Town Creek Indian Mound Analysis

“In the 1960s, for the folks in and around Ellsworth, [Indiana,] living life decades behind the time was just the way it was. Manpower over technology. The comfort of tradition over the anxiety of change,” stated Jason Recker, a journalist for The Herald. Patoka Reservoir, an economic center for recreation and flood control, encompasses 8,800 acres of land. Before its construction, a thriving community inhabited the fertile terrain along the Patoka River. Towns of this former neighborhood included Elon, Newton-Stewart, and Ellsworth. (Recker 1) Families lived their everyday lives as farmers, with an occasional visit from a local peddler. One day, though, a new kind of visit altered their peaceful ways. A government-sent official arrived

“Custer’s luck! The biggest Indian village on the continent!” Supposedly, these were the last words recorded to have been uttered by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer before the infamous battle that would claim his life and the lives of hundreds of soldiers (Dippie 2). Nearly a century and a half later, this conflict is immersed in just as much controversy as it was the day it occurred. The Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand is perhaps more famous due to the difficulty of differentiating the myths versus the facts, rather than its actual historical significance in the 19th century. The different interpretations via historians, archaeologists, and Native Americans have contributed to the positive and negative versions of the battle that exist today. However, by understanding the basics, conflict, and research that surrounds the Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand, one can form their own opinion and better interpret the ways in which it is portrayed in media and throughout time by interested persons and descendent communities.

The Cahokia Indians were settled near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri close to the Mississippi River. Some archaeologist believe that the Cahokia once had 20,000 Natives and over 100 mounds in their village. The reason they believe in these outstanding growth in people was the land around them. Situated with land with great

Families were divided into clans which met that most clans were found in almost all of the Towns. To keep the Creek Confederacy each man married would move form the household of his mother to that of his wife's mother. Marriage within a clan was viewed as incest and was not allowed. As Gale encyclopedia of Native American Tribes put it "Creek towns were city-state that chose to belong to the confederacy for protection against common enemies." Sometimes enemies were in the clans and crimes were commitment in the town. The social control rested primarily with the clan whose discipline began with childhood. Unsocial behavior was punishable in most cases by the clan rather than by the government. Punishment was often more practical the vengeful. To make things as peaceful as one clan could religion was a central means of life. The Creeks believed in an Esaugeta Emissee which was some kind of spirit who watched over the Creeks. Surrounding Esaugeta Emisse there was lesser spirits. In each Town had a priest were he primarily responsible for obtaining supernatural cooperation in things like war and guarding holy objects that the Town owned.

Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur Oklahoma is a place where many families go to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. What many may not know is that the waters in this area were a treasured resource even before statehood. Native Americans were the first to speak of the wonderous health benefits of the water and after the arrival of the white man the preservation of this area would become an issue not only for the Native Americans who discovered it but also for the settlers who viewed it as an opportunity to become rich. Acquisition of this land would lead to the founding of Oklahoma’s first and last National Park. Originally named Platt National Park, the birth of this area has given way to years of enjoyment for its patrons, and it has carried in its waters a rich history of Native Americans, the federal government, and a rowdy group of enterprising settlers.

Located in the heart of the Flint Hills, Pioneer Bluffs, a classic farmstead north of Matfield Green with a natural beauty and repository of Kansas farming and ranching heritage, is now a respected arts and education center. It is also a National Register Historic District with a classic early 20th century farm house, barns, and old limestone fence. Visitors can engage nature, art, and history through Prairie Talk discussions, The Gallery at Pioneer Bluffs contemporary art exhibit, and Maud’s Garden which grows local foods. In addition, the venue hosts the Fall Festival and other community events. In doing so, Pioneer Bluffs carries on the Rogler legacy of respecting the land, preserving history, and engaging community.

When you hear of an Advanced Ancient civilization in North America, you usually think of either Mayans, Aztecs, or sometimes the Olmec. But in this paper I won’t be talking about any of those civilizations, we’ll be talking about the Native Americans that lived in the Mississippi Valley, by the Mississippi River. That have their capital not 6 miles outside of St.Louis.

