 Pocahontas Mound A | |
  Location within Mississippi today | |
| Location | Pocahontas, Mississippi, Hinds County, Mississippi,  USA |
|---|---|
| Region | Hinds County, Mississippi |
| Coordinates | 32°28′9.37″N90°17′17.81″W / 32.4692694°N 90.2882806°W /32.4692694; -90.2882806 |
| History | |
| Founded | 800 AD |
| Abandoned | 1300 AD |
| Cultures | Coles Creek culture,Plaquemine Mississippian culture |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 2004 |
| Archaeologists | James A. Ford |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | platform mound,plaza,tumulus |
| Architectural details | Number of monuments: |
Pocahontas Mound A | |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000365[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 25, 1969 |
| Designated USMS | March 5, 1986[2] |
Pocahontas Mound B | |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000694[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 11, 1972 |
| Responsible body: private | |
Pocahontas Mounds (22 HI 500) is anarchaeological site from thePlaquemine Mississippian culture inHinds County, Mississippi, dating from 800 to 1300CE. Two mounds from the site were added to theNRHP on two separate occasions,Pocahontas Mound A on November 25, 1969, as NRIS number 69000365 andPocahontas Mound B on April 11, 1972, as NRIS number 72000694.[1] The mounds are listed on theMississippi Mound Trail.[3]
The site consists of two mounds, a rectangularplatform mound and amortuary mound, and an associated village area. The site was occupied from 800 to 1300 CE by peoples of theColes Creek andPlaquemine Mississippian cultures, although evidence found during excavations in 2004 showed that the site was occupied briefly in theMiddle-Late Archaic period about 4000-1000 BCE.[4] The platform mound, Mound A, is about 175 feet (53 m) in width and 22 feet (6.7 m) in height.[5] It was described in the late 1930s by archaeologistJames A. Ford as being 250 feet (76 m) by 350 feet (110 m) at its base and 25 feet (7.6 m) in height.[6] Archaeological investigations found the remains of a typical Mississippian-period thatched, clay-plastered log-post structure on the mounds summit, which was once a ceremonial temple or residence of a chief.[5] Located 1,200 feet (370 m) northwest of Mound A is Mound B, a steep-sided conical mound 75 feet (23 m) in diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) in height.
At the time of Ford's writing Mound B was included within the grounds of a local school and could not be excavated.[6] Various kinds of artifacts have been recovered from the site through site survey collections and excavations, including Mississippian-culture copperear-spools,Mississippian culture pottery, flint chips and numerous burials in the surrounding fields. A fragmentary bird effigy bowl and a human effigy ceramic pipe were found at the burial mound by children from the school.[6] The pottery found at the site is very similar to that found at theAnna site.[7]
New excavations took place in June 2004 under the direction of Jeffrey Alvey for theCobb Institute of Archaeology and funded by theMississippi Department of Transportation. In 2008, a roadside park was opened at Mound A as a combined rest stop area and educational center explaining the site's cultural and historical importance.[4]
The site is used as a roadside park alongU.S. Route 49, near its junction withInterstate 220.[5]
| Middle Mississippian |
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| South Appalachian Mississippian |
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| Fort Walton culture | |||||||||||
| Pensacola culture | |||||||||||
| Plaquemine Mississippian | |||||||||||
| Caddoan Mississippian | |||||||||||
| Upper Mississippian cultures |
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| Culture |
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