 Etowah
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For three seasons now, a multi-institutional team has
been conducting remote sensing surveys at Etowah Indian Mounds. That
team includes Dr. Adam King of the University of South Carolina, Dr.
F. Kent Reilly of Texas State University, Chester P. Walker of Archaeo-Geophysical
Associates, members of the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma and students
from the University of South Carolina, Texas State University, the University
of Arkansas, Memphis University and the Art Institute of Chicago.
During the first two seasons of work the goal was to explore the effectiveness
of a series of remote sensing techniques for finding both buried prehistoric
features (houses, pits, etc.) and old excavation units. Remote sensing
techniques allows you to “see” beneath the ground surface
without being destructive (compared to excavations). “Anomalies”
found beneath the ground through remote sensing can be verified with
some kind of excavation. The team has designed their project so as to
delay any ground disturbing activities at Etowah until we have concrete
and well-designed questions that can be asked by limited excavations.
Such excavations cannot happen without the permission from the Department
of Natural Resources and consultation with appropriate Native American
groups.
All available evidence indicates that the people who built Etowah were
the ancestors of the Creek people. There are five federally recognized
Creek groups and lots of other culturally affiliated people without
that formal recognition status. These are the people who consider Etowah
to be a sacred part of their history and these are the people who have
a right to have a say in what happens to their history.
During the first two season, in 2005 and 2006, the team used a series
of different instruments and focused on areas that we already know something
about archaeologically. By looking at such areas we already know something
about, the team avoided the need to verify their finds through excavation.
The most spectacular things were found at the summit of Mound A –
the big mound at Etowah. For the first time you can clearly make out
a large square building called Structure 1. This could be the chief’s
house which included a portico to its front to the edge of the mound.
The chroniclers of Hernando de Soto who explored the Southeast and actually
visited Etowah in 1541 talk of porticos (porches) where the chief relaxed
and also addressed his subjects below. To put Structure 1 in perspective
the entire mound is illustrated below with only the top of Mound A showing
the area where remote sensing below its surface was done.
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On the illustrations to the left,
on the right is Mound A with the ramp and stairway located on
the right side pointing to the East. Structure 1 is visible on
the lower or south side of Mound A. The red, yellow and green
colors are illustrative only in showing the height and topography
of the mound. On the upper northwest corner of the mound is Structure
2 with several partitioned walls unlike Structure 1 . Structure
3 is visible on the southeastern portion of Mound A as seen below.
More features are visible. Note the open courtyard
to the right of Structure 1 (Chief’s residence). The courtyard
is surrounded by a wall with a post directly in its center. |
The staircase is visible ascending the east face of Mound A. Structure
1 and its front portico is visible along with the courtyard to its right
.Infrared brings out even more features.
In 2007 the team returned with a good idea that their techniques worked
and could find both buried features and old excavations. Armed with
this knowledge they initiated an effort to completely survey the entire
57 acre (22 hectare) site using ground penetrating radar, magnetic susceptibility,
electromagnetic conductivity and resistivity. These were used to more
clearly define things found using magnetism.
The team began on the western (down river) end of the site and worked
their way around Mounds A, B and C covering 26.7 acres (10.8 hectares).
To everyone’s surprise and overwhelming number of buildings and
other features were found. The process is still under analysis but here
are just a few of their discoveries.
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In the area to the north of Mound A (visitors center
side) was found dense clusters of houses arranged around small open
spaces or plazuelas. Both the number of houses and the size of the
open spaces are too great for these clusters to represent extended
family households. Instead we are seeing neighborhoods or sub-communities
within the larger Etowah. Such plazuelas are visible in several areas
of the surveyed site. The plazuelas are another new and interesting
discovery revealed in the remote sensing. In the illustration below
note that Mound A and the areas that did not receive remote sensing
are blocked out in green. The most visible cluster is the
plazuela just below the North direction marker.
The same density of buildings is not apparent to the west of (behind)
Mound A. We do not think that is because they aren’t there. This
area has been more affected by flood deposits—there’s more
silt deposited there covering the buildings. We still see some buildings
and other features, but they are just not as clear. The team believes
this area has the same arrangement of houses around plazuelas.
In several places were found some very large buildings. There are
a couple located to the west of Mound A and there is a large complex
of architecture just to the east of Mound A. In the vicinity of Mound
F some kind of structure is present that is 30 m (100 ft.) on a side.
The fact that there are smaller round and square patterns within it
suggests it is likely some kind of enclosure, possibly surrounding the
small Mound F.
Also, there are several large, superimposed buildings located between
Mounds A and C and that are about 30 m (100 feet) long and 20 m (70
feet) wide. All these buildings are significantly larger than the residential
buildings and likely represent spaces designed to host larger political
and religious gatherings.
It should be clear that the magnetic surveys have found a lot of architecture
and other features. Using the data this team of archaeologists have,
it is difficult to say when the features found were created and used.
The site was occupied on and off for some 500 years, so a key question
would be to figure out if all of what is seen dates to the same time
or represents a palimpsest of buildings from all time periods. The team
hopes to be able to figure out some of that by looking at the size,
shape and orientation of sets of buildings. The magnetic survey should
be finished in the summer of 2008. After it is completed the team will
then focus on some smaller areas with other pieces of equipment like
ground penetrating radar or resistivity. These more detailed data may
help archaeologists sort out the dating of different buildings, but
at some point they will reach the limits of what remote sensing can
tell us.
The latest data found by Dr.’s King, Reilly and team is fascinating
and sheds new light into the history of the chiefdom of Etowah. New
frontiers are being blazed as we seek to unravel the mysteries of this
Native American culture.
For more information visit the project site www.aga-llc.net.
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