List of Ancient Native American Mound Sites

Reference listings of ancient Mississippian-era Native American mound sites in the United States

As a huge history buff and someone who enjoys traveling to historic (and prehistoric sites), I thought it might be useful to others to provide a list of Mississippian mound site locations. I pulled this list from Wikipedia, but I also resorted it on a state-by-state basis. I hope you find it useful.

Book recommendation: Mound Sites of the Ancient South: A Guide to the Mississippian Chiefdoms by Eric E. Bowne (Amazon)

Who were the Mississippians?

The Mississippian culture (900-1,600 CE) was a mound-building culture characterized by strong chieftain leadership with distinct social hierarchy, common religious beliefs, gaming, artistic styles, and extensive trading networks. Mississippians lived in villages which were sometimes quite large — Cahokia, in modern-day Illinois, had a larger population than contemporary London. Their villages featured multiple mounds, one very large mound that usually had a house for the chief on top, a ceremonial mound, and a burial mound, and sometimes many mounds.

Mississippian sites were spread across the Eastern, Southern and Midwestern United States.

Mississippian villages featured a large central plaza at the base of the main mound where ceremonies and gatherings may have taken place, games and sports were played, and markets were held. The plaza was the center of village life.

Mississippian villages were always situated near a river, which acted as a defensive boundary and was useful for water, fishing, and travel for trade or warfare. Villagers built rock dams to trap fish, making them easier to snare with baskets.

Stone statues found buried at Etowah Mound Site in Georgia.

Artistic commonalities

Mississippian villages shared a preference for common artistic products like small clay effigy figures or heads, ornately carved throat plates called gorgets, pottery hardened with tiny shell fragments, and incredible carved-stone figurative statues. They also carved stone ceremonial objects like axes for symbolic use by chieftains.

A look at some of the reconstructed palisade wall at Aztalan Mound Site, Wisconsin

Warfare

Mississippian culture was rife with conflict. Chieftains were often portrayed holding the severed heads of enemies. A tangible sign of the danger of the era is that all Mississippian villages were surrounded by deep borrow pits (which were dug to provide material for building mounds), and tall wooden palisade walls complete with guard towers.

Mounds built by other cultures

This is a list of Mississippian mound sites, but it certainly doesn’t include all the mound sites in the US. For example, there’s only one Mississippian-era mound site listed in Wisconsin, but Wisconsin is full of Indian mounds from other periods of prehistory! It has effigy mounds, mounds in state parks, and the city of Madison has random mounds scattered throughout various neighborhoods. In fact, there’s a giant effigy mound in Madison that may be the largest in the world.

While the Mississippian mound builders are well-known as a mound-building culture, they were the last of a long line of ancient people to build mounds in North America. One of the most famous mounds in the United States is Serpent Mound in Ohio, which was not a Mississippian-era mound and isn’t listed here.

Mounds have been found dating back to potentially 6,500 years ago. People before the Mississippians, including the Archaic (8,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE ) and the Woodland (1,000 BCE – 1,000 CE) people also built mounds, like the beautiful example at Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville, West Virginia. There are ancient earthworks in Louisiana that predate the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge.

List of Mississippian-era mound sites in alphabetical order

Important — before visiting a site, be sure to do your research. Some are major tourist sites, with museums and reconstructed structures, while others may be inaccessible or may not even exist any longer. Development, farming, and dams seem to be taking their toll on these fragile destinations.

List of Mississippian-era mound sites sorted by state

Alabama
Bottle Creek Indian Mounds
Jere Shine Site
Liddell Archeological Site
Moundville Archaeological Site
Talley Mound

Statues of Mississippian culture Native Americans Inside the beautiful museum at Moundville Archaeological Site, Alabama.

Arkansas
Battle Mound Site
Eaker Site (Located on US government property at Eaker Air Force Base)
Menard-Hodges Site
Nodena Site
Parkin Archeological State Park

Florida
Crystal River Archaeological State Park
Fort Walton Mound
Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park
Letchworth Mounds

Georgia
Avery Site
Beaverdam Creek Archaeological Site
Bell Field Mound Site
Dyar site (Submerged under a lake)
Etowah Indian Mounds (See my post about Etowah here)
Hoojah Branch Site
Joe Bell Site (Submerged under a lake)
King Archaeological Site
Lamar Mounds and Village Site
Little Egypt Site
Long Swamp Site
Mandeville Site
Nacoochee Mound
Ocmulgee National Monument
Punk Rock Shelter (Submerged under a lake)
Rembert Mounds
Sixtoe Mound
Summerour Mound Site (Submerged under a lake)
Wilbanks Site (Submerged under a lake)

Illinois
Cahokia
Dickson Mounds
Emmons Cemetery Site
Emerald Mound and Village Site

Indiana
Angel Mounds
Ashworth Archaeological Site
Hovey Lake-Klein Archeological Site
Prather Site
Welborn Village Archeological Site

Kentucky
Adams Site
Annis Mound and Village Site
Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site
Marshall Site
Rowlandton Mound Site
Slack Farm
Tolu Sit
Turk Site
Twin Mounds Site
Wickliffe mounds

Louisiana
Belcher Mound Site
Jordan Mounds

Mississippi
Boyd Mounds Site
Emerald Mound Site
Grand Village of the Natchez
Holly Bluff Site
Jaketown Site
Mangum Mound Site
Winterville Site

Missouri
Campbell Archeological Site
Cloverdale archaeological site
Murphy Mound Archeological Site
Sugarloaf Mound
Towosahgy State Historic Site

North Carolina
Garden Creek site
Joara
Nikwasi
Town Creek Indian Mound

Oklahoma
Spiro Mounds

South Carolina
Adamson Mounds Site
Chauga Mound

South Dakota
Mitchell Archaeological Site

Tennessee
Beasley Mounds Site
Brentwood Library Site (Jarman Farm Site)
Brick Church Mound and Village Site (Few remaining mounds are left)
Bussell Island
Castalian Springs Mound Site (Not open to the public)
Chucalissa Indian Village
Citico (Now destroyed)
Fewkes Group Archaeological Site
Mound Bottom
Old Town Archaeological Site
Riverview Mounds Archaeological Site
Sellars Farm Indian Mound (Read my posts about Sellars Farm site here)
Shiloh Indian Mounds Site
Swallow Bluff Island Mounds (May be submerged under a river)
Travellers Rest

Texas
Caddoan Mounds State Historic Site

Wisconsin
Aztalan State Park

Source:

Wikipedia provided the original list, which I have modified and sorted by state.

Thanks for reading.

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~ Keith

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