Transylvania Mounds
Encyclopedia
Translyvania Mounds is an archaeological site
in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
with components from the Coles Creek (700–1200)CE
and Plaquemine
/Mississippi periods (1200–1541)
. It is the type site
for the Translyvania Phase (1500-1680 CE) of the Tensas Basin Plaquemine Mississippian chronology.
s and possibly as many as twelve mounds. The largest mound at the site was 34 feet (10.4 m) in height and was flanked on two sides by the plazas. Several of the mounds are no longer visible because intensive European farming methods have leveled them. The ones that do remain are 18 feet (5.5 m), 9 feet (2.7 m), 6.5 feet (2 m), 3.5 feet (1.1 m), and 1.5 foot (0.4572 m) in height. The site underwent limited archaeological testing in the 1960s. These tests dated occupation of the site about 700–1200 CE during the Coles Creek period. Other ceramics
discovered at the site were dated to 1200–1541 during the Plaquemine Mississippian period. A series of radiocarbon samples returned dates between 1048 and 1411 CE. These investigations prompted archaeologists to use the Translyvania site as the type site for the Translyvania Phase (1500-1680 CE) of the local Tensas Basin Plaquemine Mississippian chronology. When the site was mapped in 2000 investigators were able to identify six remaining mounds.
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 East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
East Carroll Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Providence and as of 2010, the population was 7,759.-Law and government:In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the George W. Bush - Richard B...
with components from the Coles Creek (700–1200)CE
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
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...
/Mississippi periods (1200–1541)
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....
. It 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 Translyvania Phase (1500-1680 CE) of the Tensas Basin Plaquemine Mississippian chronology.
Description
A large multimound site with two 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...
s and possibly as many as twelve mounds. The largest mound at the site was 34 feet (10.4 m) in height and was flanked on two sides by the plazas. Several of the mounds are no longer visible because intensive European farming methods have leveled them. The ones that do remain are 18 feet (5.5 m), 9 feet (2.7 m), 6.5 feet (2 m), 3.5 feet (1.1 m), and 1.5 foot (0.4572 m) in height. The site underwent limited archaeological testing in the 1960s. These tests dated occupation of the site about 700–1200 CE during the Coles Creek period. Other ceramics
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,...
discovered at the site were dated to 1200–1541 during the Plaquemine Mississippian period. A series of radiocarbon samples returned dates between 1048 and 1411 CE. These investigations prompted archaeologists to use the Translyvania site as the type site for the Translyvania Phase (1500-1680 CE) of the local Tensas Basin Plaquemine Mississippian chronology. When the site was mapped in 2000 investigators were able to identify six remaining mounds.
See also
- Culture, phase, and chronological table for the Mississippi Valley