Pocahontas Mounds ( 22 HI 500) is an archaeological site from the Plaquemine Mississippian culture in Hinds County, Mississippi, dating from 800 to 1300 CE. Two mounds from the site were added to the

NRHP 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 v ...

on two separate occasions, ''Pocahontas Mound A'' on November 25, 1969, as NRIS number 69000365 and ''Pocahontas Mound B'' on April 11, 1972, as NRIS number 72000694. The mounds are listed on the

Mississippi Mound Trail The Mississippi Mound Trail is a driving tour of 33 sites adjoining U.S. Route 61 where indigenous peoples of the Mississippi Delta built earthworks. The mounds were primarily built between 500 and 1500 AD, but are representative of a variety ...

Description

The site consists of two mounds, a rectangular platform mound and a mortuary mound, and an associated village area. The site was occupied from 800 to 1300 CE by peoples of the Coles Creek and Plaquemine Mississippian cultures, although evidence found during excavations in 2004 showed that the site was occupied briefly in the Middle-Late Archaic period about 4000-1000 BCE. The platform mound, Mound A, is about in width and in height. It was described in the late 1930s by archaeologist

James A. Ford James Alfred Ford (February 12, 1911–February 25, 1968) was an American archaeologist. He was born in Water Valley, Mississippi, in February 1911. While growing up in the region, where ancient earthwork mounds are visible, he became interested ...

as being by at its base and in height. Archaeological investigations found the remains of a typical Mississippian-period thatched, clay-plastered log-post structure on the mounds summit, which was once a ceremonial temple or residence of a chief. Located northwest of Mound A is Mound B, a steep-sided conical mound in diameter and in height. At the time of Ford's writing Mound B was included within the grounds of a local school and could not be excavated. Various kinds of artifacts have been recovered from the site through site survey collections and excavations, including Mississippian-culture copper

ear-spool A plug (sometimes earplug or earspool), in the context of body modification, is a short, cylindrical piece of jewelry commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings. Modern western plugs are also called flesh tunnels. Because of their size—which ...

s, Mississippian culture pottery, flint chips and numerous burials in the surrounding fields. A fragmentary bird effigy bowl and a human effigy ceramic pipe were found at the burial mound by children from the school. The pottery found at the site is very similar to that found at the Anna site. New excavations took place in June 2004 under the direction of Jeffrey Alvey for the

Cobb Institute of Archaeology The Cobb Institute of Archaeology is a research and service unit of thCollege of Arts and Sciencesat Mississippi State University (MSU). It was established in 1971 with a goal of promoting archaeological research and education at Mississippi St ...

and funded by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. In 2008, a roadside park was opened at Mound A as a combined rest stop area and educational center explaining the site's cultural and historical importance.

Location

The site is used as a roadside park along

U.S. Route 49 U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is ...

, near its junction with Interstate 220.

References

External links

Indian Mounds in Mississippi

Historical Marker Society of America - Pocahontas Mounds

Pocahontas Mounds on Flickr
{{NRHP Plaquemine Mississippian culture Mounds in Mississippi Geography of Hinds County, Mississippi Tourist attractions in Hinds County, Mississippi Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Roadside parks