Towosahgy State Historic Site
Encyclopedia
Towosahgy State Historic Site (23MI2), also known as Beckwith's Fort, is a large Mississippian
mound site with a Woodland period
Baytown culture
component located in Mississippi County
, Missouri
. It is believed to have been inhabited from circa 400-1350 CE. The site is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources
as a state historic site
. The name Towosahgy is an Osage
word which means "old town", although it is not known if the Osage
were the inhabitants of the site.
, most surrounding a central plaza. During this time, the site was surrounded by a palisade
wall and moat. Like other Mississippian mound centers, Towosahgy also had a borrow pit, where earth was removed to create the mounds. The largest remaining mound is Mound 2, also known as the "temple mound". Excavations on this part of the site were conducted by James Price in 1989. The site was abandoned during the late fourteenth century for unknown reasons, like many other sites in the region.
Ceramics from the site represent typical pottery
found in the Missouri Bootheel region. Sherd
s from the Woodland occupation are typically grog tempered, and the later Mississippian pottery is shell tempered. Type varieties identified include Baytown Plain and Mulberry Creek Cordmarked. Mississippian ceramics were also both plain and decorated. Punctated, incised, fabric impressed, and red, black, and brown painted/slipped sherds, typical decorating methods, are all present. A large collection of ceramic vessels from the site are part of the Beckwith Collection displayed at the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum
at Southeast Missouri State University
.
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....
mound site with a Woodland period
Woodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
Baytown culture
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...
component located in Mississippi County
Mississippi County, Missouri
Mississippi County is a county located in the Bootheel of Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 13,427. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 13,504. The largest city and county seat is Charleston...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. It is believed to have been inhabited from circa 400-1350 CE. The site is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri consists of the Division of Environmental Quality, the Division of Geology and Land Survey, the Division of State Parks, the Environmental and Energy Resources Authority, and the Field Services Division....
as a state historic site
Historic site
A historic site is an official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have recognized with the official national historic site status...
. The name Towosahgy is an Osage
Osage language
Osage is a Siouan language spoken by the Osage people of Oklahoma. The last native speaker, Lucille Roubedeaux, died ca. 2005.Osage has an inventory of sounds very similar to that of Dakota, plus vowel length, preaspirated obstruents, and an interdental fricative...
word which means "old town", although it is not known if the Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
were the inhabitants of the site.
History of Towosahgy
The earliest portion of Towosahgy State Historic Site is in the southern half where a Late Woodland village once stood. Wilkie dates this component to about 400 to 700 CE. Later the site became a fortified Mississippan site with seven moundsPlatform 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...
, most surrounding a central plaza. During this time, the site was surrounded by a palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
wall and moat. Like other Mississippian mound centers, Towosahgy also had a borrow pit, where earth was removed to create the mounds. The largest remaining mound is Mound 2, also known as the "temple mound". Excavations on this part of the site were conducted by James Price in 1989. The site was abandoned during the late fourteenth century for unknown reasons, like many other sites in the region.
Ceramics from the site represent typical pottery
Native American pottery
Native American pottery is an art form with at least a 7500-year history in the Americas. Pottery is fired ceramics with clay as a component. Ceramics are used for utilitarian cooking vessels, serving and storage vessels, pipes, funerary urns, censers, musical instruments, ceremonial items, masks,...
found in the Missouri Bootheel region. Sherd
Sherd
In archaeology, a sherd is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels as well....
s from the Woodland occupation are typically grog tempered, and the later Mississippian pottery is shell tempered. Type varieties identified include Baytown Plain and Mulberry Creek Cordmarked. Mississippian ceramics were also both plain and decorated. Punctated, incised, fabric impressed, and red, black, and brown painted/slipped sherds, typical decorating methods, are all present. A large collection of ceramic vessels from the site are part of the Beckwith Collection displayed at the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum
Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum
The Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum is a U.S. museum located on the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It features diplays and exhibitions of archaeological and historical artifacts, as well as paintings and other artworks...
at Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University, is a public, accredited university located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States, near the banks of the Mississippi River. The institution, having started as a normal school, has a traditional strength in teacher education...
.
See also
- Woodland periodWoodland periodThe Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
- Mississippian cultureMississippian cultureThe 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....
- List of Missouri state park and historic sites
- List of Mississippian sites