 Towosahgy Site main platform mound | |
  Location in Missouri today Show map of Missouri Towosahgy State Historic Site (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Alternative name | Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site |
|---|---|
| Location | Mississippi County, Missouri, United States |
| Region | Missouri Bootheel |
| Coordinates | 36°41′36″N89°14′08″W / 36.69333°N 89.23556°W /36.69333; -89.23556 |
| History | |
| Cultures | Mississippian culture |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | platform mound |
| Architectural details | Number of monuments: 4 |
Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site | |
| Area | 116 acres (47 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000113[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 29, 1969 |
| Towosahgy State Historic Site | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Towosahgy State Historic Site | |
| Elevation | 299 ft (91 m)[3] |
| Established | 1967[4] |
| Visitors | 2,383 (in 2022)[5] |
| Governing body | Missouri Department of Natural Resources |
| Website | Towosahgy State Historic Site |
Towosahgy State Historic Site (23MI2), also known asBeckwith's Fort Archeological Site, is a largeMississippianarchaeological site with aWoodland periodBaytown culture component located inMississippi County,Missouri, United States. It is believed to have been inhabited from c. 400–1350 CE.[6] The site is maintained by theMissouri Department of Natural Resources as astate historic site. The nameTowosahgy is anOsage word which means "old town". It is not known if members of the historicOsage people, who dominated a large area of present-day Missouri at the beginning of the 19th century, ever occupied the site.[7][8] The site was acquired by the Missouri state park system in 1967[4] and added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1969 as NRIS number 69000113.[1]
The earliest portion of Towosahgy State Historic Site is in the southern half, where aLate Woodland period village once stood. Wilkie dates this component to about 400 to 700 CE.[6]
Later the site was fortified and built up as a Mississippian village with sevenplatform mounds, most surrounding a centralplaza area. During this time, the site was surrounded by apalisade wall of vertical logs and a moat.[9] Like other Mississippian mound centers, Towosahgy also had aborrow pit from which earth was removed to create the mounds. The largest remaining mound in the complex is Mound 2, also known as the "temple mound". Excavations on this part of the site were conducted in 1989 by James Price.[10] The site was abandoned during the late 14th century for unknown reasons, as were many similar Mississippian sites in the region.
Ceramics from the site representtypical pottery found in theMissouri Bootheel region.Sherds from the Woodland occupation are typicallygrog tempered. The laterMississippian culture pottery is shell tempered. Type varieties identified include Baytown Plain and Mulberry CreekCordmarked. Mississippian ceramics were also both plain and decorated. Punctuated, incised, fabric impressed, and red, black, and brown painted/slipped sherds, typical decorating methods, are all present.[6][10] A large collection of ceramic vessels from the site are part of the Beckwith Collection displayed at theRosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum atSoutheast Missouri State University.
| 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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