The C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa is located on and exhibits excavated materials of the

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earth ...

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 and ...

known as Chucalissa ( 40 SY 1) which means "abandoned house" in Chickasaw. The site is located adjacent to the T. O. Fuller State Park within the city of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

, United States. Chucalissa was designated

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1994 due to its importance as one of the best-preserved and major prehistoric settlement sites in the region.

Description

Chucalissa is a

Walls phase The Walls phase is an archaeological phase in southwestern Tennessee and northwestern Mississippi of the Late Mississippian culture. Chucalissa is a Walls phase mound and plaza complex located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Other ...

mound and plaza complex that was occupied, abandoned and reoccupied several times throughout its history, spanning from 1000 to 1550 CE. It is located on a bluff overlooking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Other contemporaneous groups in the area include the Parkin phase, Menard phase, and the

Nodena phase The Nodena phase is an archaeological phase in eastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri of the Late Mississippian culture which dates from about 1400–1650 CE. The Nodena phase is known from a collection of villages along the Mississippi Ri ...

. It is known for the well preserved architectural, floral, faunal, and human

osteological Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...

remains excavated there. During the early 1540s the

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

Expedition passed through the area, stopping at many villages along the way. It is thought that the Walls phase may be the Province of Quizquiz encountered by de Soto on the banks of the Mississippi River. There is no evidence that Chucalissa itself was visited by the expedition, as it is thought to have been abandoned at the time.

C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa

Civilian Conservation Corps workers discovered Native American artifacts on the site in 1938 and archaeological excavations of this Mississippian mound complex were initiated. The C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa and the rest of the village grounds have been operated by the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

since 1962.C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa website
accessed August 2009 In 1973 Chucalissa Indian Village was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Later, in 1994, it was declared a

. and The archaeological site and grounds are managed by the C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa staff and students. The museum, named after its founding director, curates an extensive collection of artifacts recovered during a 40-year period of systematic excavations. The site features a Mississippian

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ele ...

complex, nature trail and arboretum, hands-on archaeology lab, and exhibits that explore the history and life-ways of Native Americans of the historic and prehistoric southeastern United States.

References

External links

C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa website, University of Memphis
{{DEFAULTSORT:C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa Archaeological museums in Tennessee Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee Middle Mississippian culture Museums in Memphis, Tennessee National Historic Landmarks in Tennessee Native American museums in Tennessee University museums in Tennessee University of Memphis National Register of Historic Places in Memphis, Tennessee

Description

C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa

See also

References

External links