Holly Bluff Site
Encyclopedia
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. The site is on the southern margin of the Mississippian cultural
advance down the Mississippi River
and on the northern edge of that of the Cole's Creek
and Plaquemine cultures of the South." The site was first excavated by Clarence Bloomfield Moore
in 1908 and tested by Philip Phillips
, Paul Gebhard
and Nick Zeigler in 1949.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1964.
, the Holly Bluff Site is located on the south bank of George Lake, or Lake George as it is sometimes known, a half mile east of its confluence with the Sunflower River
and a mile and a half southeast of the village of Holly Bluff
, Yazoo County
. Today the site is bisected by a county road
and is used as a plantation headquarters but still clearly visible are the numerous large mounds and the remains of a surrounding wall.
occupation evidenced by a scattering of Poverty Point
objects in the lowest levels of excavations. This is followed, after a hiatus evidenced by a complete lack of Tuscola Phase materials, by an early Marksville period
component tentatively assigned an early Anderson Landing Phase that may have lasted into an early Issaquena times. The succeeding late Issaquena Phase and Deasonville Phases are virtually unrepresented at Holly Bluff. The site was again occupied from the lower half of the Baytown
period up to the late prehistoric times. All phases of the local sequence from the Bayland on through the Lake George Phase (1350-1500)(of which the site is the type site
for the Lower Yazoo Basin Plaquemine chronology) are abundantly documented. Materials of the Crippen Point Phase of the Late Coles Creek appear to be most widely spread, and it may have been at this time that the settlement attained its greatest size. In the final Lake George Phase additions were made to some of the mounds, especially Mound A, and the enclosing embankment was built, but the total area occupied was perhaps not as large as in the preceding period.
is normally the central feature with the principal "temple mound
" located on one side, usually but not always the west, its principal ramp giving access from the plaza on the east side of the mound. In the case of Holly Bluff there seems to have been two plazas to the east and west of the Mound A respectively.
Sampling evidence supports the theory that Mound A was originally part of a group (including mounds B, C, D, E, and F) surrounding the western plaza possibly as early as the Bayland phase(but more likely the Aden phase
), and certainly established by the Kings Crossing phase
. Mound A may or may not have been the principal structure at this time. This plan may have carried on into the Crippen Point phase, but the evidence strongly suggests that either then or in the succeeding Mayersville phase site reorientation took place. Mound A becoming the principle feature of an east plaza assemblage (with mounds F', G, G', H, U, and V) which remained the ritual center of the site throughout the remainder of its history.
The twenty-five mounds that are now recognized range from barely noticeable rises to the massive Mound A, which is fifty-five feet high and covers nearly two acres. It is believed that the lower rises were used as house substructures and repeatedly reconstructed. The larger mounds were most likely used for ceremonial purposes rather than residential. Until recent erosion, earthen ramps could be seen climbing to the summits of these large mounds. Seven of the mounds are situated along the bank of George Lake and six more are located within the embankment. The remaining twelve mounds are positioned around the two plazas situated to the east and west of Mound A. This design is unusual and extremely large for the area; the closest in size and layout being the Winterville Site
.
The final major feature of the site is the earthen wall and the trench that surrounds it on three sides. In the earliest survey of the site, C. B. Moore reported that the wall was four to six feet high and still reached this height although large sections have now been destroyed. It is likely that the ditch, which was filled with water from George Lake, supplied the dirt for the wall. The one side that was not protected by the wall was the lake side of the site, the lake bank creating a steep enough boundary on this northern side to provide protection.
Besides topographical settings, the environment of the Lake George site was extremely favorable for occupation. In prehistoric times the rich soils and the varying ecologies supported a vast array of plant and animal species. The natural levees created by deposits from the Mississippi were made of rich sandy and silty loams which allowed the common Southeastern deciduous hardwoods, such as hickory
, elm
, ash, cottonwood
, maple
, pecan
, hackberry
, honey locust
, sycamore , and even gums and oak
s to flourish. The swamps surrounding the site supported an entirely different ecosystem including alligator
s, small reptiles and aquatic plant
s. The streams and rivers also provided fish, shellfish, and other aquatic fauna, which can be seen from excavations of shell middens and deposits of the site. These waterways also provided a major form of communication. This abundant region was obviously utilized by many different peoples over the course of prehistory as the Holly Bluff Site shows.
described twenty-seven mounds and some questionable rises. C. B. Moore’s original estimate is believed to most accurately reflect the situation; many of the smaller earthworks have been lost to recent and intense cultivation.
