The Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma was a major outpost of a large and sophisticated culture that vanished for reasons not fully understood. Smaller items were sold to curiosity seekers for a nickel or dime; more elaborate items made of stone, copper and shell went to collectors in the United States and overseas. /CA 1.0 Home As we sat in the grass and watched the sun creep downward on the shortest day of the year in what seemed the longest year ever, archaeologist and Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center director Dennis Peterson set the scene for us. March 25, 2021 Exploring the Spiro Mounds in Eastern Oklahoma proves a haunting trip into Indigenous history. 7) One day soon, however, those unearthed remains and ancestral items may return to the mounds to be reburied. Make your next vacation over the top with a stay in Oklahomas treehouse cabins. /AIS false Each Mississippian center produced its own distinctive art, which in many instances was exchanged with other centers. The Louvre, the British Museum in London, and the National Museum in Germany all have pieces that came from the Spiro Mounds, as do Russia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Israel. Students will take notes as they watch an interview with a Spiro Mounds archaeologistand read about pre-contact cultures before completing a Two-Minute Paper to summarize what they'velearned. All rights reserved. The Spiro Mounds site is composed of 12 mounds, and was likely the ancient home of several thousand inhabitants. Containing twelve mounds and a population of several thousand, it was physically unremarkable when compared to many other North American Mississippian sites. Historical parallels suggest that Moundville was originally built as a sociograman architectural depiction of a social order based on ranked clans. Comprising nearly thirty mounds, Moundville can be divided into five separate phases, each defined by a distinct ceramic style: West Jefferson (AD 10201120), Moundville I (AD 11201260), Moundville II (AD 12601400), Moundville III (AD 14001520), and Moundville IV (AD 15201650). Our staff has worked for years to create a world-class, exciting and collaborative presentation of a people who have been overlooked for too long.. 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. All Rights Reserved. Standing there, I felt the same awe I did when visiting Egypta sense of ghosts who lived a sophisticated existence in a time so long ago that age itself loses meaning. SPIRO, OKLAHOMA Taking a pleasant afternoon walk on a rare, cool August afternoon east of Spiro most people need a sign post to identify the small mounds of earth that circle this big one. There are many ancient mound sites all across the Mississippi basin - the most famous of which are the famous mounds of Cahokia and the great mounds of Emerald Mound in the state of Mississippi. Evaluate During this trek, one of his chroniclers mentioned the Etowah sitereferring to it as Itaba. Rhonda Reinhart, BY Artifacts found during this period reflect a major shift and resemble those typical of groups living on the Plains, such as the Wichita. Subcategories This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total. The looting led to Oklahoma protecting the site. 4 0 obj Copyright 2016-2023 Arkansas Archeological Survey. 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. Fayetteville AR 72704 Investigating Spiro Mounds - Arkansas Archeological Survey To stop the destruction, in 1935 Oklahoma became one of the first states in the nation to pass laws forbidding looting, but because of its remote location, the theft continued. Our archeologists do not appraise artifacts or guarantee their authenticity for commercial purposes. The Artistic Legacy of SPIRO MOUNDS By America Meredith IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA near the Arkansas border sits Spiro Mounds, an extraordinary Mississippian mound complex abandoned by 1450. Spiro was home to a ceremonial centre for a loosely aligned confederation of mound-building nations called the Mississippian Culture. /Type /ExtGState Home to rich cultural resources, the Spiro Mounds were created and used by Caddoan speaking Indians between 850 and 1450 AD. This points to a large trading system that once existed. Now open to the public, visitors are invited to tour the remaining artifacts of this mound-building culture and enjoy a spectacular view into ancient life. Don't miss the special tours of the site held during the annual solstices and equinoxes. Certain house mounds line up exactly with the rising or setting sun at the changing of . A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - One of the most important archaeological discoveries in Oklahoma and the entire North America was the Spiro Mounds Site. As of April 2023, there are ongoing works at the site. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Located in Brookport, Illinois, this site contained 19 mounds and was occupied between AD 1000 1400. C From 1933 until 1935 a group of locals under the guise of a mining company carelessly dug into one of the burial mounds in search of treasure. The people of Spiro people relied on a wide variety of animals for meat, including deer, elk, turkey, fish, turtles, geese, ducks, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, and other small mammals. