The Boyd Mounds Site (
22MD512) 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 a ...
from the
Late Woodland
In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...
and
Early Mississippian period located in
Madison County, Mississippi
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 95,203. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for U.S. President James Madison.
Madison County is part of the Jackson, ...
near
Ridgeland. Many of the mounds were excavated by The National Park Service in 1964. It is located at mile 106.9 on the old
Natchez Trace, now the
Natchez Trace Parkway. It was added to the
NRHP on July 14, 1989 as NRIS number 89000784.
[
]
Description
The site consists of six burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
s dating to the Late Woodland
In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...
and Early Mississippian period. Of the six mounds at the site, Mound 2 is situated next to a parking area off the Natchez Trace Parkway and is accessible to visitors. Mound 2 is by and in height. Excavations done by the National Park Service in the early 1960s showed that the mound was initially two mounds that were constructed side by side but were later joined together when a new layer of earth was added to create a single oblong mound. Excavators also found the remains of forty one individuals, and an array of artifacts such as pottery in the mound.
See also
* List of Mississippian sites
This is a list of Mississippian sites. The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, inland- Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 C ...
* .
References
External links
Boyd Mounds at NatchezTraceTravel.com
{{National Register of Historic Places
Mounds in Mississippi
Late Mississippian culture
Woodland period
Natchez Trace
Protected areas of Madison County, Mississippi
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi
National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Mississippi