Twin Mounds Site
Encyclopedia
The Twin Mounds Site (also known as the Nolan Site) is a Mississippian culture
archaeological site
located near Barlow
in Ballard County, Kentucky
, just north of the confluence of the Ohio
and Mississippi River
s.
s around a central plaza
and a large 2 metres (6.6 ft) thick midden
area. The site was occupied from 1200 to about 1450 CE during the Dorena and Medley Phases of the local chronology. For most of its history, it was contemporaneous with another local site, Wickliffe Mounds
, which is several miles to the southeast.
It is thought that when Wickliffe was slowly abandoned around 1300, the population had been slowly relocating to the Twin Mounds Site.
made Missouri flint clay 17.8 centimetres (7 in) human effigy pipe
was found during excavations at the site.
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....
archaeological site
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,...
located near Barlow
Barlow, Kentucky
Barlow is a city in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 715 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Barlow is located at ....
in Ballard County, Kentucky
Ballard County, Kentucky
Ballard County is a county located in west of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was created by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1842, and is named for Captain Bland Ballard, a soldier, statesman, and member of the Kentucky General Assembly. He was one of the few Kentucky volunteers to survive the...
, just north of the confluence of the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and 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...
s.
Site
The site consists of two large platform moundPlatform 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...
s around a central 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 a large 2 metres (6.6 ft) thick 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...
area. The site was occupied from 1200 to about 1450 CE during the Dorena and Medley Phases of the local chronology. For most of its history, it was contemporaneous with another local site, 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...
, which is several miles to the southeast.
It is thought that when Wickliffe was slowly abandoned around 1300, the population had been slowly relocating to the Twin Mounds Site.
Art
A rare CahokiaCahokia
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...
made Missouri flint clay 17.8 centimetres (7 in) human effigy pipe
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...
was found during excavations at the site.