Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park ( 3 LN 42), formerly known as "Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park", also known as Knapp Mounds, Toltec Mounds or Toltec Mounds site, is an archaeological site from the

Late Woodland period In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some arch ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

that protects an 18-mound complex with the tallest surviving prehistoric mounds in

. The site is on the banks of Mound Lake, an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

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 Colorado, specifically ...

. It was occupied by its original inhabitants from the 7th to the 11th century. The site is designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Name

The identification of the site with the

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

of Mexico was a 19th-century misinterpretation. It was thought that the Toltec people lived in North America and built the mounds. Mary 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 Barry who was also interested in Native American artifacts 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 physicist and inventor 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 ...

, the secretary of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. 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 Edward Palmer may refer to: * Edward Palmer (d.1624) (1555–1624), antiquary and projector of a university in Virginia * Edward Palmer (socialist) (1802–1886), American religious socialist * Edward Palmer (Canadian politician) (1809–1889), Pri ...

from the

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 Departme ...

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 In the classification of the archaeological cultures of North America, the Archaic period in North America, taken to last from around 8000 to 1000 BC in the sequence of North American pre-Columbian cultural stages, is a period defined by the '' ...

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 ( , Quapaw: ) or Arkansas, officially the Quapaw Nation, is a U.S. federally recognized tribe comprising about 6,000 citizens. Also known as the Ogáxpa or “Downstream” people, their ancestral homelands are traced from what is n ...

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

floodplains of central and eastern

, but are also found as far west as the eastern

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

. Plum Bayou Mounds is the largest site of the eponymous culture. Their relationships with neighboring cultures such as the

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 ...

to the south and

Fourche Maline culture The Fourche Maline culture (pronounced foosh-ma-lean) was a Woodland Period Native American culture that existed from 300 BCE to 800 CE, 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 the 7th to the 11th century. 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 A mound is an artificial heap or pile, especially of earth, rocks, or sand. Mound and Mounds may also refer to: Places * Mound, Louisiana, United States * Mound, Minnesota, United States * Mound, Texas, United States * Mound, West Virginia * Moun ...

were built inside the high curving 1 mile embankment, and two were originally high. Mounds were placed along the edges of two open areas (

plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

s) 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 mound A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity. It typically refers to a flat-topped mound, whose sides may be pyramidal. In Eastern North America The indigenous peoples of North America built substru ...

s 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

in 1978, and an Arkansas State Archeological Landmark in 2025.

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, 1982.

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Archaeological museums in Arkansas Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Arkansas populated places on the Arkansas River Buildings and structures on the Arkansas River Former populated places in Arkansas Mounds in Arkansas Museums in Lonoke County, Arkansas National Historic Landmarks in Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Lonoke County, Arkansas Native American history of Arkansas Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Plum Bayou culture Populated places established in the 7th century Populated places disestablished in the 11th century Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Protected areas established in 1973 Protected areas of Lonoke County, Arkansas State parks of Arkansas

Name

Plum Bayou culture

Culture, phase and chronological table for the Plum Bayou Mound site

See also

References

External links