The historical site I selected as the subject of my study was Stones River National Battlefield. This paper concerns my experience researching the site, in addition to my experience visiting the site. First, I will explain my reason for choosing the site. Second, I will discuss preparation for my visit. Third, I will give a description of the site. Fourth, I will explain what makes the site historic. Fifth, and finally, I will discuss my impressions of the site.

Pine Ridge, South Dakota is a reservation town put in place after the Sioux tribe was forced onto reservations as a way for the U.S. government to control the Native American populations across the country, which accompanied a systematic genocide of the Native Americans (Hedges, 10). The marginalization of the Sioux Nation among other Native American tribes can be seen in the taking of the Black Hills in the nineteenth

The largest mound discovered in North America is Monks Mound in Cahokia, located outside of present day St. Louis and covers more than eighteen acres and is over one hundred feet tall (3). Made with locally quarried soils and built in stages over the course of a century or more, these mounds served as platforms for building, stages for religious and social activities and some were even used as cemeteries (1). It is believed that natives often occupied pre-existing settlements where the previous chiefdom had died out and the site had been abandoned; the reoccupying of these sites lead to the buildup of the earth mounds. Mounds were formed in the shape similar to a pyramid with the top cut off leaving a platform on the summit. Mounds were used to define the public space of the settlements plaza. The chief’s house was always on the largest mound in the settlement. If the mound was large enough a temple could be added or even a mortuary house so natives could prepare their dead. If the chief’s mound was not big enough then the temple mound would be adjacent to the chief’s mound in the plaza so that they would face each other (2).

Cahokia, named by archaeologists, is the largest Mississippian settlement across the United States; it is located just south of the Lawrenz Gun Club Site (Fig. 7). When Cahokia was an active and thriving city, it was believed that Cahokia spanned 16 Km2 and encompassed over 120 man made mounds that all served different functionalities (CahokiaMounds 2015). According to anthropologist Timothy Pauketat (2009), “Cahokia is an ancient city along the Mississippi River, located opposite of modern-day St. Louis, Missouri and was as large in its prime as New York and Philadelphia before the mid-1700s, a home to ten-thousand indigenous peoples.” The land was dominated by the presence of human-constructed mounds, which some archaeologists have speculated

A Mississippian native American society located on the Etowah River south of Bartow County. Settled in the year c. 1000 to late the 16th century. Their land spanned for 54 acres, on the land the citizens built elaborate structures and artifacts. The most notable are the Etowah earthen mounds that have a width up to 200 sq ft and a height of more than 60 sq ft. This society was very well established which is shown through their organized hierarchies in as well as trading routes with other tribes. As Europeans came in contact with the Etowah their demise began. Like many other tribes they suffered violence and disease, which decimated their populations. Survivors had to create new political networks and reorganize themselves. All in all, this

The following report details the archaeological fieldwork conducted by New South Associates, Inc. for proposed widening and improvements along U.S. 158 in Forsyth and Guilford counties, North Carolina. The purpose of the survey was to identify and evaluate archaeological sites for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), within the proposed project area of potential effects (APE). This project was conducted for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) (TIP R-2577ABC, State Project No. 37405). This is a state-funded project covered under a United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) individual permit. As such, the USACE serves as the lead federal agency and the work complies with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), as amended.

Most of the pioneer settlers were attracted to settle in the area by the climate and the bounty of Sarasota Bay. Archaeological excavations and exterminations of archaic data place the Historic Spanish Point’s Hill Cottage Midden in the archaic formative period (Walter, 2010). Midden refers to a dump for domestic waste. Archaeologists worldwide describe all kinds of features containing waste products relating to day-to-day human life as middens.

In addition, Prentiss’ et al., (2007:299) research was designed to address the following issues. (1) What are the cultural changes at Keatley Creek site? (2) Is there evidence of inequality at the Keatley Creek site? If so, (3) How did institutionalized inequality emerge and what caused this? (4) What are the demographic and economic relations at the site? (5) When did large scale occupation at the Keatley Creek site begin? (6) When did the village emerge (Prentiss et al.,