Pinson Mounds State Park
Encyclopedia
The Pinson Mounds comprise a prehistoric Native American
complex located in Madison County, Tennessee. The complex, which includes 17 mound
s, an earthen geometric enclosure
, and numerous habitation areas, was most likely built during the Middle Woodland period
(c. 1-500 A.D.). The complex is the largest group of Middle Woodland mounds in the United States. Sauls' Mound, at 72 feet, is the second-highest surviving mound in the United States.
The Pinson Mounds are now part of Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park, one of two archaeological
parks in Tennessee (the other being Old Stone Fort
near Manchester
). Pinson Mounds is a National Historic Landmark
and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
s that line the banks of the South Fork of the Forked Deer River
. The river and its wetlands form the complex's southern boundary. The Pinson Mounds are located amidst three distinctive biotic zones: the oak
forests atop the plateau, the cypress
forests in the wet bottomlands, and the beech
forests on the slopes between the uplands and the bottomlands. The ground is mostly composed of Tertiary period rocks known for producing high-quality clay.
The mounds complex can be roughly divided into three sections— the Inner section, situated at the center of the complex around Saul's Mound, the Western (or Ozier) section, and the Eastern section, which includes the geometric enclosure. A stream known as Hudson Branch runs perpendicular to the Forked Deer River and divides the Inner section from the Western section. The Eastern and Western sections are both roughly 1,500 meters from the Inner section. (click for map)
The Pinson Mounds complex is managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
. The Western section is managed by the Tennessee Division of Forestry and includes a nursery and irrigation pond. Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park is located appx. 2.5 miles east of the town of Pinson
and approximately 10 miles southeast of Jackson
.
and the predominance of Woodland-period artifacts found at the site. The following are major features at the Pinson Mounds site:
ceded much of West Tennessee in 1818, land speculator Joel Pinson arrived in what is now Madison County to survey the area. Pinson "discovered" the complex which was named after him in 1820. The complex did not receive much attention until a Jackson
-area journalist
named J.G. Cisco began writing about it in the late 19th century. Cisco's articles drew the interest of the Smithsonian Institution
.
In 1916 the Smithsonian dispatched the archaeologist William E. Myer to investigate the site. Myer suggested that the entire complex was built according to a master plan, and created a map for the site. In 1947, the Tennessee Division of Forestry purchased the Western section of the Pinson site.
, in December 1961 the University of Tennessee
archaeologists Fred Fisher and Charles McNutt carried out the first major excavation of the Pinson Mounds. In the Mound 14 Sector, Fisher and McNutt discovered the remains of a 21 by 18 ft (6.4 by 5.5 m) house surrounded by a posthole-lined wall-trench and containing a central hearth and storage pit. Based primarily on the vast amount of pre-Mississippian culture
debris found at the site and radiocarbon dating
of charcoal
, Fisher and McNutt concluded that the Pinson Mounds were probably built during the Middle Woodland period, c. 1-500 AD.
Excavations by Dan Morse
and Richard Polhemus in 1963 uncovered what they believed was an oval-shaped house, a large hearth, and various refuse pits. Morse and Polhemus agreed that the mounds were mostly built during the Middle Woodland period. The state purchased the prehistoric property in 1965 from the Williams and Saul families. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
that same year.
In the 1970s, John Broster of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology
carried out extensive investigations of the site's Western section and the Mound 12 Sector. Broster uncovered a human cremation
pit and evidence of Early Woodland-period habitation at Mound 12. Broster's team also found a number of "exotic" artifact
s at the Cochran area. This suggested Pinson Mounds may have been a "manufacture" area for grave goods, or a regional trade center.
In the 1980s, Robert Mainfort discovered six tombs in the Twin Mounds, one of which contained the remains of eight young women wearing headdresses with copper
adornments. Another tomb had four older men, one of whom had been buried with two round rattles bearing abstract designs. Mainfort also uncovered a single burial in Mound 31 and evidence of food offerings at the base of the mounds.
Excavations carried out prior to construction of park facilities uncovered a possible habitation area at Mound 11 and a large number of 19th-century artifacts. In the late 1990s, four additional mounds were verified as prehistoric, bringing the total to 17.