In January and February 1908, Clarence Bloomfield Moore
received permission from the then owner Judge William Andrew Henry of Yazoo City to excavate the sites along the Yazoo River
and its tributary the Sunflower River
in his steamboat, The Gopher. On his excavation Moore recorded eleven sites and partially excavated eight, including Holly Bluff: “with a large force to dig, including May who had been in our service before, we go directly to work on such mounds”. Moore commented on the physical appearance of the site: “Strewn over the enclosed area, among the mounds and on them…are chert
pebbles; fragments of chert; bits of mussel shell; and small parts of earthenware vessels" Most of the earthenware was undecorated, he recorded, and mostly shell tempered with some stone tempering which is common in the Yazoo-Sunflower region. C. B. Moore’s excavations produced various small artifacts including projectile points, a pebble ax of fossilized wood, a chert hammerstone
, and a zoomorphic effigy pipe of shell-tempered pottery
. He was disappointed, however, in finding nothing of great importance other than two disturbed burials in a mound on the lake front. Moore’s disappointment was evident in his failing to map the site and his statement, “it having become evident to us that our search was inadequately rewarded”.
Numerous other archaeologists with varying degrees of success followed up Moore’s excavations. Each of the later excavations found an extremely different system of mounds. In the 1920s the site was damaged by the then-plantation owner Mr. Charles W. Perry who pastured cattle on the large mounds and cultivated the smaller mounds. The cattle foraged the cover of the larger mounds and their trampling eroded much of the site, erasing the ramps described by Moore. In 1949 Philip Phillips
, Paul Gebhard
and Nick Zeigler began performing test excavations of the Holly Bluff site. These were the first truly scientific excavations carried out at the site. The interpretations of the data provided the first reliable conclusions of the culture history. These tests finally provided evidence that the Holly Bluff site had been occupied for approximately one millennium. The conclusions proved that the Holly Bluff site was an important phase of the Coles Creek culture
. From 1958 to 1960, “hundreds of skeletons were removed” from Mound C.
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 a type site
Type site
In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...
for the Lake George phase of the prehistoric 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...
period of the area. The site is on the southern margin of the Mississippian cultural
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
advance down the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and on the northern edge of that of the Cole's Creek
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...
and Plaquemine cultures of the South." The site was first excavated by Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore was an American archaeologist and writer...
in 1908 and tested by Philip Phillips
Philip Phillips (archaeologist)
Philip Phillips was an influential archaeologist in the United States during the 20th century. Although his first graduate work was in architecture, he later received a doctorate from Harvard University under advisor Alfred Marston Tozzer...
, Paul Gebhard
Paul Gebhard
Paul H. Gebhard, born , was an American anthropologist and sexologist. Born in Rocky Ford, Colorado, he earned a B.S. and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1940 and 1947, respectively. Gebhard followed Alfred Kinsey as the second director of the Kinsey Institute and served in that capacity from 1956 to...
and Nick Zeigler in 1949.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1964.
Location
One of the half dozen really big sites in the State of MississippiMississippi
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...
, the Holly Bluff Site is located on the south bank of George Lake, or Lake George as it is sometimes known, a half mile east of its confluence with the Sunflower River
Sunflower River
The Sunflower River is one of the main tributaries of the Yazoo River in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is navigable by barge for 50 miles. It rises in De Soto County, Mississippi near the Tennessee border and flows south for 100 miles to the Yazoo River...
and a mile and a half southeast of the village of Holly Bluff
Holly Bluff, Mississippi
The Village of Holly Bluff is a small unincorporated community in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta.Originally known as "Sharbrough's Landing" to river boat pilots the community was established by the Sharbrough family in 1877...
, Yazoo County
Yazoo County, Mississippi
-National protected area:*Hillside National Wildlife Refuge *Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge-History:The area which is now Yazoo County was acquired by the State of Mississippi from the Choctaw Indians in 1820. Yazoo County was established on January 21, 1823. It was the 19th county...
. Today the site is bisected by a county road
County highway
A county highway is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department...
and is used as a plantation headquarters but still clearly visible are the numerous large mounds and the remains of a surrounding wall.
