Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park (
3 LN 42), (formerly known as "Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park")
also known as Knapp Mounds, Toltec Mounds site or Toltec Mounds, is an archaeological site from the
Late Woodland period in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
that protects an 18-mound complex with the tallest surviving
prehistoric mounds in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
. The site is on the banks of Mound Lake, an
oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
of the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
. It was occupied by its original inhabitants from 600 to 1050 CE.
[ The site is designated as a ]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 ...
.
Name
The identification of the site with the Toltec of Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
was a 19th-century mistake. It was thought that the Toltec people lived in North America and built the mounds. Mary Eliza Feild Officer Knapp was the co-owner of the land from 1849 to 1905. She and her first husband purchased the land in 1849 and the land passed to her after his death. She and her second husband made subsequent land purchases near the site. Mary was interested in archeology and had become acquainted with Dr William H. Barry who was also interested in Native American artefacts and customs. Mary entered into correspondence with Barry discussing the "Toltec Mounds" site and Barry passed her letter on to Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797– May 13, 1878) was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smith ...
, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. Mary would go on to correspond directly with Henry as well as forward artefacts she had collected from the site to the Smithsonian.
This would lead to investigations at the site by archaeologist Edward Palmer from the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
s Bureau of American Ethnology
The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior D ...
in 1883 as well as by others which proved that the indigenous ancestors of regional Native Americans built these mounds and all other mounds within the present-day United States. They were part of mound building cultures that flourished from the Late Archaic period into the Protohistoric period.[ They built earthwork mounds for religious, political and ceremonial purposes, connecting them to their cosmology.
Originally, the name ''Plum Bayou'' was borrowed from a nearby waterway and applied to the distinctive culture of the site, discussed below. The site was officially renamed in November 2022 following consultation with the ]Quapaw Nation
The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe historically migrated from the Oh ...
and the Arkansas Archaeological Survey.
Plum Bayou culture
The people who built the mounds at Plum Bayou Mounds had a culture distinct from other contemporary Native American groups in the Mississippi Valley. Plum Bayou sites are found throughout the White River and Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
floodplains of central and eastern Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, but are also found as far west as the eastern Ozark Mountains. Plum Bayou Mounds is the largest site of the eponymous culture. Their relationships with neighboring cultures such as the Coles Creek culture to the south and Fourche Maline culture
Fourche ( ) is a town in Perry County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 59 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock– Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Fourche is located at (34.993 ...
to the southwest are still under investigation.[ The people lived in permanent villages and hamlets throughout the countryside. They built sturdy houses, farmed, gathered wild plants, fished, and hunted.
]
Plum Bayou Mounds Site
Mound groups, such as this one, were religious and social centers for people living in the surrounding countryside. Plum Bayou Mounds itself had a small population, made up primarily of political and religious leaders of the community and their families. This center was occupied from about 600 to 1050 CE.
Located on the banks of an oxbow lake, the archaeological site once had an and earthen embankment and ditch on three sides. The other side was the lake, now called Mound Pond. Eighteen mounds were built inside the high curving 1 mile embankment, and two were originally high. Mounds were placed along the edges of two open areas ( plazas) which were used for political, religious, and social activities attended by people from the vicinity. At least two mounds were used for feasting, as indicated by discarded food remains. Deer were a favorite food. Mound locations seem to have been planned using principles based on the alignment with important solar positions and standardized units of measurement. Most of the mounds were flat-topped platform mounds with buildings on them. Other Native Americans lived on the site in the 15th century, but they did not build the mounds.
The site was declared a 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 1978.,
Culture, phase and chronological table for the Plum Bayou Mound site
Table taken from "Emerging Patterns of Plum Bayou Culture:Preliminary Investigations of the Toltec Mounds Research Project", by Martha Ann Rolingson
Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...
, 1982.
See also
* Poverty Point
Poverty Point State Historic Site/Poverty Point National Monument (french: Pointe de Pauvreté; 16 WC 5) is a prehistoric earthwork constructed by the Poverty Point culture, located in present-day northeastern Louisiana, though evidence of t ...
* Watson Brake
References
External links
Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, at Arkansas State Parks
{{authority control
Plum Bayou culture
National Historic Landmarks in Arkansas
Native American history of Arkansas
State parks of Arkansas
Archaeological museums in Arkansas
Museums in Lonoke County, Arkansas
Former populated places in Arkansas
Protected areas of Lonoke County, Arkansas
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
National Register of Historic Places in Lonoke County, Arkansas
Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Mounds in Arkansas