Sunday, February 24, 2019

Mound Builders of Georgia (Part 2)


Leake Mounds, Etowah Indian Mounds
Bartow County Georgia
Kolomaki Mounds



Leake Mounds: This is an archaeological site dated to the Middle Woodland period (pre-Columbian cultures dating from 1000 BC to European contact) for the Swift Creek Culture. This Swift Creek culture is spread out among the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.

These mounds are dated from 300 BC to 650 AD and are considered to be the remains of a major population center. Unfortunately, these mounds were raided in the 1940's as road fill material when the state built a new highway. Pottery that is similar to the Hopewell culture (with sites in Ohio) has been found here, along with burials and other artifacts. To put these mounds in historical perspective, this time period would correlate with the reign of the Caesars in Rome.


Etowah Mounds: Date from 1000 to 1550 AD and are a National Historic Landmark from the Mississippian Culture (Creek/Muscoee Nation). There are three main mounds, with the tallest one being designated as the main or Temple mound. This main mound is 63 feet high, as tall as a six-story building, covers approximately three acres and has a giant staircase that has been built leading up to the top for visitors to climb and get a panoramic view of the site. Magnetometer data from the site indicated that there foundations from buildings on top of all the mounds. Copper tools and ornaments, weapons, bright colored cloth fragments, clay figurines including birdman figures, stone statues and burials have been found at the site. There was a meandering moat (now an 8 feet deep depression) around the main mound and canoes have been found at the site so maybe they used them in the moat.



The Creek Indians say the builders of these mounds are their ancestors. You can get into all kinds of conspiracy theories about the skeletons that have been found at these mounds. (All you have to do is watch some You tube videos.) They are said to be 'giants' and a sign at the historical center there even acknowledges that these native peoples were larger than what is considered normal for people of the time, especially compared to European people of the era. 


Odd figures unearthed at the mounds.
Some conspiracy theorists believe giants with double rows of teeth (which prevent the mouth from closing all the way) are depicted in these figurines.
Did giants build the mounds? Did giants exist in North America?
Larger than usual skeletons of humans have been found at the Etowah mounds.



Kolomaki Mounds

These mounds are located in Southwest Georgia, near the Chattahoochee river and near the state border of Georgia and Alabama and have been designated a National Historic Landmark. This mound complex is considered to be in the Woodland Period, built around 350 to 600 AD. It is one of the larger mound complexes in the USA. There are eight visible mounds. Certain mounds have astonomical significance and are specifically aligned with the sun at the spring equinox and the summer solstice, showing us that this culture had vast knowledge of the skies. Copper, iron, and earl artifacts, along with burials have been excavated at the mounds. Of note is that the burials are located along the eastern side and the skulls of the burials face in the eastern direction. This is believed to have religious significance as this is the direction of the rising sun. 



Inside an excavated mound.




Visit this site for a listing of 15 American Indians Sites and Collection sites in Georgia, with links explaining all the sites shown on the following map.





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