Divided into at least four allotment partitions, the Spiro site was . Spiro's bounty is now spread among more than 65 museums across the US, Europe and Asia, and researchers are still discovering additional galleries and people possessing its riches. Elongated Separator Beads. These chiefs were often considered godlike by their people, sometimes referred to as the Sun. The new scheme divides the SECC into five periods, or horizons, each defined by the appearance of new ritual objects and cultural motifs connected with new developments in politics and long-distance trade. Artifacts from the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma. Artifacts from across the country have been found at Spiro Mounds, including copper from the Great Lakes, shell beads from the Gulf of California, and a conch shell from the Gulf of Mexico . "There would have been thousands of people here every day for trade, but also just to be here because this was the elite area. Inside were elaborate special burials and jumbled human bones accompanied by . Twelve mounds lie on approximately 150 acres in which the Spiro lived and worked. This break can be identified by a small shadow in the middle of . Later, steps were taken to protect the site. Containing six mounds, it was the largest known ritual center in the region from AD 1000 to 1550. Nine of the mounds surround a central plaza with a larger mound (Brown Mound) in the center which served a religious/ceremonial purpose. Engraved shell gorget fragment traced by Hamilton (1952: 70, Plate 88d); he identified the iconography as dancers with bows. This long. But around 1250, the rains became less predictable during a period known as the Little Ice Age. in April 1935. The Spiro people did not rely on maize as their primary cultivated crop like the inhabitants of the other ceremonial centers. It is currently The Craig Moundthe second-largest one and the only burial mound at Spirohoused the remains of important leaders along with clothing, fur, baskets, and other items to help ease their . The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacn and the great pyramid at Cholula, both located in Mexico, are the only pyramids larger than Monks Mound. In . They are shown sitting on But visitors to Spiro Mounds can be forgiven if they don't immediately sense the importance of the site, located off a quiet farm road that zig-zags by former cotton fields. eye design is like the marking of the peregrine falcon. Mid-range: From $20 to $40, you can find lower-end digital models and incentive spirometers. Brown Mound, the largest platform mound, is located on the eastern side of the plaza. Evidence indicates that the most common source of food was deer, bear, elk, turkey, and the eastern box turtle. This monograph documents and describes more than 20,000 artifacts from Spiros Craig Mound held at the Smithsonian Institution. Spiro Mound The "Great Mortuary", as archaeologists called this hollow chamber, appears to have begun as a burial structure for Spiro's rulers. Home to rich cultural resources, the Spiro Mounds were created and used by Caddoan speaking Indians between 850 and 1450 AD. [citation needed], Mississippian art also features the cedar tree or striped-center-pole motifs, which researchers have interpreted as the axis mundi, the point at which the three parts of the Mississippian spiritual universe come together: the Upper World, the Under World, and the Middle World where humans dwell. A. "high-status" artifacts per burial from selected spiro phase (ad 1250-1450) sites 10 2.1. craig Mound prior to excavation 14 2.2. north cone of the craig Mound during excavation by the wPa 16 4.1. ceramic attributes and key 28 4.2. ceramic vessel profiles 31 4.3. whole and partial . The Caddoan Mississippian towns had a more irregular layout of earthen mounds and associated villages than did towns in the Middle Mississippian heartland to the east. Director, Ohio State Museum. Thus, the overall geographic area of the Mississippian world was subdivided into stylistic regions. Manuela Beltrn Is a Colombian Hero. this 13 1/8 inch flint lance has a maximum thickness at one The population rapidly diminished, the number of burials increased, and the large defensive walls were demolished. Pauketat, Timothy R. and Thomas E. Emerson (eds.). The protected site included 150 acres of land that encompass twelve mounds, the elite village area and part of the support city. Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to noon1 to 4 p.m. Together it included about 3 million people from more than 60 tribes, speaking 30 different languages. The concept of an axis mundi the point where different cosmic domains converge is found in many cultures around the world. The 80-acre site is located within a floodplain on the southern side of the Arkansas River. An archaeological find unmatched in modern times. It has been depicted with a beaked face on unearthed artifacts from Cahokia to Georgia. Participants drank a tea made from the Yaupon Holly from conch shell cups. Corn, or maize, was the dominant crop, but other plants, whether grown or gathered, such as beans, squash, sump weed, acorns, and sunflowers, played an important role. The dead past has surely buried its dead within the mound." artifact collector J.G. A.T. Wehrle from Lear Howell. photograph is 17 long and the longest mace is 16 3/8 This break can be identified by a small shadow in the Etowah was a large