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. Darryl Starbird's National Rod and Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum. Located in Le Flore County, Fort Coffee lies approximately six miles northeast of Spiro. /Type /XObject Should Scientists Open An 830-Million-Year-Old Rock Salt Crystal With Ancient Microorganisms That May Still Be Alive? I thought about this city that supported 10,000 people who farmed, fell in love, raised children, died, cried and laughed, and worshipped as one of the most powerful societies to ever live in North America. They shared horticulture, elaborate ceremonies, mound building, and an iconographic writing system with more than sixty different tribes." One of the most important American Indian sites in the nation, the Spiro Mounds are world renowned because of the incredible amount of art and artifacts dug from the Craig Mound, the site's only burial mound. The 12 major earthen mounds remained intact until 1933, when a group of six men calling themselves the Pocola Mining Company paid $300 for a two-year lease to excavate the site. The site is found on a floodplain to the south of the Arkansas River and covers around 80 acres. Although it has deep prehistoric roots, with the Spiro Mounds lying nearby, the town really started in 1832 when the federal government removed . The city center was surrounded by a large defensive wall and sat on nearly 185 acres. For now, however, the Spiro artifacts remain in curatorship at Oklahoma and Texas museums or in private collections as the Caddo and Wichita tribes make final decisions about the return of the artifacts. Today, more than 65 public facilities in the U.S. have Spiro artifacts, including the Smithsonian, the University of Chicago, UCLA, and facilities throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. On the long list of Oklahoma's historical gems, the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center in Spiro has earned its place near the top. Photography: Images courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society, BY It is unknown why it was abandoned. U=Q!0#qKccsM/9.%nFPdq~- Pulling up to the entrance of the Spiro Mounds site, we spotted a hand-painted wooden sign touting Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center leaning lazily against a chain-link fence. That Monday, those bustling little towns were sleepy, as if the shortest day of the year was already having an effect. The Kansas City Star called the Spiro Mounds the King Tut of the Arkansas Valley in 1935, because nobody had ever seen anything like what was coming out of Spiro. The 150-acre park, with its dozen mounds, is the only one of Oklahoma's 25,000 prehistoric sites open to the public, and comprises the state's only archaeological park. We invite members of the public to help discover and record information about archeological sites in Arkansas. [/Pattern /DeviceRGB] 2023 Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau. Style analysis of the objects found at Spiro reveals that many objects were imported from different regions across the southeastern United States and probably arrived at the site via a system of interregional exchange. In addition, the Museum will give both the Caddo and Wichita Nations all interpretative materials to use at their discretion in their respective tribal museums. The burial mound was decimated and destroyed by looters in the 1930s, but researchers rebuilt the mound based on old photographs of the area. /Title ( p d f D 7 4 D - t m p) Crossroads | Spiro Mounds - Oklahoma Historical Society The Spiro Mounds have been open to the public since 1978, and special tours are offered during the solstices and equinoxes. Spiro was the westernmost outpost of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, also known as the Southern Death Cult or Buzzard Cult, which included Cahokia (now East St. Louis), Moundville in. HSU Image via wikipedia. The rest of the artifacts were sold off around the world; most were lost to obscurity. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center | Oklahoma Historical Society Mysterious 11,000 Year-Old Tower Of Jericho: Was Worlds First Skycraper A Symbol Of Power Or An Ancient Time-Keeping Device? However, it is unquestionable that Spiro shared the same iconography and belief system as the other Mississippian Ceremonial Centers. Spiro Mounds - Spiro, Oklahoma - Atlas Obscura Sitting there in the glow of a slow sunset, I tried to picture what this area must have looked like when it was the heart of an extensive trade network, a highly developed religious center, and a political seat of power for one of the largest prehistoric Native American cultures to ever exist. /Producer ( Q t 4 . Learn about the burial mounds located here and how the Spiro people filled them with artwork, artifacts and other clues that serve as keys to unlocking the mystery behind their ancient civilization. Special tours are offered during solstices and equinoxes. Looting Spiro Mounds: An American King Tut's Tomb The economic basis for most of the Mississippian centers was the harvesting of flora (plants) and fauna (animals). I thought about our current pandemic, and