The Tolu Site is a prehistoric archeological site 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....

 near the unincorporated community of Tolu

Tolu, Kentucky

Tolu is an unincorporated community in Crittenden County, Kentucky, United States. Tolu is located along Kentucky Route 135 near the Ohio River. It is northwest of Marion, the county seat....

, Crittenden County, Kentucky

Crittenden County, Kentucky

Crittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky.It was formed in 1842. As of 2000, the population was 9,384. Its county seat is Marion. The county is named for John J. Crittenden who was Governor of Kentucky 1848-1850...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was built and occupied between 1200-1450 CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

. No carbon dating

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...

 has been performed at the site, but analysis of pottery styles suggest its major habitation period was 1200 to 1300 CE. The site originally had three mounds, a burial mound, a substructure 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...

 and one other of undetermined function. It was excavated in 1930 by W.S. Webb and W.D.Funkhauser.

Tolu Site is part of the Angel Phase

Angel Phase

The Angel Phase describes a 300-400-year cultural manifestation of the Mississippian culture of the central portions of the United States of America, as defined in the discipline of archaeology. Angel Phase archaeological sites date from c...

 of the Mississippian period. Because of similarities among the following sites in their styles of 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...

 and construction of communities, it is also considered part of the "Kincaid Set", together with Angel Mounds

Angel Mounds

Angel Mounds State Historic Site is located on the Ohio River in Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties eight miles southeast of Evansville and just upriver of the confluence of the Green and Ohio rivers. Administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Indiana State Museums...

 in Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 and Kincaid Mounds

Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site

The Kincaid Mounds Historic Site, circa 1050-1400 CE, was among the largest prehistoric Mississippian culture chiefdom centers, located at the southern tip of present day U.S. state of Illinois...

 in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, and Wickliffe Mounds

Wickliffe Mounds

Wickliffe Mounds is a prehistoric, Mississippian culture archaeological site located in Ballard County, Kentucky, just outside the town of Wickliffe, about three miles from the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Archaeology investigations have linked the site with others along the Ohio...

 in far western Kentucky.

In May 1954 a stone statue carved from greyish white fluorite

Fluorite

Fluorite is a halide mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an isometric mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon...

 was found by a local farmer while plowing a field a few miles west of Tolu. It is considered to be one of the most detailed examples of Mississippian stone statuary

Mississippian stone statuary

The Mississippian stone statuary are artifacts of polished stone in the shape of human figurines made by members of the Mississippian culture and found in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast...

 ever found. The statue is the only example of this type of Native American artwork to have a representation of a beaded forelock, a hairstyle very prominent in other Mississippian artwork, most notably engraved mussel shells.