Mississippian center constructed about the same time as Cahokia and Moundville. Between 1933 and 1935, Craig Mound was excavated by a commercial enterprise that had bought the rights from local landowners to excavate and to keep or sell the artifacts they recovered. On top of each mound sat various public and religious structures as well as the chiefly residence. Explore the religious and ceremonial activities, farming and hunting practices and daily life of the Spiro people. D. It was the only burial mound created by the Norman mound builders. The Kansas City Star heralded the discovery of a "'King Tut' Tomb of the Arkansas Valley.". pieces in this cache not included in this collection. They shared horticulture, elaborate ceremonies, mound building, and an iconographic writing system with more than sixty different tribes. The Spiro site includes twelve earthen mounds and 150 acres of land. Like many other cultures in the world, the Mississippians had a ranked society, which included commoners, warriors, ritual elite, and chiefs. While Choctaw and Choctaw Freedmen cleared the mound site for farming late in the 1800s, they did not allow any major disturbance of the site until the Great Depression. SIartifacts Newbie. (Highway 9 is the Oklahoma extension of. The mounds site, located seven miles outside of Spiro, Oklahoma, is the only prehistoric, American Indian archaeological site in Oklahoma open to the public. By 1935, most of the Spiro Mounds had been riddled with pits and tunnels, but the largest known as the "Craig Mound" remained largely intact. A nearly forgotten people who created one of the most highly-developed civilizations in the Americas. What made it unique were the thousands of ceremonial objects found in an earthen Hollow Chambersomething not seen anywhere else in North America. They paid the owner of Spiro's largest mound $300 for temporary rights to dig it up, although the men had no idea what lay inside. included in the Hamilton picture. Engraving of a Birdman found in Spiro Mound. It's one of the finest Viking artifacts ever discovered. The majority of the Spiro artifacts are housed at the Gilcrease Museum, but Special Collections has a few artifacts, and . An archaeological find unmatched in modern times. [15], Most authorities agree that the people of Spiro were Caddoan speaking, but their descendants in historic times are difficult to identify. in the collection of Bobby Onken. Today, touring the scene of this cultural crime, it's hard to envision the powerful nation that ruled here. This period of repopulation is known as the Wilbanks phase (AD 12501375). Repousse male profile in copper with two earspools. "I always heard a little bit about it, but we never really paid attention," said Wesley Cloud, a school track coach who grew up in the nearby town of Spiro, which gives the site its name. Other village sites linked to Spiro through culture and trade have been found up to a 100 miles (160km) away. The site is open Wednesday through Saturday from 9 to 5 and on Sundays from noon to 5. This piece is now at the Ohio Edited by Eric D. Singleton and F. Kent Reilly III. (left) for other items in the cache. Some scholars believe that minerals percolating through the mound hardened the log walls of the chamber, making them resistant to decay and shielding the perishable artifacts inside from direct contact with the earth. More than a decade in the making, this nearly 200-object exhibition with companion publication and educational programming were developed in collaboration with the Caddo Nation, the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, and scholars from over a dozen universities and museums from across the United States. An artifact displayed a the Spiro Mounds exhibit. One of the most important American Indian sites in the nation, the Spiro Mounds are world renowned for the high volume of art and artifacts dug from the Craig Mound, the site's only burial mound. A historian is on site to answer questions and lead tours. The story of the long-forgotten Spiro settlement seems particularly timely. Located in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, Spiro is one of North Americas most important, but little known, ancient cultural and religious centers. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Park submitted by Flickr Woolaroc Spiro Mounds artifacts Spiro mound artifacts on display at Woolaroc Museum, near Bartlesville. Spiro Mound Village pamphlet . The conditions in this hollow space were so favorable that objects made of perishable materials such as basketry, woven fabric of plant and animal fibers, lace, fur, and feathers were preserved inside it. The site is closed for state holidays. The blade was broken in one place and was glued together as shown in the photograph taken April 15, 1935. Archeological studies have revealed that Mississippian culture extended from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, along the Ohio River, and into both the lowland and mountain areas of the Southeast. almond-shaped and are within a forked or weeping eye design. [4], The historic cultures following in the wake of Spiro, such as the Caddo, Pawnee, and Wichita peoples, were less complex and hierarchical.