Some evidence suggests that the layout of the Pinson Mounds might be due to astronomical alignment, and expresses the people's cosmology
, as is the case at some later mound complexes, such as Cahokia
. The corners of Sauls' Mound, for instance, face the four cardinal directions. The Eastern and Western sections of the complex are roughly equidistant (appx. 1,500 meters) from the Inner complex, although the alignment is not exact. Mound 29 in the Eastern section is aligned with Sauls' Mound in the direction of the equinox
sunrise, and Mound 28 is almost aligned with Sauls' in the direction of the Summer solstice
sunrise. To date, no mound has been found in the direction of the Winter solstice sunrise.
The park contains approximately 6 miles of walking trails, most of which explore the mounds and associated features. South of Sauls' Mound, a boardwalk looks out over the South Fork of the Forked Deer River and its wetlands. The park is also the site of Archaeofest, an event held every September that celebrates the site's prehistoric builders.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
complex located in Madison County, Tennessee. The complex, which includes 17 mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s, an earthen geometric enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
, and numerous habitation areas, was most likely built during the Middle 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...
(c. 1-500 A.D.). The complex is the largest group of Middle Woodland mounds in the United States. Sauls' Mound, at 72 feet, is the second-highest surviving mound in the United States.
The Pinson Mounds are now part of Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park, one of two archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
parks in Tennessee (the other being Old Stone Fort
Old Stone Fort (Tennessee)
The Old Stone Fort is a prehistoric Native American structure located in Coffee County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The structure was most likely built between 80 and 550 AD during the Middle Woodland period....
near Manchester
Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,102 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County...
). Pinson Mounds is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Geographic setting
The Pinson Mounds are located on a plateau-like upland above the wetlandWetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s that line the banks of the South Fork of the Forked Deer River
Forked Deer River
The Forked Deer River system is the main drainage of the central portion of West Tennessee. Locals pronounce the first word of the river's name with two syllables, .The Forked Deer consists of various streams designated "Forked Deer" and their tributaries...
. The river and its wetlands form the complex's southern boundary. The Pinson Mounds are located amidst three distinctive biotic zones: the oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
forests atop the plateau, the cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
forests in the wet bottomlands, and the beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
forests on the slopes between the uplands and the bottomlands. The ground is mostly composed of Tertiary period rocks known for producing high-quality clay.
The mounds complex can be roughly divided into three sections— the Inner section, situated at the center of the complex around Saul's Mound, the Western (or Ozier) section, and the Eastern section, which includes the geometric enclosure. A stream known as Hudson Branch runs perpendicular to the Forked Deer River and divides the Inner section from the Western section. The Eastern and Western sections are both roughly 1,500 meters from the Inner section. (click for map)
The Pinson Mounds complex is managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is a Cabinet-level agency within the government of the U.S. state of Tennessee, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Environment and Conservation....
. The Western section is managed by the Tennessee Division of Forestry and includes a nursery and irrigation pond. Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park is located appx. 2.5 miles east of the town of Pinson
Pinson, Tennessee
Pinson is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 45 between Jackson and Henderson, just north of the Chester County line. It is included in the Jackson, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and approximately 10 miles southeast of Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
.
Archaeological features
The Pinson Mounds complex covers approximately 400 acres (1.6 km²) and contains at least 30 mounds, 17 of which have been identified as being completely or partially constructed by prehistoric peoples. The mounds range in height from the prominent 72-foot Saul's Mound to barely noticeable rises. Most mounds were probably constructed between 100 and 300 AD, based on radiocarbon datingRadiocarbon 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" ,...
and the predominance of Woodland-period artifacts found at the site. The following are major features at the Pinson Mounds site:
Inner Complex
- Sauls' Mound (Mound 9), at the center of the complex. The mound was named after John Sauls, the owner of the property before its purchase by the state. Sauls' Mound is the second-highest prehistoric mound in the United States. The mound is rectangular in formation, with each corner aligned with one of the four cardinal directions. The mound's function was believed to be ceremonial. A viewing platform has been constructed atop the mound for park visitors. Dimensions: base— 112 x 91 meters, height— 22 meters.
- Mound 10, a few meters to the east of Sauls' Mound. Mound 10 is believed to have been a platform moundPlatform moundA 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...
with a ceremonial function. Dimensions: base— 61 x 40 meters, height— 1.3 meters.
