures. Atop the earth pyramids he built great wooden temples and special dwelling houses for chieftans and priests. Ceremonies performed in the temples were elaborate and colorful. Priests attired in symbolic costumes, and bearing numerous esoteric accoutrem

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Other activities.

Games and contests were popular among the Moundville Indians. One favorite game had the combined features of our football and baseball. Another was similar to a combination of bowling and shuffleboard. Tobacco-smoking was practiced not as a habit but as a ceremony. Beautiful pipes—some carved from stone, others molded from clay—were smoked through a long cane stem, the bowl resting on the ground. Some pipes were shaped to resemble the human body. Others were carved or molded in the shape of bird

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Their burial customs.

The dead were buried with care and respect. Belief in immortality was expressed by placing material goods near the deceased to sustain him in the other world. His treasured belongings, usually pottery vessels, beads, bracelets and other ornaments, were buried with him. The Moundville Indian built no burial mounds. His dead were buried in cemetery areas within the city. Usually burial was made in a pit large enough to accommodate the body at full length. Sometimes, however, burial was made in a s

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MOUNDVILLE POTTERY

The very nature of the Moundville Indian’s surroundings provided security and leisure. His time was not consumed in constant search for food and warmth, and to squander his time, grow fat and lazy, was not in him. His skill and versatility required expression, which he found in the art of pottery-making. THE MOUNDVILLE POTTER WAS A SKILLED CRAFTSMAN. VARIETY OF FORM CHARACTERIZES MOUNDVILLE POTTERY. POTTERY BEAKER WITH A SYMBOLIC DESIGN. After the beaker was removed from the ground by the archae

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The Mounds

The present-day visitor to Mound State Monument may see, on the 300-acre Monument tract, 40 mounds which are the remnants of the Moundville Indians’ great city. The visitor will be interested in identifying these mounds as domiciliary (as distinguished from burial mounds and effigy mounds found at other Indian sites). These domiciliary mounds, which were erected as substructures for temples and other important buildings, are rectangular truncated-pyramids. Their sizes vary. The largest, called M

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Prehistoric Lakes

The several lakes within the Monument area are restorations, made after considerable research, of prehistoric reservoirs. The forty- to sixty-foot bluff at the ancient city’s river front made the Warrior River an impractical source of water supply. These lakes, therefore, may have been used to catch and hold water for daily use and for fishing....

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ERSKINE RAMSAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH CENTER

Already constructed through the generosity of Dr. Erskine Ramsay, Birmingham, Alabama, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Museum, is a large and spacious laboratory building, in which all archaeological material comprising the Museum’s vast collection is suitably and adequately housed. Space is available for students to study any phase of the subject in which they may be interested. (See photograph on page 20 .) Also completed in the Research Center is one cottage in which a marrie

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The Archaeological Museum Arrangement.

The archaeological museum houses an exhibit hall and two in situ burial groups. The exhibit hall makes up the main part of the building. The in situ burial groups are enclosed in wings at the north and south ends of the exhibit hall....

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Design.

Design of the building itself was based on ideas used by the Moundville Indian in shaping and decorating his artifacts. The classic three-step motif expressed in the three roof levels of the museum, and used over the doorway, was a favorite design element of the Moundville artist. The skull and arm-bone design making up the parapet frieze was copied from a design on a Moundville Indian pot ( see photograph on p. 11 ). The medallion over the entrance is an enlarged reproduction of a stone pendant

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Main exhibit hall.

Displays in the exhibit hall are designed to illustrate (1) a brief history of prehistoric man, (2) cultural traits and physical characteristics of the prehistoric Moundvillian, and (3) physical features of Mound State Monument. A brief story of prehistoric mankind is given in the three wall cases to the visitor’s left as he enters the museum. Cultural traits of the Moundville Indian are illustrated in the eight cases along the back wall, and in the five table cases in the exhibit hall. Physical

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Burial groups.