[7]. The compatriots pushed their way through the debris into a Native American mound, amazed by what they saw. de Soto's forces also encountered numerous Caddo villages. Archaeological research has shown that Mississippian settlements such as Cahokia and Spiro took part in a vast trading network that covered the eastern half of what is now the U.S. and parts of what is now the western U.S. as well. Now, many have been reunited in a new museum exhibit. Florida plates Copper Solar Ogee Deity plate found at Lake Jackson Mounds, Florida . Spiro continued to be used as a ceremonial and mortuary center through 1450. Although Much of the Spiro culture is still a mystery, as well as the reasons for the decline and abandonment of the site. The Spiro Mound excavation in Oklahoma uncovered a "tall man in full armor.with a pot of thousands of pearls and other artifacts" (Nexus New Times Vol 2, Number 12). obtained. on Sundays from noon to 5. Brown (1996:153-167) places the date for the Great Mortuary deposit at around AD 1400. . Nearly a century later, the incident remains the worst looting of an archaeological site in US history. To save itself, Spiro's priests made a desperate attempt to "restart the universe". Reilly, F. Kent and James F. Garber (eds.). And while it's painful to see the artefacts outside of tombs where they belong, he's pleased that non-Natives are having a chance to learn about his culture. Together it included about 3 million people from more than 60 . Bell collection at Marion, Ohio, until July 30, 1956, when Earl 1945 The Spiro Mound Collections in the Museum. It was a major Mississippian settlement from 800 to 1450 AD. Today, the Spiro Mounds Archaeological . A group of six local men hoped they could make money by selling Native American artefacts, and formed a company named after the nearby town of Pocola. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Park submitted by Flickr Copper artifact from Spiro Mounds Image copyright: tobeyruth (Ruth Tobey), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. Wehrle. These include Cahokia in Illinois, the largest Mississippian town; Etowah and Ocmulgee in Georgia; and Moundville in Alabama. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center is. in April 1935. During this period, known as the Mississippian period, Spiro leaders were developing political, religious, and economic ties with people from the Gulf of California to the Gulf of Mexico and from the coast of Virginia to the Great Lakes. The Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma, one of the most important places in ancient America and was called the "Tut's Tomb" of the Arkansas Valley. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Located on the banks of the Black Warrior River thirteen miles south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Moundville was established around AD 1000 and rose in prominence to become one of the principal ceremonial centers in the Mississippian world. arrowpoints. Bronze statue marks the spinach capital of the world. This year, 175 pieces were reunited in a travelling exhibition that set attendance records in Oklahoma City, and is drawing new attention to Spiro Mounds, one of the most important and least understood sites in pre-contact North America. Witnesses say the air hissed as it escaped from a burial chamber that had been sealed for 500 years. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. The following articles are featured: An Interpretation of the Place of Spiro in Southeastern Archaeology by James B. Griffin. While reaching firm conclusions about the meanings of works of art made centuries ago by people of an extinct culture is difficult, they have made some compelling interpretations by comparing Mississippian artistic imagery with the myths, religious rituals, art, and iconography of historic Native American groups. The exhibition also showcases contemporary Indigenous art pieces that explore the ideas of origin and connect the art and artistry of the Spiro people to their modern descendants. A nearly forgotten people who created one of the most highly-developed civilizations in the Americas. The mound center declined and was eventually abandoned by AD 1450, although the city . The archaeological site of Spiro is famous for a range of aritfacts including effigy pipes, engraved shell artifacts, embossed copper sheets, bead necklaces, and ear spools that were discovered in the "Great Mortuary" context. In Artifacts from the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma, April Sievert (2011:100) also notes the small tool marks lining the inside of hollow boatstones. Data and artifact outlines were provided by Ohio archaeologist Jonathan "Jeb" Bowen, Ph.D. New Petroglyph Titles . Corn (maize) was the most harvested plant, but others, such as sunflowers, squash, beans, hickory nuts, and acorns were also utilized. Craig Mound has been called "an American King Tut's Tomb". six of the swords from the cache, not any of the examples shown item 1393.1A. These settlements rose to prominence beginning in the 800s during a period of favourable weather patterns that allowed them to create stable, agriculture-based societies, said Dennis Peterson, an archaeologist and manager of the Spiro site. The mound center declined and was eventually abandoned by AD 1450, although the city continued to be occupied for another 150 years. Mississippian culture spread along the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. $170. The weather was warm but slightly overcast and threatening rain. The Strange Tale of SS Warrimoo, the Ship That Existed in Two Centuries at