Beasley Mounds Site
Encyclopedia
The Beasley Mounds Site (40SM43) (also known as the Dixon Springs Mound Site) is a Mississippian culture
archaeological site
located at the confluence of Dixon Creek and the Cumberland River
near the unincorporated community of Dixon Springs
in Smith County, Tennessee. The site was first excavated by amateur archaeologists in the 1890s. More examples of Mississippian stone statuary
have been found at the site than any other in the Middle Tennessee area.
8 feet (2.4 m) in height and 125 feet (38.1 m) in diameter and three smaller ones. The first of the smaller mounds was located 300 feet (91.4 m) east of the larger mound and was 3 foot (0.9144 m) high and 125 feet (38.1 m) in diameter. The other two mounds were located to the south and southeast of this mound and were both about 2 foot (0.6096 m) to 3 foot (0.9144 m) in height and about 100 feet (30.5 m) in diameter. The site was surrounded by a low embankment with regular rises thought to have once been a wooden defensive palisade
with bastions. Located outside the palisade on a steep bluff overlooking the Cumberland were two small stone mounds, similar to ones found at the Castalian Springs
and Sellars Mound
sites. In this area several large stone box grave
s and mortuary caves have also been found.
and numerous examples of Mississippian culture pottery
specific to the Nashville Basin area. This pottery, Matthew Incised var. Matthews, gives a rough chronology for the sites occupation as belonging to the 1300s up to the early 1400's CE. In 1898 a farmer plowing fields on the site discovered five stone statues
and the fragment of the head of another all within a 50 feet (15.2 m) area just 30 feet (9.1 m) from the main platform mound. This area is theorized by archaeologists to have been the location of a large civic or mortuary structure. All of the statues and fragments were later acquired by Myers. Another statue, number 7, was also plowed from the same location at some time prior to 1923, which Myer also subsequently acquired. After his death Myers widow sold four of the statues to the Bureau of American Ethnology
in 1927 and are now part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution
. This is the largest collection of Mississippian stone statues found in the Middle Tennessee area.
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 at the confluence of Dixon Creek and the Cumberland River
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
near the unincorporated community of Dixon Springs
Dixon Springs, Tennessee
Dixon Springs is an unincorporated community in Smith County, Tennessee, United States.Once a thriving area between Carthage and Hartsville, the community is still quaint with many antebellum homes and significant cemeteries of early settlers in the area, including that of Col. William Martin,...
in Smith County, Tennessee. The site was first excavated by amateur archaeologists in the 1890s. More 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...
have been found at the site than any other in the Middle Tennessee area.
Site
The Beasley site was a large village area with one 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...
8 feet (2.4 m) in height and 125 feet (38.1 m) in diameter and three smaller ones. The first of the smaller mounds was located 300 feet (91.4 m) east of the larger mound and was 3 foot (0.9144 m) high and 125 feet (38.1 m) in diameter. The other two mounds were located to the south and southeast of this mound and were both about 2 foot (0.6096 m) to 3 foot (0.9144 m) in height and about 100 feet (30.5 m) in diameter. The site was surrounded by a low embankment with regular rises thought to have once been a wooden defensive 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...
with bastions. Located outside the palisade on a steep bluff overlooking the Cumberland were two small stone mounds, similar to ones found at the Castalian Springs
Castalian Springs Mound Site
The Castalian Springs Mound Site is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located near the small unincorporated community of Castalian Springs in Sumner County, Tennessee. The site was first excavated in the 1890s and again as recently as the 2005 to 2011 archaeological field school led by...
and Sellars Mound
Sellars Indian Mound
Sellars Indian Mound is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located in Wilson County, Tennessee near Lebanon. The mound was the site of a settlement from about 1000 to 1300 CE. Today, the site is a satellite unit of Long Hunter State Park...
sites. In this area several large stone box grave
Stone box grave
Stone box graves were a method of burial employed by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in the American Midwest and Southeast. Their construction was especially common in the Cumberland River Basin around Nashville, Tennessee-Construction:...
s and mortuary caves have also been found.
Excavations
The site was excavated in 1895 by Sam Stone Bush, an amateur archaeologist and friend of William E. Myer. Myer supplied the only description of the site from this period, important now because much of the site has been leveled and farmed extensively since then. As of 2009 no modern excavations have taken place at the site, making it one of the most poorly studied burial centers in the Middle Cumberland Valley.Important finds
Bush's excavations at the site produced stone pipes, stone discoidals used for the game of chunkeyChunkey
Chunkey is a game of Native American origin. It was played by rolling disc shaped stones across the ground and throwing spears at them in an attempt to place the spear as close to the stopped stone as possible...
and numerous examples of Mississippian culture 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...
specific to the Nashville Basin area. This pottery, Matthew Incised var. Matthews, gives a rough chronology for the sites occupation as belonging to the 1300s up to the early 1400's CE. In 1898 a farmer plowing fields on the site discovered five stone statues
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...
and the fragment of the head of another all within a 50 feet (15.2 m) area just 30 feet (9.1 m) from the main platform mound. This area is theorized by archaeologists to have been the location of a large civic or mortuary structure. All of the statues and fragments were later acquired by Myers. Another statue, number 7, was also plowed from the same location at some time prior to 1923, which Myer also subsequently acquired. After his death Myers widow sold four of the statues to the Bureau of American Ethnology
Bureau of American Ethnology
The Bureau of American Ethnology was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior Department to the Smithsonian Institution...
in 1927 and are now part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. This is the largest collection of Mississippian stone statues found in the Middle Tennessee area.
See also
- Mississippian stone statuaryMississippian stone statuaryThe 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...
- List of Mississippian sites
- Southeastern Ceremonial ComplexSoutheastern Ceremonial ComplexThe 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...