Moundville Archaeological Park
Moundville Site · Mound State Monument
Mississippian 1000–1450 CE, apogee 1200–1350 CE·Mississippian (ancestral Choctaw/Chickasaw)·🇺🇸 Alabama, United States
About
About Moundville Archaeological Park
Large Mississippian chiefdom (1000–1450 CE) centered on flat plaza (132 ha) ringed by 29 mounds around central plaza near Black Warrior River, second largest Mississippian after Cahokia. Mound A 18 m four-stage platform for paramount's residence, Mound B north; paired plazas with astronomical alignment. Haedron? Served as cemetery / necropolis for region after 1300.
Why it mattersSecond scale Mississippian and cleanest plaza symmetry demonstrating ranked social geometry
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01North-south plaza pairing astronomical vs planning thesis
- 02Death of Cahokia vs Moundville contemporaneity 1050–
Theories
- 01Necropolis theory vs everyday town shift (Knight)
- 02Mississippian religion hand-eye motif distribution
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 1050–1200 CE early mound building; 1250 Mound A summit
- Period
- Mississippian 1000–1450 CE, apogee 1200–1350 CE
- Culture
- Mississippian (ancestral Choctaw/Chickasaw)
- Purpose
- Regional necropolis and paramount mound center
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
1120 CE
Mound A begun
1300 CE
Cemetery shift regional necropolis
1540
De Soto possibly hears of it as 'Apafalaya'?
On the ground
Structures & features
33.0056° N · 87.6317° W · 50 m · 3 mapped features
Mound A (Chief Mound)
platform mound18 m elite platform on north apex of plaza
33.0070° N · 87.6323° WMound B
platform moundNorth row 5-m similar paired platform
33.0060° N · 87.6310° WPlaza and borrow pits
plazaCentral 24 ha plaza flattening
33.0055° N · 87.6315° W
Gallery