Prehistoric Timeline
The sites occupation begins with a Jaketown PhaseJaketown Site
Jaketown Site is an archaeological site with two prehistoric earthwork mounds in Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States. While the mounds have not been excavated, distinctive pottery sherds found in the area lead scholars to date the mounds' construction and use to the Mississippian culture...
occupation evidenced by a scattering of Poverty Point
Poverty Point culture
Poverty Point culture is an archaeological culture that corresponds to an ancient group of Indigenous peoples who inhabited the area of the lower Mississippi Valley and surrounding Gulf coast from about 2200 BCE - 700 BCE...
objects in the lowest levels of excavations. This is followed, after a hiatus evidenced by a complete lack of Tuscola Phase materials, by an early Marksville period
Marksville culture
The Marksville culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Lower Mississippi valley, Yazoo valley, and Tensas valley areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas and extended eastward along the Gulf Coast to the Mobile Bay area, from 100 BCE to 400 CE. This culture takes its name...
component tentatively assigned an early Anderson Landing Phase that may have lasted into an early Issaquena times. The succeeding late Issaquena Phase and Deasonville Phases are virtually unrepresented at Holly Bluff. The site was again occupied from the lower half of the Baytown
Baytown culture
The Baytown culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 300 to 700 CE in the lower Mississippi River Valley, consisting of sites in eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, Louisiana, and western Mississippi. The Baytown Site on the White River in Monroe County, Arkansas is...
period up to the late prehistoric times. All phases of the local sequence from the Bayland on through the Lake George Phase (1350-1500)(of which the site 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 Lower Yazoo Basin Plaquemine chronology) are abundantly documented. Materials of the Crippen Point Phase of the Late Coles Creek appear to be most widely spread, and it may have been at this time that the settlement attained its greatest size. In the final Lake George Phase additions were made to some of the mounds, especially Mound A, and the enclosing embankment was built, but the total area occupied was perhaps not as large as in the preceding period.
Site Description
It will be noted that Mound A is almost the exact center of the site, a most unusual location for the dominant mound in ceremonial centers of the Coles Creek and Mississippi periods. In the case of centers the plazaPlaza
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...
is normally the central feature with the principal "temple 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...
" located on one side, usually but not always the west, its principal ramp giving access from the plaza on the east side of the mound. In the case of Holly Bluff there seems to have been two plazas to the east and west of the Mound A respectively.
Sampling evidence supports the theory that Mound A was originally part of a group (including mounds B, C, D, E, and F) surrounding the western plaza possibly as early as the Bayland phase(but more likely the Aden phase
Aden Site
The Aden Site is an archaeological site that is the type site for the Aden Phase of Lower Yazoo Basin Coles Creek culture chronology...
), and certainly established by the Kings Crossing phase
Kings Crossing Site
Kings Crossing Site is an archaeological site that is a type site for the Kings Crossing Phase of the Lower Yazoo Basin Coles Creek chronology.-Location:...
. Mound A may or may not have been the principal structure at this time. This plan may have carried on into the Crippen Point phase, but the evidence strongly suggests that either then or in the succeeding Mayersville phase site reorientation took place. Mound A becoming the principle feature of an east plaza assemblage (with mounds F', G, G', H, U, and V) which remained the ritual center of the site throughout the remainder of its history.
The twenty-five mounds that are now recognized range from barely noticeable rises to the massive Mound A, which is fifty-five feet high and covers nearly two acres. It is believed that the lower rises were used as house substructures and repeatedly reconstructed. The larger mounds were most likely used for ceremonial purposes rather than residential. Until recent erosion, earthen ramps could be seen climbing to the summits of these large mounds. Seven of the mounds are situated along the bank of George Lake and six more are located within the embankment. The remaining twelve mounds are positioned around the two plazas situated to the east and west of Mound A. This design is unusual and extremely large for the area; the closest in size and layout being the Winterville Site
Winterville Site
The Winterville Site is an archaeological site consisting of platform substructure mounds and plazas that is the type site for the Winterville Phase of the Lower Yazoo Basin region...
.
The final major feature of the site is the earthen wall and the trench that surrounds it on three sides. In the earliest survey of the site, C. B. Moore reported that the wall was four to six feet high and still reached this height although large sections have now been destroyed. It is likely that the ditch, which was filled with water from George Lake, supplied the dirt for the wall. The one side that was not protected by the wall was the lake side of the site, the lake bank creating a steep enough boundary on this northern side to provide protection.
Besides topographical settings, the environment of the Lake George site was extremely favorable for occupation. In prehistoric times the rich soils and the varying ecologies supported a vast array of plant and animal species. The natural levees created by deposits from the Mississippi were made of rich sandy and silty loams which allowed the common Southeastern deciduous hardwoods, such as hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
, elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
, ash, cottonwood
Eastern Cottonwood
Populus deltoides, the eastern cottonwood, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.-Description:...
, maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
, pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
, hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
Celtis occidentalis, commonly known as the Common hackberry, is a medium-size deciduous tree native to North America. It is also known as the nettletree, beaverwood, northern hackberry, and American hackberry...
