Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park
Encyclopedia
Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park is one of the most important archaeological
sites in Florida, a former chiefdom
and ceremonial center of the Fort Walton Culture
(1100–1550). The complex originally included six earthwork mounds
, a constructed public plaza
and numerous individual village residences.
One of three major mound sites in the Florida Panhandle
, the park is in northern Tallahassee
, on the south shore of Lake Jackson
. On May 6, 1971, the site was listed on the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP). The complex is managed as a Florida State Park
.
The park includes all or part of three mound
s in a complex that originally included six mounds. It also includes a constructed and leveled ceremonial public plaza
, where ritual games and gatherings took place. The village had an area of numerous individual residences, where artisans and workers lived. The original community would have included communal agricultural areas as well, where the people cultivated the maize
that supported the dense population.
The mounds were built by people of the Fort Walton Culture
, the southernmost expression of the Mississippian culture
, between 1000 and 1500. The mounds indicate this was the site of a regional chiefdom
, and was thus a political and religious center. Related sites of mound building cultures are featured at Fort Walton Mound, a National Historic Landmark
; and Letchworth Mounds
State Park, a Weeden Island culture
archeological site.
The descendants of these people were likely the historic Muskogean-speaking Apalachee
people, who lived in the area at the time of contact with Spanish
explorers.
Artifact
s found at the Lake Jackson site include motif
s of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
(SECC). This cultural complex coincides with the time period of the Lake Jackson mounds. Mound 2, the largest, is 36 feet (11 m) high, and 272 by 312 feet (95.1 m) at the base. Three-quarters of Mound 2 is in the park. All of the smaller Mound 4 is included in the park, and about half of Mound 5, the smallest earthwork
.
Calvin Jones, an archaeologist with the State of Florida Bureau of Historic Sites and Properties, conducted a salvage
operation before the platform mound
was dug away to be sold as fill
. Mound 3 was originally 15 feet (4.6 m) high and 150 feet (45.7 m) on a side at the base. He used radio-carbon dating of wood and charcoal excavated from the bottom and the top of the mound to determine dates of 760 years and 475 years Before Present
(based on 1950 as present) for its span of construction. This means approximately 1190 to 1475.
On the lowest level of Mound 3, near the center, was a large quantity of charred corn
. The bulk of the mound was a mixture of midden
materials, red clay
from nearby hills, and white sand from the lake shore. The pattern of deposits of fill demonstrated that the earth was intentionally brought to the site, likely in baskets. The earthwork
was the result of skilled planning, knowledge of soils and organization of numerous laborers over the period of many years. The mound was regularly built up in new levels. The outer surface of the mound was covered in red clay.
Posthole
s indicated that buildings were erected in the flat top, the characteristic platform of the mound. Periodically, the buildings were burned, the mound raised by additions of earth and a new layer of clay. New buildings would be erected on top. This cycle was repeated twelve times in a 250-year period. Based on studies at Cahokia
Indian Mounds, the predominant Mississippian culture center, scholars believe the buildings were burned and mounds were raised and renewed after the death of a major chief.
All of the burials were accompanied by burial garments and other grave goods
. In the sequence from lower to higher levels (oldest to more recent), the grave goods became more elaborate. In the upper levels, the grave goods included many objects made of copper
, beads made of shell and pearl
, and pipes associated with ritual use of tobacco
.
Although most of the burials were of elite men, the graves included one woman and a child of about eleven years of age, probably of the elite class. One of the bodies had been cremated. The bones of a dog were found on top of one of the clay levels that was an earlier top surface of the mound.
and picnic
king. Concession
s are also available.
. It was discovered by hikers in February 2010. This species was previously thought to inhabit only parts of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to catalog the population.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
sites in Florida, a former chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
and ceremonial center of the Fort Walton Culture
Fort Walton Culture
Fort Walton Culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in southeastern North America, from approximately 1100~1550 CE....
(1100–1550). The complex originally included six earthwork mounds
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
, a constructed public 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...
and numerous individual village residences.
One of three major mound sites in the Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
, the park is in northern Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, on the south shore of Lake Jackson
Lake Jackson (Tallahassee, Florida)
Lake Jackson is a shallow, prairie lake on the north side of Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida with two major depressions or sinkholes known as Porter Sink and Lime Sink....
. On May 6, 1971, the site was listed on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(NRHP). The complex is managed as a Florida State Park
Florida State Parks
The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 160 such entities, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites, which can be found in every corner of the state...
.
Mounds
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s in a complex that originally included six mounds. It also includes a constructed and leveled ceremonial public 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...
, where ritual games and gatherings took place. The village had an area of numerous individual residences, where artisans and workers lived. The original community would have included communal agricultural areas as well, where the people cultivated the maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
that supported the dense population.
The mounds were built by people of the Fort Walton Culture
Fort Walton Culture
Fort Walton Culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in southeastern North America, from approximately 1100~1550 CE....
, the southernmost expression of the Mississippian culture
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....
