Winterville Mounds
Winterville Mounds Archaeological Site
Plaquemine Mississippian Coles Creek-Winterville 900–1450 CE·Coles Creek / Plaquemine·🇺🇸 Mississippi, United States
About
About Winterville Mounds
Major Plaquemine Mississippian mound center (1200–1400 CE peak) on Yazoo basin floodplain with 23 earthen mounds (12 remaining) around central plaza. Mound A 16.7 m high (55 ft) truncated pyramid (base 76×60 m) with two ramps for temples; Mound B 10 m. Population 500–1000; occupation collapsed 1450 possibly due to Yazoo River avulsion. Museum interprets Coles Creek antecedent 900 CE.
Why it mattersLargest Coles Creek-derived mound group illustrating Yazoo basin Mississippian political collapse and climate river shift.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Cause of 1450 abrupt abandonment—river vs warfare
- 02Mound A dual-ramp functional dual-temple model
Theories
- 01Avulsive river abandonment environmental collapse model
- 02Secondary chiefdom after Cahokia decline template
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.1200–1400 CE (peak); foundation c.900 CE Coles Creek
- Period
- Plaquemine Mississippian Coles Creek-Winterville 900–1450 CE
- Culture
- Coles Creek / Plaquemine
- Builders
- Coles Creek–Plaquemine
- Purpose
- Ceremonial-administrative plaza town, Greenville phase capital
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1200–1400 CE (peak); foundation c.900 CE Coles Creek
Initial construction
c. 1570 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
33.4789° N · 90.9820° W · 42 m · 2 mapped features
Winterville Mounds central feature
featureMain architectural feature
33.4789° N · 90.9820° WWinterville Mounds secondary sector
sectorSecondary sector
33.4799° N · 90.9810° W
Gallery