how long ago lethal disease wiped out so many of the Mississippian Caddo peoples descendants after Europeans made landfall. << This was supplemented with nuts and other wild plants. The site, which lies near the Arkansas River seven miles north of the town of Spiro, was occupied by various groups of people who camped on or near the Spiro area for at least 8000 years. PDF Final Spiro and the Art of the Mississippian World The most notable mound site in this area is called Kincaid. This event was likely environmental and brought on by what is known today as a Little Ice Age. PLUM BAYOU Constructed in layers from basket loads of dirt, the Spiro Mounds were home to an extensive trade network, a working political system and a highly developed religious center. Spiro Mounds | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture These artifacts had been uniquely preserved in the burial chamber for hundreds of years - they included feathered capes and baskets. Stand among the serene native grasses and view the mounds created by the Spiro Indians before you step into the center to view objects excavated from the King Tut of the Arkansas Valley., Learn about the burial mounds located here and how the Spiro people filled them with artwork, artifacts and other clues that serve as keys to unlocking the mystery behind their ancient civilization. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center 18154 First Street Spiro, OK 74959 918-962-2062 spiro@history.ok.gov 35.311731, -94.568431 Director: Anna Vincent . Category:Spiro Site - Wikimedia Commons File:Spiro Aerial HRoe 2016.jpg - Wikimedia Commons 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. The Mississippian peoplea Native American culture defined by agriculture, complex social hierarchy, and mound buildingconstructed 120 large earthen mounds near the Mississippi River between. Yet, de-spite creating a sophisticated ancient culture, the Spiro people are nearly forgotten in the pages of history books. It seems a little rustic, dont you think?. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. 3 0 obj Mysterious Scrolls And Artifacts Discovered Inside Ancient Buddha Statuette, Utiseta Norse Vision Quest Ancient Spiritual Tradition Of Northern Europe, Surtshellir Cave Reveals How Vikings Attempted To Prevent Ragnark Doom Of The Gods, Magnificent Treasures From Bronze Age And Roman Era Found In South Wales And Powys, Butterflies And Moths Share Blocks Of DNA Dating Back More Than 200 Million Years, Gashadokuro: A Terrifying Nocturnal Ghost Yokai With Voracious Appetite For Human Blood. PDF The Artistic Legacy of SPIRO MOUNDS - First American Art Magazine In the Temple Plaza at Spiro, 10,000 to 30,000 men gathered to pay homage to not only the solstice, but to the Sun God who would speak through the priests to tell them when to plant crops, how to conduct the coming months religious ceremonies, and other important daily tasks. Visitorswill enjoy nearly two miles of interpretive trails, including a one-half mile nature trail. Home to rich cultural resources, the Spiro Mounds were . 479-575-3556 What made it unique were the thousands of ceremonial objects found in an earthen Hollow Chambersomething not seen anywhere else in North America. This new chiefdom was visited by Hernando de Soto in August 1540. Accounts tell of the miners hauling out decorated shells and human bones by the wheelbarrow load and dumping them near the Craig Mounds entrance. The mounds that had produced so much evidence of an important and mysterious ancient civilization were dramatically silhouetted by the quickly setting sun. One of the most important American Indian sites in the nation, the Spiro Mounds are world renowned for the high volume of . In the temples, the priests did the same thing, communing with the Sun God for guidance about the coming season. Offering tours led by professional . I thought about the house mounds, and how the leaders built their homes over the homes of past leaders. 8 . Spiro and the Art of the Mississippian Worldseeks to answer these questions and more in the first major museum exhibition on the Spiro Mounds of southeast Oklahoma. This land was home to the Spiro people between 850 and 1450 AD. This was the most powerful group of people in the nation.. There was an extensive trade network, a highly developed religious center, and a political system which controlled the region. When it rose once more, it was under the rulership of a new chiefdom. >> \+AU[>S0aPp($58\xT)@NGH2([c?GHRTOG[-7tl~u{v_npH>]~U8K eNU-tr#++#}o~].T8j 8/WYQaAuJ y1*`gV%jGh&,D' c~3+o5];*t. Spiro Mounds: North America's lost civilisation - BBC Travel Both looting and New Deal/Works Progress Administration (WPA) archaeological excavations came together in a near-perfect storm at Spiro. The state is not nearly as flat as outsiders imagine it is, and the closer you get to the Arkansas border, the hillier and rockier the scenery becomes. Heide Brandes, s the winter solstice sun dipped in blazing fire behind one, Oklahoma has more than 25,000 prehistoric, Hail To The 2023 Inductees Of The National Cowgirl Hall Of Fame, What Red, White, And Blue Means To You: A Very, Summer Dean Proves Its Never Too Late To Chase Your Dreams On.

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