Ancient Moundbuilders of Arkansas

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While the Europeans were experiencing the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Native Americans who lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries were developing their own unique culture. These prehistoric Native Americans, who are called Mississippian Indians by archaeologists, lived in permanent towns which were built in a fairly standard pattern. Ceremonial buildings on large four sided flat-topped mounds faced a plaza. The villagers gathered in the plaza for important events, ceremonies, and to watch various games such as stickball and chunkey. There were literally hundreds of these mound sites located in Arkansas as well as the entire Lower Mississippi Valley.

Today, most of these sites are found on private land. However, some have been made into state parks or other public sites. Click here to see a map showing some of the archeological sites in the area that are open to the public.

parkin

Many questions still remain about these ancient monuments. One thing archeologists do know is that earthen mounds were built over a period of years. Perhaps they began as a slight rise with an important building on it. After a time, the building burned. Maybe the people set it on fire because it had become infested with vermin or perhaps the grass roof caught fire accidently. Whatever the cause of the fire, the people brought basketful after basketful of dirt to make a mound. When they were satisfied, they built a new building on top. Archeologists do not know what purpose these buildings fulfilled. The most widely accepted ideas are that these buildings were either religious structures, or the homes of chiefs or other important families.

In the early 1990s as part of a collaboration effort, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, the National Park Service, The Arkansas Archeological Survey, the University of Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas Department Of Parks And Tourism collected and organized information about two such sites in Arkansas:

The Toltec Mounds site is one of the most notable sites in Arkansas. The large group of ancient earthworks at Toltec has attracted national interest for over 100 years and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. It is one of the largest and most complex sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley.

The Parkin Mound site is another important archeological site in Arkansas. Many scholars believe it is the Native American village of Casqui, visited by the expedition of Hernando de Soto in the summer of 1541. It was the site of a 17-acre Native American village from A.D. 1300 to 1550 and has also been designated a National Historic Landmark. A large ceremonial mound along the bank of the river still remains today.

Photos on these pages were provided by the Arkansas Archeological Survey and the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism. The image of the sitting Native American Indian was reproduced from Henry Clyde Shetrone's book The Mound-Builders, copyright 1930.