| Letchworth Mounds Archaeological State Park | |
|---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 Entrance to the park | |
   | |
| Location | Jefferson County, Florida,USA |
| Nearest city | Monticello, Florida |
| Coordinates | 30°31′04″N83°59′30″W / 30.5176869°N 83.9916207°W /30.5176869; -83.9916207 |
| Governing body | Florida Department of Environmental Protection |
Letchworth Mounds Archaeological State Park (8LE337) is a 188.2 acre[1]Florida State Park that preserves the state's tallestprehistoric,Native American ceremonialearthworkmound, which is 46 feet (14 m) high. It is estimated to have been built 1100 to 1800 years ago. This is one of three major surviving mound complexes in theFlorida Panhandle. The people who built the mound are believed to have been members of theSwift Creek Culture, a group of Native Americans who lived in North Florida between 200 and 450 A.D. The hierarchical society planned and constructed massive earthwork mounds as expression of its religious and political system.
Thearcheological park has exhibits to interpret the artifacts and evidence of nearly 10,000 years of human habitation found at this site. It is located approximately six miles west ofMonticello, a half mile south ofU.S. 90, in northwesternFlorida. The address is 4500 Sunray Road South.
Two related sites in the panhandle are from the laterFort Walton Culture (1100-1550 CE):Fort Walton Mound, aNational Historic Landmark; and theLake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park.
The mound has been preserved within a large natural area, which supports such activities asbirding,hiking,picnicking andwildlife viewing.
Although the mound now has trees and underbrush growing from it, when originally built, such earthwork mounds were typically clear of vegetation, with smooth prepared sides. Many workers had to bring soils by basket to build the mound. The builders used their knowledge to combine a variety of soils and shells for stability, and usually finished the top and sides with clay.
The mound likely rose from flat plazas which were intentionally leveled. They would have served as gathering places for rituals, games and major occasions. The community of which such a tall mound was likely the center would have included nearby dwellings for workers, and communal fields and gardens. They cultivatedmaize to support the population density of such complex societies. The Letchworth Mounds site has one of the largest mounds from any site. The mound measures 300 feet in width and has a height between 46 and 50 feet.
This is one of three sites with mounds in theFlorida Panhandle. The other two both date from the laterFort Walton Culture (1100-1550 CE).
| Middle Mississippian |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Appalachian Mississippian |
| ||||||||||
| Fort Walton culture | |||||||||||
| Pensacola culture | |||||||||||
| Plaquemine Mississippian | |||||||||||
| Caddoan Mississippian | |||||||||||
| Upper Mississippian cultures |
| ||||||||||
| Culture |
| ||||||||||
