Bynum Mounds
Bynum Mound and Village Site · Natchez Trace Bynum Mounds
Middle Woodland Miller culture Hopewell horizon 100 BCE–100 CE·Miller (Hopewell)·🇺🇸 Mississippi, Chickasaw County, United States
About
About Bynum Mounds
Six mounds at Natchez Trace Milepost 232.4 including large flat-topped Mound A and conical burial Mound B (10 ft high) with crematory basin and greenstone artifacts. NPS reconstructed mounds illustrate Miller-Hopewell transition; village area yielded cord-marked pottery and household features. Part of Natchez Trace Mound Trail.
Why it mattersWell-documented Miller culture Hopewell mortuary village showing southern Hopewell cremation ritual and village-mound integration.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether flat-topped Mound A served as platform or burial
- 02Greenstone source for celts at Bynum
Theories
- 01Hopewell cremation cult center with attached hamlet
- 02Staging point for Natchez Trace exchange network
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.100 BCE–100 CE (Middle Woodland Miller 1)
- Period
- Middle Woodland Miller culture Hopewell horizon 100 BCE–100 CE
- Culture
- Miller (Hopewell)
- Builders
- Miller
- Purpose
- Six mounds including 2 conical mortuary mounds with crematory basins and associated hamlet, Natchez Trace Hopewell node
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.100 BCE–100 CE (Middle Woodland Miller 1)
Initial construction
100 CE
Major occupation / refurbishment
On the ground
Structures & features
34.0300° N · 88.9450° W · 108 m · 2 mapped features
Mound B — conical burial
moundCrematory basin mound with greenstone celt cache
34.0302° N · 88.9448° WMound A — flat-topped platform
platform moundFlat-topped mound with village hamlet adjacent
34.0298° N · 88.9452° W
Gallery