Location: 1207 Emery Hgw Macon, GA Map
Area: 702 acres (2.8 km²)
Inhabited: 17,000 years ago
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (until
2019 Ocmulgee National Monument) is an archaeological site and
memorial-type National Historical Park on the outskirts of Macon,
Georgia, United States. It preserves earthworks of a pre-European
culture from the period 950 to 1150, which is attributed to the
Mississippian culture. In addition, isolated, much earlier finds
from the Paleo-Indian and Archaic periods have been made in the
area. The site was later inhabited by the Muskogee or Creek Indians
in the 1700's and by British Indian traders who built a stockaded
trading post in what is now the sanctuary.
The area was
excavated between 1933 and 1942 as part of the New Deal by several
hundred workers under the direction of the Works Progress
Administration and the so-called Earth Lodge was reconstructed
according to the assumptions of the time. The area was designated a
National Monument by the United States Congress in late 1936 and has
been under the care of the National Park Service ever since. On
October 15, 1966, it was listed as a Historic District on the
National Register of Historic Places. On March 12, 2019, it was
redesignated as a National Historical Park and its size increased by
approximately 8.5 km².
The area is located on the eastern outskirts of Macon on the
eponymous Ocmulgee River in Bibb County. Little Walnut Creek flows
through the sanctuary and empties into the Ocmulgee River at its
boundary. On a high plateau called Macon Ridge a few meters above the
river, at least eight artificial mounds and earth structures called
mounds have been found, which were created by prehistoric Indians of the
Macon Plateau phase between 950 and 1150. The culture is attributed to
the early Mississippi culture. This makes Ocmulgee one of the most
extensive known sites of the Mississippi culture, which is spread
throughout the eastern United States.
Prehistory
The area was
inhabited by humans even before the Macon Plateau phase. Already
Paleo-Indians over 10,000 years ago and later the hunters of the Archaic
Period between 6000 and 1000 BC. They hunted down the Ocmulgee River and
left their distinctive spearheads and other stone tools in what is now
the sanctuary. No structures from the subsequent Woodland Period have
been found in the area, but mounds in the form of burial mounds from
that period have been identified in the vicinity.
The mounds of the local Macon Plateau phase were ceremonial
structures, the largest being almost square with a side length of 91 m,
and about 15 m high. They are attributed to the Temple-Mound type and it
is assumed that there was a hut on each of the platforms on the hills,
in which ritual actions took place. The mounds probably did not belong
to a coordinated structure, but were built one after the other while
older ones were already decaying. The distance of several hundred meters
between the mounds also speaks against belonging.
Despite being
classified in the later Temple Mound type, at least two, possibly more,
mounds were used as burial mounds as in previous periods. The dead were
buried partly as a cremation, partly stretched out or in a crouched
position, partly as a secondary burial in the form of bundles of bones.
The latter happened after the corpse had first been kept wrapped in
animal skins until the time came for burial, due to inopportune season
or other reasons. Some of the graves were furnished with extensive grave
goods, including jewelry and objects with ceremonial purposes.
The most famous object in the Ocmulgee National Historical Park is the
so-called Earth Lodge, a reconstructed round hut with an inner diameter
of 13 m, which is completely covered by a mound of earth except for a
long, narrow entrance. It was found during excavations in the 1930s and
prompted the site to be placed under protection.
What was found
was the tamped clay floor, from which rose an approximately 25 cm high
platform in the shape of a stylized bird, facing the entrance. In
addition, the post holes of the roof construction could be identified
and the start of construction dated to 1015. More clay and clods of
earth matching sods suggested that the hut was covered with a mound of
earth. So it was reconstructed until 1941. In the following decades, it
was found that in the humid climate of central Georgia, the earthen roof
became so heavy that the wooden structure could not support it. The
supports were then supplemented with concrete beams. In addition, a
climate develops inside that favors fungi that attack the wooden struts
and pollute the air we breathe. The National Park Service installed air
conditioning in the reconstructed hut. Since the 1990s there has been
debate as to whether the assumption of an earth-covered hut was
incorrect and what the Earth Lodge might have looked like.
Other
round huts, which were also assumed to be covered with earth, stood in
other parts of the site, but they are only rudimentary.
The inhabitants lived mainly from agriculture. In addition to their
mounds, a 16 × 18 m mound of multiple rib structures has been excavated
on which the rural population grew corn, squash squash, and beans, the
Three Sisters of Native American cultures. They also grew tobacco and
cotton on a smaller scale. There was also hunting, some fishing and
collecting seeds and fruits of wild plants. They used stone tools,
including distinctive arrowheads and spearheads, and had a variety of
pottery. The pottery differed markedly from the preceding Woodland
period types. It was undecorated, had real handles for the first time in
the region and crushed mussel shells were used for the first time to
equalize the temperature during firing. Other artefacts included bone
needles, trinkets in the form of ceramic pendants, and some copper and
seashell trinkets.
Whether the builders and residents of Ocmulgee
were immigrants from the northern Tennessee Valley who brought the
beginnings of the Mississippi culture to present-day Georgia, or the
culture of the Ocmulgee residents derived from the area's earlier Late
Woodland Period, adopting elements such as the Temple Mounds from the
north, is the subject of scholarly debate.
Later users
To the
south of the National National Historical Park is the Lamar site, where
two more mounds have been excavated. They were only built around 1350 by
a somewhat later culture. One of the mounds is the only one known to
have a spiral ramp onto the platform.
Around 1700 the Muskogee
Indians become tangible in the area. They lived permanently on the
Ocmulgee and developed one of their largest villages there around a
trading post built in 1690 by British colonists.
With over 100,000 visitors a year, the National Historical Park is one of the most visited tourist destinations in central Georgia. Visitors can access the area up a dead-end road from Macon and see an exhibit and short film at the visitor center on Ocmulgee's prehistoric cultures, as well as the Muskogee Indians in historic times. Near the visitor center is the reconstructed Earth Lodge, which can be visited. The minor road and several trails lead further into the grounds, with easy access to the south mounds and wetlands at Walnut Creek along the trails or from several parking lots.