Once, Pirmide de los Nichos (Pyramid of the Niches), http://www.okhistory.org/outreach/museums/spiromounds.html, http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/S/SP012.html, http://www.ou.edu/cas/archsur/counties/leflore.htm, http://www.chickasaw.tv/home/list/spiro-mounds. Spiro's location on the Arkansas River, one of the principal tributaries of the Mississippi River, gave the Spiro traders access to the Mississippian heartland. Human head effigy plate from 1200-1450 AD found at the Spiro site in Oklahoma (Credit: Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection), Many of the pieces are "mind-blowing", said Singleton, the exhibit curator. cover of the Prehistoric American Volume XXXVII Another Spiro icon is the "Great Serpent", a being said to inhabit the Under World, the spiritual domain on the opposite side of the Mississippian universe. . It came from the Spiro Mound or the Great Mound in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. These sacred Mesoamerican ruins feature peculiar petroglyphs hidden in the stones. The center offers interpretive exhibits, an introductory slide program, and a small gift shop. B _____ was the ancient isthmus that connected present-day Alaska to northeastern Russia. The largest Mississippian ceremonial center known today is Cahokia. The New York Times trumpeted the significance of the relics, inaccurately noting that "each item taken from the mound is catalogued and photographed and careful records are being kept.". Wednesday through Saturday from 9 to 5 and. This was one of the most amazing archaeological finds of the 20th century and it made news around the world in 1933. Even so, the men kept digging illegally, and in August 1935 with three months left on their lease, they broke into the burial chamber and proceeded to plunder it. Located just outside St. Louis, Missouri, this city had a population of 10,000 to 20,000 people, contained nearly 200 earthen mounds, and covered five square miles. One believer transformed a local curiosity into proof of Vikings on the Great Plains. The blade was broken in one place and The eyes are It is 268 pages and has 152 black-and-white plates of photographs and drawings of artifacts recovered from Spiro Mound. Archaeologists have identified four distinct styles: the Braden Style characteristic of artifacts brought from Cahokia and the Craig A, B, and C styles that are local derivatives of the Braden Style.[11][12]. Inside lay unimaginable treasure. The longest is 22 long and is Oklahoma's Spiro Mounds is one of America's most important ancient cultural and religious centers. Living near rivers in the Midwest and Southeast, they created highly developed, agriculturally based communities that were mostly fortified and contained large earthen mounds and broad plazas. Darryl Starbird's National Rod and Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum. . Context & History WHEN SPIRO WAS FIRST SETTLED during the Evans Phase (900-1050), Toltec Mounds in central Arkansas was a prominent spiritual center, and early Spiro pottery resembles that found at Toltec Mounds and at Caddo sites along the Red River. The Spiro Mounds are located within the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center complex in Fort Coffee, Oklahoma. The modern town of Spiro developed approximately seven miles to the south. spot of only 3/8 inch. It was item # 103 in the Harry T. Director: Anna Vincent, Geocache location He said museum curators worked closely with Native communities to ensure Spiro's story was properly interpreted. This preserved the mounds until the Great Depression, when a group of diggers who called themselves the Picola Mining Company acquired the site and tore through the ancient structure, destroying the delicate feather capes and baskets that had survived within the mound-cavities for hundreds of years. Craig Mound as it appears today at the site of Spiro in eastern Oklahoma. There may have been a few additional "This is something they can have pride in.". Within this belief system was a unity of ideas that were shared among these geographically dispersed centers, namely that of a trilayered universe with an above, middle, and below world. Spiro continued to be used as a regional ceremonial center and burial ground until about 1450. Hours Blade and mace cache: Part 1. Good condition. Artifacts from the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma Javier Urcid April Sievert J. Daniel Rogers 2011, Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology 49, Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC. Anthropologists have thought that the Caddo and related peoples had been living in the region for centuries and that they had their own local variant of Mississippian culture. Contributions from the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, Vol. Closed Monday and Tuesdays. It is in present-day Georgia and sits on the banks of the Etowah River in Bartow County, just south of Cartersville. This plant-based diet was supplemented with large and small game, such as bison, deer, and rabbit, as well as fish. When the men refused, the scholar convinced the state legislature to pass one of the nation's first antiquities acts to protect archaeological sites in 1935. Although various groups of people camped on or near the Spiro area over the previous 8,000 years, the location did not become a permanent settlement until AD 800 and was used