The Aden Site is an archaeological site

Archaeological site

An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...

 that is the type site

Type site

In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...

 for the Aden Phase(800-900 CE) of Lower Yazoo Basin Coles Creek culture

Coles Creek culture

Coles Creek culture is a Late Woodland archaeological culture in the Lower Mississippi valley in the southern United States. It followed the Troyville culture. The period marks a significant change in the cultural history of the area...

 chronology. It corresponds to Middle Coles Creek, chronologically between the Bayland Phase and Kings Crossing Phase.

Location

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

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 of Valley Park

Valley Park, Mississippi

Valley Park is an unincorporated community in Issaquena County, Mississippi, United States. Its elevation is 95 feet . Although unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 39177. On April 24, 2010 Valley Park was the site of a strong tornado, though no injuries were reported. The...

, Issaquena County

Issaquena County, Mississippi

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,274 people, 726 households, and 509 families residing in the county. The population density was 5.15 people per square mile . There were 877 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...

, Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, near coordinates 32.636969°N 90.836339°W.

Site Description

The site consists of three platform mound

Platform mound

A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...

s making a triangular arrangement surrounding a small plaza

Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...

, 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 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height, with the summit surface area measuring 23 metres (75.5 ft) by 17 metres (55.8 ft). The second largest mound, Mound B on the southern border of the plaza, is 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) high, and measuring 50 metres (164 ft) by 35 metres (114.8 ft) at its base. Mound C, located on the western border of the plaza, is 2 metres (6.6 ft) high and 50 metres (164 ft) in diameter. Mound C has been heavily degraded by cultivation, and may have been larger.

Aden Phase

The Aden Phase of the Coles Creek culture is considered the classic form of the culture, when many of the qualifications which define it became readily recognizable. The arrangement of 3 similarly sized mounds around a central plaza is one of its hallmarks. This arrangement is visible during the Aden Phase occupations of sites such as the Holly Bluff

Holly Bluff Site

The Holly Bluff Site , sometimes known as the Lake George Site, and locally as “The Mound Place,”) is an archaeological site that is a type site for the Lake George phase of the prehistoric Plaquemine culture period of the area...

 and Haynes Bluff Sites. It is also defined by an assemblage of ceramic styles. These styles include Baytown Plain var. Valley Park, Chevalier Stamped var. Chevalier, Coles Creek Incised var. Coles Creek, Ely, Chase, Macedonia, and Wade, Evansville Punctated var. Rhinehart, French Fork var. Larkin, Mazique Incised var. Mazique, and Mulberry Creek Incised var. Smith Creek.

See also

• Culture, phase, and chronological table for the Mississippi Valley