The north wing of the museum (to the Visitor’s left as he enters the building) encloses seventeen in situ burials. The south wing (to the visitor’s left as he leaves the building) encloses forty such burials. These fifty-seven burials, together with their accompanying pottery, ornaments and other artifacts, have been uncovered and left in the ground exactly as they were found. These burials had been placed in a cemetery area, not a mound. Most of the burials were approximately one and one-half f

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HOW TO REACH THE MONUMENT

Mound State Monument is located on Alabama Highway No. 13 (paved) at the edge of the town of Moundville, Alabama, seventeen miles south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The dividing line of Tuscaloosa and Hale Counties runs through the Monument area. Moundville Alabama, is located on the A.G.S. Railroad, a part of the Southern Railway System, which operates passenger trains between New York and New Orleans via Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Moundville and Meridian. Greyhound buses running from Tuscaloosa to Mob

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ADMINISTRATION OF MOUND STATE MONUMENT

Mound State Monument is owned by the Alabama Museum of Natural History, University, Alabama. The Monument is open daily, including Sundays and holidays, from 8:00 A.M. until dark, the year around. A caretaker, equipped to guide the visitor and offer any other assistance, resides on the Monument grounds. A small admission charge is made to the Monument Museum. Special rates are available to groups provided reservations and arrangements are made in advance. Free showing of sound movies illustratin

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MAP OF MOUND STATE MONUMENT

MOUNDS ARE DESIGNATED BY LETTERS. Mound State Monument exists as an instrument for PRESERVATION. Visitors are requested to aid the Monument administration by carefully observing the following regulations. These rules are enforced for the comfort and convenience of the visitor as well as for the protection of scenic and archaeologic features....

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Automobiles.

Monument roadways are altogether recreational in character and the speed of vehicle traffic is therefore limited to 15 miles per hour. Drive carefully for the protection of yourself and other visitors....

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Grounds.

The Monument is a wildlife sanctuary. Birds and animals must not be molested. HUNTING AND FISHING ARE PROHIBITED. Firearms or air rifles must not be carried within the Monument boundaries. Trees and shrubs must not be broken. Do not carve initials on or pull the bark from trees. Flowers must not be picked. The injury or defacement of any natural feature is prohibited....

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Private Operators and Advertising.

To solicit or sell anything, no matter of what nature, except by persons holding contract with Mound State Monument is prohibited. No advertising, or distribution of placards or advertising matter, is permitted on the Monument grounds....

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Fires.

Fires are one of the greatest perils to the natural features of the Monument. Smokers are requested to exercise care in the disposal of matches, cigarettes etc. Picknickers must confine fires to designated areas and extinguish them completely before leaving....

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Picknickers.

All visitors are welcome to utilize the public picnic area and campground. Picnicking must be confined to sites designated by the caretaker. Do not throw paper, lunch refuse or other trash on the roads, trails, or elsewhere. Deposit all such debris in the receptacles provided for that purpose. Picnickers may burn combustible rubbish in incinerators. Special permission must be obtained to use picnic areas after dark....

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Buildings and Archaeologic Features.

To mar or deface any building, or to mark, disturb or injure any archaeologic feature on the Monument grounds, is a violation of the law....

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Caretaker and Guides.

The caretaker and guides are here to help and advise you as well as to enforce regulations. Consult them about anything pertaining to the Monument. ERSKINE RAMSAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY. PICNIC BUILDING, MEMORIAL TO NELSON JONES....

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ERSKINE RAMSAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH CENTER

As mentioned earlier, the laboratory unit and one cottage of the Research Center have been completed. Archaeological material, including skeletons from the Museum’s extensive excavations in the Tennessee Valley Region in Alabama, its earlier work in Eastern Arkansas, surface collections from all over Alabama and from scattered excavations in many parts of the state, has been assembled in especially designed storage racks in the main part of the building. Our plan is to have all of the Museum’s a

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PICNIC BUILDING

This building, on a high bluff overlooking the Warrior River, was covered in the original master plan for the area. It was made possible through a large donation by two friends of the Museum who wish that their identity be withheld. The central section of the building is equipped with banquet type tables and folding chairs, having a seating capacity of about 200. In the west wing is a fully equipped kitchen and large barbecue pit. In the east wing are rest rooms, with outside entrances. Around t

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