- Mound 11 Sector, a few meters to the north of Sauls' Mound, behind the museum. Mound 11 is a natural rise that is believed to have been a habitation area during the Middle Woodland period.
- Mound 12, several meters southwest of Sauls' Mound. Mound 12 was a burialBurialBurial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
mound built upon an Early Woodland habitation area. Dimensions: base— 23 x 17 meters, height— 1.3 meters.
- Mound 14 Sector, several meters southwest of Sauls' Mound. The Mound 14 Sector was a late-Woodland/early-MississippianMississippian 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....
habitation area.
- Mound 15, several hundred meters southwest of Sauls' Mound. Part of Mound 15 has been destroyed by cultivation. Dimensions: base— 46 x 50 meters, height— appx. 1 meter.
- Mound 17, several hundred meters southeast of Sauls' Mound. Dimensions: appx. 12 meters long with a height of 1 meter.
Eastern Section
- The Eastern Citadel, an earthen geometric enclosure located approximately 1500 metres (4,921.3 ft) east of Sauls' Mound. William Myer gave the enclosure its present name in the early 20th century, although archeologists believe its function to have been primarily ceremonial rather than defensive. The walls form a near-perfect semicircle with a diameter of 366 metres (1,200.8 ft), enclosing approximately 6 square kilometres (1,482.6 acre). The height of the walls is, on average, approximately 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). The enclosed area is not level, with the western edge being approximately 12 metres (39.4 ft) lower than the eastern edge.
- Mound 29, a rectangular platform mound located along the eastern edge of the geometric enclosure. Mound 29 is aligned with Sauls' Mound in the direction of the equinoxEquinoxAn equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
sunrise. Dimensions: base— 49 by 52 m (160.8 by 170.6 ft), height— 3.5 metre (0.0035 t).
- Mound 30, a bird-shaped mound a few meters south of Mound 29. The bird shape is thought to have been due to recent cultivation and subsequent erosion. Dimensions: approximately 24 metres (78.7 ft) long with a height 1 metres (3.3 ft).
- Mound 28, a rectangular platform mound located approximately 1500 metres (4,921.3 ft) northeast of Sauls' Mound and several hundred meters north of the Eastern Citadel. Mound 28 is almost aligned with Sauls' Mound in the direction of the summer solstice sunrise. Dimensions: base— 62 by 65 m (203.4 by 213.3 ft), height— 4 metres (13.1 ft).
Western (Ozier) Section
- The Ozier Mound (Mound 5), a rectangular platform mound with an earthen ramp facing northeast. At 33 feet, the Ozier Mound is the second-largest mound in the complex. Dimensions: approximately 80 metres (262.5 ft) in diameter, height of 10 metres (32.8 ft).
- The Twin Mounds (Mound 6), a double-conical mound located a few meters south of the Ozier Mound. The Twin Mounds were burial mounds. Base approximately 30 by 50 m (98.4 by 164 ft).
- Mound 31, a burial mound located a few meters south of the Ozier Mound. Base appx. 40 x 60 meters.
- The Cochran Area, a site located approximately 200 metres (656.2 ft) west of the Ozier Mound section. The Cochran Area is believed to have been a temporary habitation area. The Cochran area covers appx. 5000 square metres (1.2 acre).
Pinson Mounds in recorded history
After the ChickasawChickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
ceded much of West Tennessee in 1818, land speculator Joel Pinson arrived in what is now Madison County to survey the area. Pinson "discovered" the complex which was named after him in 1820. The complex did not receive much attention until a Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
-area journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
named J.G. Cisco began writing about it in the late 19th century. Cisco's articles drew the interest 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...
.
In 1916 the Smithsonian dispatched the archaeologist William E. Myer to investigate the site. Myer suggested that the entire complex was built according to a master plan, and created a map for the site. In 1947, the Tennessee Division of Forestry purchased the Western section of the Pinson site.
