The Aden site 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 ...

that is the

type site In archaeology, a type site is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and Hallstatt led scholars to divide the European Iron Age ...

for the Aden phase (800–900 CE) of Lower Yazoo Basin

Coles Creek culture Coles Creek culture is a Late Woodland archaeological culture in the Lower Mississippi valley in the Southeastern Woodlands. It followed the Troyville culture. The period marks a significant change in the cultural history of the area. Population i ...

chronology. It corresponds to Middle Coles Creek, chronologically between the '' Bayland phase'' and ''

Kings Crossing phase Kings Crossing site is an archaeological site that is a type site for the ''Kings Crossing Phase (950-1050 CE)'' of the Lower Yazoo Basin Coles Creek chronology. Location The site is located four miles north of the center of Vicksburg, between ...

''.

Location

The Aden site is located on the south bank of Jeff Davis Bayou, a mile and a half east of the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Valley Park,

Issaquena County Issaquena County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,406, making it the least populous county in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Its county seat is Mayersville. Wi ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, U.S.A., near coordinates .

Site description

The site consists of three

platform mound 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 ...

s making a triangular arrangement surrounding a small

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. ...

, with the fourth side of the plaza bordered by Jeff Davis Bayou. This is considered to be a typical Coles Creek phase settlement pattern. The largest, designated Mound A, on the eastern border of the plaza is in height, with the summit surface area measuring by . The second largest mound, Mound B on the southern border of the plaza, is high, and measuring by at its base. Mound C, located on the western border of the plaza, is high and in diameter. Mound C has been heavily degraded by cultivation, and may have been larger. 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 ...

Aden phase

Aden phase (800–900 CE) is a classification of sites and artifacts of the Cole Creek Culture created by

Phillip Phillips Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) Note: An inaccurate birthdate (Sept. 29, 1990) and birthplace (Leesburg, Georgia) appear in is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of ''Americ ...

. Aden phase sites are distributed throughout western Mississippi, in the area east of the Mississippi River and North of the Yazoo River except for the Blackely and Haynes Bluff sites which are along the Southern bank of the Yazoo River. The original Cole Creek site had become better known as the Gordon site and was considered an example of the late Gordon period of the Plaquemine culture. Sites such as Greenhouse and French Fork showed evidence of multiple occupations over a long period resulting in pottery that from multiple cultures. The Aden phase was an attempt to create a new baseline for “classic” Cole Creek Culture which could be then be used as a reference when comparing it to other cultures. Aden phase sites are distributed throughout western Mississippi, in the area east of the Mississippi River and North of the Yazoo River except for the Blackely and Haynes Bluff sites which are along the Southern bank of the Yazoo River.

Aden artifacts

The Aden phase was originally represented by the pottery styles identified as Baytown Plain, var. Valley Park; Chevalier Stamped, var Chevalier; Coles Creek Incised, vars. Coles and Wade; Evansville Punctuated, var. Rhinehart; French Fork Incised, var. Larkin ; Marzique Incised, var. Marzique; and Mulberry Creek Cord Marked, var. Smith Creek. The sites now considered the best examples of “typical” Aden phase are, in descending order of importance Coles Creek Incised, vars. Coles Creek, Campbellsville, and Macedonia, and French Fork Incised, var Larkin. Pottery of the Aden phase tended towards simple designs; regular shapes, unmodified rims and few appendages. Their surfaces were typically light gray, clouded by firing and bits of white material embedded in the earthenware. Triangular, zig zag and crescents were also present as decoration.

Settlements

Aden phase settlements were the first example of the rectangular shaped mounds that have become a hallmark of Cole Creek Culture settlements, though some sites have older conical mounds from the Bayland phase remained in sites that were continually inhabited since that time. In the Aden phase, settlements began to be built in a planned fashion with three rectangular mounds of approximately equal size forming a ceremonial center to the town with the three mounds forming three sides of a rectangular space.

References