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.
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| 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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