Archaeological surveys and excavations
At the request of the Jackson Archaeological Society and the National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, in December 1961 the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
archaeologists Fred Fisher and Charles McNutt carried out the first major excavation of the Pinson Mounds. In the Mound 14 Sector, Fisher and McNutt discovered the remains of a 21 by 18 ft (6.4 by 5.5 m) house surrounded by a posthole-lined wall-trench and containing a central hearth and storage pit. Based primarily on the vast amount of pre-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....
debris found at the site and radiocarbon 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" ,...
of charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
, Fisher and McNutt concluded that the Pinson Mounds were probably built during the Middle Woodland period, c. 1-500 AD.
Excavations by Dan Morse
Dan Morse
Dan Franklin Morse is an archaeologist specializing in the prehistory of the midwestern United States and the central Mississippi Valley, research summarized in a number of books, monographs, and technical articles. He is best known for his 1983 synthesis of the "Archaeology of the Central...
and Richard Polhemus in 1963 uncovered what they believed was an oval-shaped house, a large hearth, and various refuse pits. Morse and Polhemus agreed that the mounds were mostly built during the Middle Woodland period. The state purchased the prehistoric property in 1965 from the Williams and Saul families. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
that same year.
In the 1970s, John Broster of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology
Tennessee Division of Archaeology
The Tennessee Division of Archaeology is a division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation responsible for managing prehistoric archaeological sites on lands owned by the U.S...
carried out extensive investigations of the site's Western section and the Mound 12 Sector. Broster uncovered a human cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
pit and evidence of Early Woodland-period habitation at Mound 12. Broster's team also found a number of "exotic" artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s at the Cochran area. This suggested Pinson Mounds may have been a "manufacture" area for grave goods, or a regional trade center.
In the 1980s, Robert Mainfort discovered six tombs in the Twin Mounds, one of which contained the remains of eight young women wearing headdresses with copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
adornments. Another tomb had four older men, one of whom had been buried with two round rattles bearing abstract designs. Mainfort also uncovered a single burial in Mound 31 and evidence of food offerings at the base of the mounds.
Excavations carried out prior to construction of park facilities uncovered a possible habitation area at Mound 11 and a large number of 19th-century artifacts. In the late 1990s, four additional mounds were verified as prehistoric, bringing the total to 17.
The function of the Pinson Mounds
The Middle Woodland natives most likely built the Pinson Mounds primarily for religious ceremonial purposes, although their motives have yet to be established definitively. At least three of the mounds— 6, 12, and 31— contain burials or cremations. Excavations have turned up a relatively scant amount of cultural material (e.g., arrowheads and pottery fragments), which points to a lack of permanent habitation at the Pinson Mounds site.Some evidence suggests that the layout of the Pinson Mounds might be due to astronomical alignment, and expresses the people's cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, as is the case at some later mound complexes, such as Cahokia
Cahokia
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...
. The corners of Sauls' Mound, for instance, face the four cardinal directions. The Eastern and Western sections of the complex are roughly equidistant (appx. 1,500 meters) from the Inner complex, although the alignment is not exact. Mound 29 in the Eastern section is aligned with Sauls' Mound in the direction of the equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
sunrise, and Mound 28 is almost aligned with Sauls' in the direction of the Summer solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
sunrise. To date, no mound has been found in the direction of the Winter solstice sunrise.
Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park
The park's museum is built within a "replica" of a platform mound. Its exhibits include artifacts obtained from the various excavations at the Pinson site, as well as various other artifacts from around the region. The museum is also home to the West Tennessee Regional Archaeology offices and an archaeological library.The park contains approximately 6 miles of walking trails, most of which explore the mounds and associated features. South of Sauls' Mound, a boardwalk looks out over the South Fork of the Forked Deer River and its wetlands. The park is also the site of Archaeofest, an event held every September that celebrates the site's prehistoric builders.
In popular culture
- A novel by R. S. Pierpoint entitled After the Mardi Gras tells the tale of a PortuguesePortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
sailor who wanders to the Indian mounds at Pinson hundreds of years ago, marries the chief's granddaughter and founds a line of Melungeons.
See also
- Old Stone FortOld Stone Fort (Tennessee)The Old Stone Fort is a prehistoric Native American structure located in Coffee County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The structure was most likely built between 80 and 550 AD during the Middle Woodland period....
- Hopewell cultureHopewell cultureThe Hopewell tradition is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BCE to 500 CE. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related...
- List of burial mounds in the United States
External links
- Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park — official site
- Pinson Mounds - TN History for Kids