, honey locust
Honey locust
The Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, is a deciduous tree native to central North America. It is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as eastern Massachusetts.-Description:Honey locusts, Gleditsia...
, sycamore , and even gums and oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s to flourish. The swamps surrounding the site supported an entirely different ecosystem including alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, small reptiles and aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
s. The streams and rivers also provided fish, shellfish, and other aquatic fauna, which can be seen from excavations of shell middens and deposits of the site. These waterways also provided a major form of communication. This abundant region was obviously utilized by many different peoples over the course of prehistory as the Holly Bluff Site shows.
Excavations
Looting, erosion and cultivation have extensively damaged the Holy Bluff site over the years. This has caused some debate over the form and degree of some of the earthworks. Clarence B. Moore noted in 1908, following a visit, that some thirty rises and mounds, small and large, could be counted within the enclosure. Nine years later Calvin S. Brown visited and counted only twenty-five or so mounds within the wall. In 1928 and again in 1936 James A. Ford recorded only twenty-two mounds. In a site report in January 1941, Jesse D. JenningsJesse D. Jennings
Jesse David Jennings was an American archaeologist and anthropologist. Based at the University of Utah, Jennings is best known for his work on desert west prehistory and his excavation of Danger Cave near Utah's Great Salt Lake...
described twenty-seven mounds and some questionable rises. C. B. Moore’s original estimate is believed to most accurately reflect the situation; many of the smaller earthworks have been lost to recent and intense cultivation.
In January and February 1908, Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore
Clarence Bloomfield Moore was an American archaeologist and writer...
received permission from the then owner Judge William Andrew Henry of Yazoo City to excavate the sites along the Yazoo River
Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
and its tributary the Sunflower River
Sunflower River
The Sunflower River is one of the main tributaries of the Yazoo River in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is navigable by barge for 50 miles. It rises in De Soto County, Mississippi near the Tennessee border and flows south for 100 miles to the Yazoo River...
in his steamboat, The Gopher. On his excavation Moore recorded eleven sites and partially excavated eight, including Holly Bluff: “with a large force to dig, including May who had been in our service before, we go directly to work on such mounds”. Moore commented on the physical appearance of the site: “Strewn over the enclosed area, among the mounds and on them…are chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
pebbles; fragments of chert; bits of mussel shell; and small parts of earthenware vessels" Most of the earthenware was undecorated, he recorded, and mostly shell tempered with some stone tempering which is common in the Yazoo-Sunflower region. C. B. Moore’s excavations produced various small artifacts including projectile points, a pebble ax of fossilized wood, a chert hammerstone
Hammerstone
In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the world including Europe, India and North America...
, and a zoomorphic effigy pipe of shell-tempered pottery
Mississippian 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...
. He was disappointed, however, in finding nothing of great importance other than two disturbed burials in a mound on the lake front. Moore’s disappointment was evident in his failing to map the site and his statement, “it having become evident to us that our search was inadequately rewarded”.
Numerous other archaeologists with varying degrees of success followed up Moore’s excavations. Each of the later excavations found an extremely different system of mounds. In the 1920s the site was damaged by the then-plantation owner Mr. Charles W. Perry who pastured cattle on the large mounds and cultivated the smaller mounds. The cattle foraged the cover of the larger mounds and their trampling eroded much of the site, erasing the ramps described by Moore. In 1949 Philip Phillips
Philip Phillips (archaeologist)
Philip Phillips was an influential archaeologist in the United States during the 20th century. Although his first graduate work was in architecture, he later received a doctorate from Harvard University under advisor Alfred Marston Tozzer...
, Paul Gebhard
Paul Gebhard
Paul H. Gebhard, born , was an American anthropologist and sexologist. Born in Rocky Ford, Colorado, he earned a B.S. and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1940 and 1947, respectively. Gebhard followed Alfred Kinsey as the second director of the Kinsey Institute and served in that capacity from 1956 to...
and Nick Zeigler began performing test excavations of the Holly Bluff site. These were the first truly scientific excavations carried out at the site. The interpretations of the data provided the first reliable conclusions of the culture history. These tests finally provided evidence that the Holly Bluff site had been occupied for approximately one millennium. The conclusions proved that the Holly Bluff site was an important phase of the 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...
. From 1958 to 1960, “hundreds of skeletons were removed” from Mound C.
See also
- Culture, phase, and chronological table for the Mississippi Valley
- Southeastern Ceremonial ComplexSoutheastern Ceremonial ComplexThe Southeastern Ceremonial Complex is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from...
- List of Mississippian sites
- List of burial mounds in the United States