Towosahgy State Historic Site ( 23MI2), also known as Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site, is a large Mississippian

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 ...

with a

Woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...

Baytown culture The Baytown culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 300 to 700 CE in the lower Mississippi River Valley, consisting of sites in eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, Louisiana, and western Mississippi. The Baytown Sit ...

component located in Mississippi County,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, United States. It is believed to have been inhabited from c. 400–1350 CE. The site is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a state historic site. The name ''Towosahgy'' is an

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

word which means "old town". It is not known if members of the historic

Osage people The Osage Nation ( ) ( Osage: 𐓁𐒻 𐓂𐒼𐒰𐓇𐒼𐒰͘ ('), "People of the Middle Waters") is a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains. The tribe developed in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 700 BC along ...

, who dominated a large area of present-day Missouri at the beginning of the 19th century, ever occupied the site. (includes 7 photographs) The site was acquired by the Missouri state park system in 1967 and 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 v ...

in 1969 as NRIS number 69000113.

History of Towosahgy

The earliest portion of Towosahgy State Historic Site is in the southern half, where a Late Woodland period village once stood. Wilkie dates this component to about 400 to 700 CE. Later the site was fortified and built up as a Mississippian village with seven platform mounds, most surrounding a central plaza area. During this time, the site was surrounded by a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

wall of vertical logs and a moat. Like other Mississippian mound centers, Towosahgy also had a

borrow pit Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actuall ...

from which earth was removed to create the mounds. The largest remaining mound in the complex is Mound 2, also known as the "temple mound". Excavations on this part of the site were conducted in 1989 by James Price. The site was abandoned during the late 14th century for unknown reasons, as were many similar Mississippian sites in the region. Ceramics from the site represent typical pottery found in the Missouri Bootheel region.

Sherd In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well. Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...

s from the Woodland occupation are typically grog tempered. The later Mississippian culture pottery is shell tempered. Type varieties identified include Baytown Plain and Mulberry Creek Cordmarked. Mississippian ceramics were also both plain and decorated. Punctuated, incised, fabric impressed, and red, black, and brown painted/slipped sherds, typical decorating methods, are all present. A large collection of ceramic vessels from the site are part of the Beckwith Collection displayed at the

Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum The Crisp Museum, formally the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum is a U.S. museum located on the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It features displays and exhibitions of archaeological an ...

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

References

External links

Towosahgy State Historic Site
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Towosahgy State Historic Site Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources

*[http://library.semo.edu/archives/collections/Finding%20Aids/Wilkie%20Collection,%20Duncan/Cascading%20Style%20Sheet/Wilkie%20Title%20Page.htm The Wilkie Collection, Southeast Missouri State University Special Collections and Archive] {{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Middle Mississippian culture Mounds in Missouri Native American history of Missouri Archaeological sites in Missouri Missouri State Historic Sites Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Buildings and structures in Mississippi County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1967 Protected areas of Mississippi County, Missouri 1967 establishments in Missouri

History of Towosahgy

See also

References

External links