Etowah Indian Mounds facts for kids
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Etowah Mounds
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Artist's conception of Etowah
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 Location in Metro Atlanta
Location in Georgia (U.S. state)
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Cartersville, GA |
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| NRHP reference No. | 66000272 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | July 19, 1964 |
The Etowah Indian Mounds are an amazing 54-acre (220,000 m2) archaeological site in Bartow County, Georgia. It's located south of Cartersville, right on the north side of the Etowah River. This ancient place was built and lived in by Native American people between the years 1000 and 1550 CE.
Today, the Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site is a special National Historic Landmark. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources takes care of it. Many people think it's the best-preserved Mississippian culture site in the whole Southeast. Both the historic Muscogee Creek and the Cherokee people, who lived here at different times, believe this site is very important and sacred.
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Discovering the Past at Etowah
Archaeologists started digging and studying this site in the early 1900s. They've learned a lot about the different groups of people who lived here over time. Modern tools like radio carbon dating and magnetometers help them understand the past even better.
Studies from the late 1900s showed that the mounds were built by ancient indigenous peoples. These people were part of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture. They were the ancestors of the Muscogee Creek people, who spoke a language called Muskogean language.
The word Etowah comes from a Muskogee word, italwa, which means "town." From about 1000 to 1550 CE, Etowah was a busy place. Different groups of leaders, called chiefdoms, lived here over 550 years. The famous explorer Hernando de Soto might have visited a town like Etowah in 1540.
Later, in the 1800s, European-American settlers thought the Cherokee people built the mounds. But we now know the Cherokee didn't arrive in this part of Georgia until much later. The mounds are much older than that.
Today, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians both see Italwa as their most important ancestral town. The Cherokee people also respect it greatly.
How We Know When People Lived Here
Archaeologists like Tykeon Wilkes study changes in pottery styles. This helps them figure out when different groups lived in the Etowah River Valley. The Etowah site was used during three main periods: around 1000–1200 CE, 1250–1375 CE, and 1375–1550 CE. It was most active between 1325 and 1375 CE.
What the Etowah Site Looks Like
Etowah has three large platform mounds and three smaller ones. The biggest, Mound A, is 63 feet (19 m) tall. That's taller than a six-story building! Its base covers 3 acres (12,000 m2). Recent studies using magnetometers (tools that can "see" underground) showed that the site is even more complex than we thought.
These studies found 140 buildings at the site. Mound A itself had four big structures and a courtyard when the community was at its strongest. Mound B is 25 feet (7.6 m) high. Mound C is 10 feet (3.0 m) high and is the only one that has been fully dug up. Magnetometers also helped archaeologists find where old temples, made of logs and thatch, once stood on top of the mounds.
Next to the mounds is a flat, raised area called a ceremonial plaza. This was used for special events, games like stickball and chunkey, and as a market for trading goods.
When you visit Etowah Mounds, you can see the "borrow pits." These are big holes where workers dug up earth to build the mounds. People once thought they were moats, but now we know their true purpose.
Older pottery found here suggests an even earlier village. This village, from around 200 BCE to 600 CE, was linked to the Swift Creek culture. It might have been connected to the Leake Mounds site, which is just two miles away.
The town of Etowah was well protected. A special semicircular fortification system kept enemies out. Orchards of nut trees outside the town stopped enemies from shooting flaming arrows into the village. A 9 feet (2.7 m) to 10 feet (3.0 m)-deep moat also kept enemies from getting close to the palisade walls. This moat also helped drain water during floods, which were common. The palisade itself was made of 12 feet (3.7 m) high logs set upright in a ditch. Guard towers for archers were placed about 80 feet (24 m) apart.
Amazing Artifacts Found Here
The objects found in burials at Etowah show that the people who lived here were very skilled artists and craftspeople. Many copper tools, weapons, and beautiful copper plates were buried with important people. Where copper was present, archaeologists even found pieces of brightly colored cloth with fancy designs. These were parts of the clothing worn by the leaders.
