Shiloh Indian Mounds Site
Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark 40 HR 7 | |
 Aerial illustration of the Shiloh Mounds Site | |
  | |
| Location | Hardin County, Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Savannah, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 35°08′29″N 88°19′15″W / 35.14139°N 88.32083°W |
| Area | 81 acres (33 ha) |
| Architect | Mississippian culture |
| Architectural style | Mounds |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000279[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 27, 1979[1] |
| Designated NHL | May 5, 1989[2] |
Shiloh Indian Mounds Site (
History
The site was inhabited starting around 1000 CE by a Late Woodland culture indigenous peoples, and then later by those of an Early Mississippian culture, until it was abandoned in approximately 1350 CE.[4]
Site
The Shiloh Indian National Historic Landmark is situated on a high bluff, between two ravines, overlooking the Tennessee River at the edge of the Shiloh Plateau. The village was encircled by a wooden
Agriculture and food
The people of Shiloh Mounds were intensely involved in
Contemporaries
In addition to the Shiloh site, the chiefdom included six smaller towns (each with one or two mounds such as the Swallow Bluff Island Mounds site), and isolated farmsteads scattered on higher ground in the river valley. Downstream on the river's eastern bank, at the present location of Savannah, Tennessee, was another palisaded multiple mound settlement, although it is still unclear if the sites were occupied at the same time. Other neighbors had communities all along the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers, with sites in Alabama, Mississippi, and western Tennessee. Archaeologists think the presence of prestige goods from the Cahokia site in Illinois means the people of Shiloh Mounds were more closely tied politically to that area than to chiefdoms in the Middle Tennessee area.[6]
Archaeology
Because the site has been included within the Shiloh National Military Park boundaries for so long it has never been disturbed by modern farming techniques. The remains of the original structures of wattle and daub are still visible as low rings or mounds. It is one of the few places in the eastern U.S. where such remains are still visible.[5][6] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979,[1] and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[2]
Excavations
In the winter of 1933-34 survey work was undertaken at the site and many 10 feet (3.0 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m) diameter house mounds were discovered. Many contained the remains of wattle and daub houses, which had been built with walls of vertical posts interlaced with branches and coated with a thick layer of clay. It was at this time that the encircling palisade was also discovered.[6]
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Temple Mound -
Two House platforms, lower mound (left center), higher mound center back -
Tennessee River from Temple Mound
See also
- Savannah Archaeological Site
- Swallow Bluff Island Mounds
- List of Mississippian sites
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Tennessee
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hardin County, Tennessee
References
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Shiloh Indian Mounds Site". National Historic Landmark summary. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ "Southeastern Prehistory:Mississippian and Late Prehistoric Period". National Park Service. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8173-1481-1.
- ^ a b "Shiloh Indian Mounds - National Historic Landmark". Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Shiloh Indian Mounds History". Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Shiloh Indian Mounds". National Park Service. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ "Shiloh Indian Mounds Map". National Park Service. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
External links
