The Atchafalaya Basin Mounds ( 16 SMY 10) (variously known as the Patterson Mounds, Patterson site, Moro Plantation Mounds and as the protohistoric village of Qiteet Kuti´ngi Na´mu by the

Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

originally occupied by peoples of the Coastal Coles Creek and

Plaquemine culture The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture (circa 1200 to 1700 CE) centered on the Lower Mississippi River valley. It had a deep history in the area stretching back through the earlier Coles Creek (700-1200 CE) and Troyville culture ...

s beginning around 980 CE, and by their presumed historic period descendants, the Chitimacha, during the 18th century. It is located in

St. Mary Parish, Louisiana St. Mary Parish (french: Paroisse de Sainte-Marie) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,650. The parish seat is Franklin. The parish was created in 1811. St. Mary Parish comprises th ...

on the northern bank of

Bayou Teche Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in t ...

at its confluence with the Lower

Atchafalaya River The Atchafalaya River ( french: La Rivière Atchafalaya, es, Río Atchafalaya) is a distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and ...

. It consists of several earthen

platform mounds Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

and a

shell midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

situated around a central

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

. The site was visited by

Clarence Bloomfield Moore Clarence Bloomfield Moore (January 14, 1852 – March 24, 1936), more commonly known as C.B. Moore, was an American archaeologist and writer. He studied and excavated Native American sites in the Southeastern United States. Early life The ...

in 1913.

Description

All of the features at the site are badly eroded, sustaining damage over the years from

natural forces ''Natural Forces'' is an album by Lyle Lovett, released in 2009 (see 2009 in music). Allmusic entry for 'Natural Forces''.Retrieved March 12, 2010. All twelve songs, including the five written or co-written by Lovett, are written by songwriters fr ...

, pot hunters, and joy riders on ATVs. The site currently consists of three platform mounds and a raised shell midden ringing a rectangular central plaza area. A fourth mound at the southern edge of the site may have existed; but over time has been eroded away into the adjacent Bayou Teche. The plaza area, delineated by the mounds and shell midden, covers approximately . Located at the western corner of the plaza is Mound A, the largest of the existing mounds. It is approximately in height and in diameter. Mound B, at in height, is located to the northeast. to the southeast of Mound B is Mound C, a low rectangular platform in height, although it may have once been much taller. An elevated area that extends from the base of Mound A along the southwestern edge of the plaza toward the southeast is a shell midden consisting of high concentrations of ''

Rangia cuneata ''Rangia cuneata'' or Atlantic rangia, also known as wedge clam, gulf wedge clam, common rangia, and cocktail clam, is a mollusc native to Gulf of Mexico. It is an oval clam with body length of up to 5cm, living form the intertidal zone to depths ...

'' shell, grog-tempered

Plaquemine culture pottery The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture (circa 1200 to 1700 CE) centered on the Lower Mississippi River valley. It had a deep history in the area stretching back through the earlier Coles Creek (700-1200 CE) and Troyville cultures ...

sherds and other artifacts. Its terminus at the southern point of the plaza may have been the location of a fourth mound possibly described in early accounts of the site. The combined area of the mounds and plaza covers , although village habitation areas are thought to have existed outside this main precinct.

References

{{Louisiana Archaeological sites of the Coles Creek culture Plaquemine Mississippian culture Geography of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana Archaeological sites in Louisiana Acadiana

Description

See also

References