, between 1000 and 1500. The mounds indicate this was the site of a regional chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
, and was thus a political and religious center. Related sites of mound building cultures are featured at Fort Walton Mound, 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...
; and Letchworth Mounds
Letchworth Mounds
Letchworth-Love Mounds is a Florida State Park that preserves the state's tallest prehistoric, Native American ceremonial earthwork mound, which is high. It is estimated to have been built 1100 to 1800 years ago. This is one of three major surviving mound complexes in the Florida Panhandle...
State Park, a Weeden Island culture
Weeden Island culture
The Weeden Island Culture is one of the many archaeological cultures that existed during the Late Woodland period of the North American Southeast...
archeological site.
The descendants of these people were likely the historic Muskogean-speaking Apalachee
Apalachee
The Apalachee are a Native American people who historically lived in the Florida Panhandle, and now live primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Their historical territory was known to the Spanish colonists as the Apalachee Province...
people, who lived in the area at the time of contact with Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
explorers.
Artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s found at the Lake Jackson site include motif
Motif (art)
In art, a motif is an element of a pattern, an image or part of one, or a theme. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other...
s of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
The 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...
(SECC). This cultural complex coincides with the time period of the Lake Jackson mounds. Mound 2, the largest, is 36 feet (11 m) high, and 272 by 312 feet (95.1 m) at the base. Three-quarters of Mound 2 is in the park. All of the smaller Mound 4 is included in the park, and about half of Mound 5, the smallest earthwork
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
.
Mound 3
The mounds in the park have not yet been systematically excavated by archaeologists. Mound 3, located on private property outside the park, was destroyed in the winter of 1975–1976.Calvin Jones, an archaeologist with the State of Florida Bureau of Historic Sites and Properties, conducted a salvage
Salvage
Salvage means 'rescue' and as such may refer to:* Marine salvage, the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo and sometimes the crew from peril* Salvage tug, a type of tugboat used to rescue or salvage ships which are in distress or in danger of sinking...
operation before the 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...
was dug away to be sold as fill
Fill
Fill may refer to:*Fill dirt, soil added to an area.*Fill , a short segment of instrumental music.*In textiles, the filling yarn is the same as weft, the yarn which is shuttled back and forth across the warp to create a woven fabric....
. Mound 3 was originally 15 feet (4.6 m) high and 150 feet (45.7 m) on a side at the base. He used radio-carbon dating of wood and charcoal excavated from the bottom and the top of the mound to determine dates of 760 years and 475 years Before Present
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
(based on 1950 as present) for its span of construction. This means approximately 1190 to 1475.
On the lowest level of Mound 3, near the center, was a large quantity of charred corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
. The bulk of the mound was a mixture of midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
materials, red clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
from nearby hills, and white sand from the lake shore. The pattern of deposits of fill demonstrated that the earth was intentionally brought to the site, likely in baskets. The earthwork
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
was the result of skilled planning, knowledge of soils and organization of numerous laborers over the period of many years. The mound was regularly built up in new levels. The outer surface of the mound was covered in red clay.
Posthole
Posthole
In archaeology a posthole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide although truncation may not make this apparent....
s indicated that buildings were erected in the flat top, the characteristic platform of the mound. Periodically, the buildings were burned, the mound raised by additions of earth and a new layer of clay. New buildings would be erected on top. This cycle was repeated twelve times in a 250-year period. Based on studies at Cahokia
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...
Indian Mounds, the predominant Mississippian culture center, scholars believe the buildings were burned and mounds were raised and renewed after the death of a major chief.
Burials
Archeologists recovered 24 burials from Mound 3. Others were known to have been lost in the destruction of the mound. Seven of the twelve levels that had been the top of the mound had graves dug into them. Graves dug into the other levels may have been lost as the mound was destroyed. The burials were in deep pits, none of which were dug down into previous graves. Some of the graves were lined with split logs.All of the burials were accompanied by burial garments and other grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
. In the sequence from lower to higher levels (oldest to more recent), the grave goods became more elaborate. In the upper levels, the grave goods included many objects made of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, beads made of shell and pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
, and pipes associated with ritual use of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
.
Although most of the burials were of elite men, the graves included one woman and a child of about eleven years of age, probably of the elite class. One of the bodies had been cremated. The bones of a dog were found on top of one of the clay levels that was an earlier top surface of the mound.
Recreational activities
The large park has areas for such activities as hikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and picnic
Picnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
king. Concession
Concession stand
A concession stand , snack kiosk or snack bar is the term used to refer to a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to sell food to third parties...
s are also available.
Endangered species
The park is home to an endangered species of plant, the Trillium reliquumTrillium reliquum
Trillium reliquum is a monocotyledon species of the Trillium genus, a perennial, flowering, herbaceous plant of the Liliaceae family and found only in the southeastern region of the United States: southwest, central and east central Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina...
. It was discovered by hikers in February 2010. This species was previously thought to inhabit only parts of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to catalog the population.
External links
- Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park - official site
- Leon County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Leon County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site at Absolutely Florida
- Mississippian capitals : an archaeological investigation of Precolumbian political structure