Ghost Site Mounds
Encyclopedia
Ghost Site Mounds is an archaeological site
in Tensas Parish, Louisiana
with an Early to Middle Coles Creek culture
component (700–1200 CE) and a Late Coles Creek to Plaquemine culture
component (1200 to 1541 CE).
. The mound has been used historically as a cemetery. Since 1990 considerable erosion has damaged the mound, after portions of it were removed to build a dam across a nearby bayou. The other two remaining mounds are small dome-shaped mounds less than 2 foot (0.6096 m) tall and about 60 feet (18.3 m) by 90 feet (27.4 m) at their bases. Mound B was also partially removed for the dam project, but Mound C is still intact. Two other small rises still exist (Mound D and Mound E), but it is unclear if they were mounds or natural features.
, and charcoal were found underneath Mounds A and B, and based on decorative elements on the pottery they are dated 700–1200 during the Early to Middle Coles Creek period. Other examples were found in Mounds B and C that have been dated to 1200 to 1541 during the Plaquemine period
.
.
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,...
in Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes....
with an Early to Middle 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...
component (700–1200 CE) and a Late Coles Creek to Plaquemine culture
Plaquemine culture
The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana. Good examples of this culture are the Medora Site in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, and the Anna, Emerald Mound, Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located...
component (1200 to 1541 CE).
Description
The site has three surviving mounds and could have had as many as five. Mound A, the largest mound, is a 11 feet (3.4 m) in height and 118 feet (36 m) by 92 feet (28 m) platform moundPlatform 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...
. The mound has been used historically as a cemetery. Since 1990 considerable erosion has damaged the mound, after portions of it were removed to build a dam across a nearby bayou. The other two remaining mounds are small dome-shaped mounds less than 2 foot (0.6096 m) tall and about 60 feet (18.3 m) by 90 feet (27.4 m) at their bases. Mound B was also partially removed for the dam project, but Mound C is still intact. Two other small rises still exist (Mound D and Mound E), but it is unclear if they were mounds or natural features.
Excavations
Limited archaeological testing has been done at the site. Bone, shell, ceramicsMississippian culture pottery
Mississippian culture pottery is the ceramic tradition of the Mississippian culture found as artifacts in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. It is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine shell-tempering agents in the clay paste. Shell tempering is one of...
, and charcoal were found underneath Mounds A and B, and based on decorative elements on the pottery they are dated 700–1200 during the Early to Middle Coles Creek period. Other examples were found in Mounds B and C that have been dated to 1200 to 1541 during the Plaquemine period
Plaquemine culture
The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana. Good examples of this culture are the Medora Site in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, and the Anna, Emerald Mound, Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located...
.
Location
The site is located on La 4 0.4 mile (0.643736 km) east from its junction with La 128. It is on a bayou that flows into the Tensas RiverTensas River
The Tensas River is a river in Louisiana in the United States. The river, known as Tensas Bayou in its upper reaches, begins in East Carroll Parish in the northeast corner of the state and runs roughly southwest for more or less in parallel with the Mississippi River...
.
See also
- Culture, phase, and chronological table for the Mississippi Valley