until about AD 1450. Leflore Co, OK. Includes 2 Copper Pieces (1 3/4" and 2 1/4"). It was built in Norway around the year 820, and it was discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tnsberg in 1904. It is a purchased for $15.00 on the spot by Robert E. Bell for his The mounds barely rate a mention in textbooks, he said, while noting that some years, nearly half his students have Native American heritage. middle of the blade, about one-fourth of the way up from the ", "Notice of Inventory Completion: Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. The mounds were arranged around large, constructed flat plazas believed to be used for ceremonial community gathering and ritual games. Prehistoric American Volume XXXVII Number 3, 2003. spiromound-0022- Figure 22: Home to rich cultural resources, the Spiro Mounds were created and used by Caddoan speaking Indians between 850 and 1450 AD. Mar 16, 2022 3 4. Also found inside were several examples of Mississippian stone statuary made from Missouri flint clay and Mill Creek chert bifaces, all thought to have originally come from the Cahokia site in Illinois. Just like Cahokia, Etowah, Moundville, and Spiro, by 1450 the site had been abandoned and replaced by scattered fortified villages. Hundreds of engraved conch shells, thousands of pearl and shell beads, copper breast plates, large human effigy pipes and piles of brightly coloured blankets and robes. These beliefs dictated all ritual activities and are depicted symbolically on various ceramics, stone statues, pipes, engraved shell gorgets, and copper plates, symbols seen throughout the exhibition on nearly every object. In return, it received valuable goods from those other centers. This is the oldest piece of gold jewelry ever . . Since the original Spiro Mound amateur excavations resulted in the scattering of the contents into numerous private collections, the Heye Museum of the American Indian produced this publication to catalog the objects that were . the leaders at Spiro Mounds thrived. Braden is a highly refined artistic style known for its representation of Morning Star and Earthmother as well as its depictions of plants, animals, and humans with references to body painting and tattooing. They also lacked the wooden palisade fortifications often found in the major Middle Mississippian towns. Hamilton (1952) Plate 73, and Hamilton, et. The Spiro Mound center declined and was eventually abandoned by 1450 AD, although the city was continuously occupied for about 150 years. camera bag (See Photograph 12). Among the artifacts found at the Spiro Mounds site in Spiro, Oklahoma was a group of earspools. (Kresges became K Mart.) This new chiefdom was visited by Hernando de Soto in August 1540. . The archeological ruins of the ancient fortified city of the mysterious Teotenanca civilization. This photograph shows the and Robert Phelps of Marion, Ohio, arranged by Henry C. Shetrone, which was exposed to major damage due to the looting of its artifacts. Typically, the history of the Spiro culture is divided into archaeological phases: Residential construction at Spiro decreased dramatically around 1250, and the people resettled in nearby villages, such as the Choates-Holt Site to the north. While Cahokia declined, however, Spiro's importance was increasing greatly, thanks to its strategic location on the Arkansas River with easy access to both the Plains and the Woodlands. of Prehistoric Art - Volume 1. 1935. The town was the headquarters of a regional chiefdom, whose powerful leaders directed the building of eleven platform mounds and one burial mound in an 80-acre (0.32km2) area on the south bank of the Arkansas River. All rights reserved. The singular ruins of a mysterious lost city. feather but that it is intended to show a sheet copper plume hair The story behind the artefacts is just as compelling. Running horizontally along the inner walls, the lines indicate that the hollow inside was perhaps carefully scraped away. Visitors to Spiro Mounds might not immediately sense the importance of the site (Credit: Larry Bleiberg). The mounds are one of the most important American Indian sites in the nation. There were Tunneling into the mound and breaking through the Great Mortuary's log wall, they found many human burials, together with their associated grave goods. This profile was part of a cache that included They were dug out of mound #72 at Cahokia mounds in Illinois. "The most distinctive feature of the site (Spiro Mound) was the saddle-shaped mound known as The Spiro Mound or the Great Temple Mound, (It has been renamed the Craig Mound---)." It was divided into different occupation phases beginning with the Evans Phase (AD 950 1100), Harlan phase (AD 1100 1250), Norman Phase (AD 1250 1350), and concluding with the Spiro Phase (AD 1350 1450). Number 3, 2003. spiromound-0008- Figure 8: 3000 At that time, the assemblage . Based upon these historic records, the game consisted of players rolling a stone disk for a considerable distance and then hurling spears as close as they could to the point where the stone stopped. "You compare it to art from any culture at any time in the past, and you have to admit it's a masterwork.". over the head. Similar beings were the subject of myth in historic times among the Micmac, Huron, Kickapoo, Cherokee, Muscogee Creek, Caddo, and other Native American tribes, appearing in tribes of at least three major language families.