Many clay figures and ten stone statues have been found at Etowah. Some statues come in pairs: a man sitting cross-legged and a woman kneeling. The women wear skirts, and both often have detailed hairstyles. These pairs might represent important ancestors. Other statues show young women kneeling, possibly representing a fertility or Earth Mother goddess. Symbols like the "birdman," a hand with an eye, and the solar cross appear on many artifacts. These are part of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a shared set of beliefs and symbols among ancient Native American cultures.
Trading and Resources
The Etowah River was like an ancient highway. It connects to the Coosa and Alabama rivers. This allowed people at Etowah to trade far and wide. They got whelk shells from the Gulf of Mexico and copper, mica, and flint from the Cumberland Plateau. They also traded for galena, graphite, and different colored ochres for painting. Greenstone and marble were brought in for tools, weapons, and special objects.
The soil near the river was very rich and easy to farm. The river's floods helped keep the soil fertile each year. The land was free of frost for most of the year, allowing for good harvests of corn, beans, and squash. These were important crops for the Native Americans.
Plants and Animals of the Area
The forests around Etowah were full of chestnut, walnut, hickory, and persimmon trees. These trees provided nuts and fruits for the people and for animals like white-tailed deer and wild turkey. People also gathered plants like stinging nettle and paper mulberry. A native holly plant, Yaupon holly, was used to make a special drink called the Black drink. This drink was part of important purification ceremonies. River cane grew in thick patches and was used for arrow shafts, roof thatch, and weaving baskets, mats, and even walls.
The river itself was a source of food. It had many freshwater mussels and turtles. The Mississippians built V-shaped rock weirs in the river. These acted like traps to catch fish like catfish, drum, and gar using baskets. More than 100 of these rock weirs have been found along the Etowah River. One has even been rebuilt at the historic site.
Etowah After European Contact
We're not completely sure, but the Etowah site might be the same village called Itaba that the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited in 1540. The Spanish didn't mention big mounds, perhaps because they were overgrown by then. Itaba means "boundary" or "trail crossing" in the Alabama language. The English name Etowah comes from an older Muskogee name, Italwa, which might have meant "solar cross symbol" or simply "town."
For a long time, many European-Americans in Georgia thought the Cherokee built Etowah. But the Cherokee didn't move into this part of Georgia until the late 1700s. This was hundreds of years after the mounds were built. Most experts now believe the mounds were built by people of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture. These people are considered the ancestors of the historic Muscogee, also known as the Creek people. Most of the Creek people were forced to move to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the 1830s.
Today, the descendants of the Creek people have two federally recognized tribes: the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama. Both tribes consider Italwa, or Etowah, to be their most important ancestral town. The main leader of the Creek Nation is even called Italwa Mikko (miko means chief in Muskogee). There's a large model of Italwa on display at the Muskogee (Creek) Capitol in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
How We Study Ancient Sites
A missionary named Elias Cornelius visited Etowah in 1817. He wrote about it in his journal. He knew the mounds were old because of the large trees growing on them. Later, in 1883, Cyrus Thomas and John P. Rogan studied the site for the Smithsonian Institution.
The first major archaeological dig at Etowah began in 1925, led by Warren K. Moorehead. His team dug into Mound C and found many amazing burial items from the Mississippian culture. These artifacts, along with others from places like Cahokia and Moundville, helped archaeologists understand the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC). This important dig greatly increased our knowledge of ancient Native American artwork.
Arthur R. Kelly, who started the Anthropology Department at the University of Georgia, also led digs at Etowah. This was before the Allatoona Dam was built upstream in 1947 for flood control. Because of its importance, the Etowah site was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
The Etowah Indian Mounds museum is at the site. It displays many artifacts found there. You can see Mississippian culture pottery, stone axes, stone statues, copper jewelry, shell gorgets, and other fascinating objects.
Images for kids
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Model of Etowah at its height
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Statue of Etowah chief, Georgia State Capitol, based on archaeological findings and the descriptions of early European explorers
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Ceremonial flint blades and chunkey stones
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Rock fishing weir constructed on the Etowah River
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Mounds B, and C from the top of Mound A.
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