Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Ocmulgee Old Fields / Macon Plateau
Mississippian Early 900–1200 CE atop Woodland-Archaic·Mississippian (Lamar and Etowah)·🇺🇸 Georgia, United States
About
About Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Mound complex spanning 17,000 years occupation (Paleo-Indian to Mississippian), culminating in Mississippian center 900–1200 CE with seven mounds: Great Temple Mound 17 m high (largest eastern Woodland ramped pyramid, 91×61 m base), Lesser Temple Mound with clay-floored council chamber (47 seats), Funeral Mound yielding copper plates and Chunkey stones. Earth Lodge reconstructed clay rotunda and river terrace fields.
Why it mattersLongest continuous occupation mound site in SE US; Great Temple Mound is tallest Woodland earthwork east of Mississippi.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Original function of council chamber 47 seats—ranking vs kin
- 02Whether pre-Mississippian seals represent continuous chiefdom
Theories
- 01Mississippian migration from Etowah cultural fusion
- 02Earth-lodge as solar calendric theater
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.900–1200 CE (major Mississippian); earlier 8,000 BCE Paleo
- Period
- Mississippian Early 900–1200 CE atop Woodland-Archaic
- Culture
- Mississippian (Lamar and Etowah)
- Builders
- Mississippian
- Purpose
- Ceremonial chiefdom capital, earth-lodge council house
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.900–1200 CE (major Mississippian); earlier 8,000 BCE Paleo
Initial construction
c. 1149 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
32.8381° N · 83.6025° W · 120 m · 2 mapped features
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park central feature
featureMain architectural feature
32.8381° N · 83.6025° WOcmulgee Mounds National Historical Park secondary sector
sectorSecondary sector
32.8391° N · 83.6015° W
Gallery