Jonathan Creek archaeological site facts for kids

The Jonathan Creek archaeological site is a very important place where ancient Native Americans lived a long time ago. It was a village and a burial ground from the Mississippian period, which was roughly between 1000 and 1500 AD. This site is located in Aurora, Marshall County, Kentucky, right by the Tennessee River.

A surveyor named Robert Loughridge first noticed the site in the late 1800s. Later, in 1914-1915, C.B. Moore visited, but he didn't find many important items. In the 1930s, William S. Webb and William D. Funkhouser started more serious research. Digging began in 1940 with help from the Civilian Conservation Corps. This work stopped just two years later when the United States joined World War II. Webb published his findings in 1952. His reports showed the remains of 89 buildings inside a strong, walled area. People lived here from about 1200 AD to 1300 AD. In the 1990s, Dr. Sissel Schroeder continued this work, adding to Dr. Webb's original studies.

Discovering Jonathan Creek

The Jonathan Creek site was first owned by the Henson family. In the late 1800s, Robert Loughridge, a surveyor, visited them. He was mapping the geology of Western Kentucky. In his report, he noted that Jonathan Creek had six earthen mounds. These mounds were similar to others known to be built by ancient Native Americans. They were located on a high area overlooking the Tennessee River. There was also a seventh mound closer to the creek itself.

C.B. Moore was the next person to mention the site. He traveled the southeastern waters in his riverboat, the Gopher of Philadelphia. He explored the Jonathan Creek site around 1914-1915. Even though he did some tests, he didn't find many important artifacts. Because of this, he left the site to explore other places that seemed more promising.

Saving History: The New Deal and Archaeology

In 1933, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" plan, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created. This was a government agency designed to help with environmental, economic, and technology issues. One of its goals was to bring affordable electricity to many people. The TVA planned to build dams along the Tennessee River. These dams would flood and put many important places, including archaeological sites like Jonathan Creek, at risk.

Archaeologists asked the TVA for help. They were allowed to start a "salvage archaeology" project. This meant they would dig up and save historical information before the land was flooded. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided workers for this project. These workers were not trained archaeologists, but they helped a lot. The mild weather in the area meant they could dig almost all year.

Work stopped suddenly when the U.S. entered World War II. But before that, they had uncovered 89 house structures. They also found eight lines of strong fences, called stockades, that surrounded the village. These stockades had special parts called bastions that stuck out, making them easier to defend.

New Ways to Study the Past

William Webb published the first detailed information about the Jonathan Creek site. His report showed that only a small part of the many artifacts found were studied. For example, only 150 stone tools and about 2,685 pieces of pottery were looked at closely. For a long time, this was the main source of information about the site.

Then, in the 1990s, Dr. Sissel Schroeder began her work. She used a new tool called Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. This allowed her to map more than 1,000 of Webb's measurements. She documented the site's features and connected his findings. This helped her understand the site and how it was used even better.

What Was Found at Jonathan Creek

The Jonathan Creek site was a Mississippian-era town and mound center. It shows a history of growth and rebuilding. Many buildings were torn down and rebuilt, sometimes in a slightly different spot. We know this because photos show where old posts were and how walls overlapped. A total of seven flat-topped earthen mounds were found. Six were on the higher ground overlooking Jonathan Creek, and one was on the lower floodplain area.

Types of Buildings and Walls

Of the 89 buildings found, there were many different styles. Some houses were round, square, or rectangular and built with single posts. These might have been used in warmer months. There were also rectangular pit houses, which were dug partly into the ground. Other buildings were square or rectangular with "wall trenches," meaning the walls were set into ditches. Some of these had three support posts running through them and might have been used in winter.

At least eight walls surrounded the village. A ninth wall ran through part of the village, showing that the outer boundary might have changed over time. This suggests the people were smart about planning their defenses. Jonathan Creek is known as one of the best examples of a fortified site in the southeastern United States.

Understanding the Village's Changes

Webb thought the village was built in two separate stages. He based this on the different styles of buildings and bastions (the parts of the wall that stick out). Different bastion lengths also suggested that the structures were rebuilt. Dr. Schroeder used Dr. Webb's detailed notes and her GIS studies to create full maps of the site. She mapped all the recorded features. However, she disagreed with some of Webb's first ideas. She thought that the village probably didn't have two separate occupations. Instead, she believed the changes in building styles might have been due to specific events at the site. Schroeder suggested that the outermost wall, with both long and short bastions, was likely the final wall. This is because it didn't seem to have been rebuilt over time.

Why the Village Was Built This Way

The evidence from Jonathan Creek suggests that this Mississippian settlement, active in the 1200s AD, was built because of local politics and possible social unrest. The strong walls and buildings show that the people living there were worried about their safety. By controlling who could enter the village, they created a secure place for themselves.

On top of one mound, a building was constructed, then rebuilt, possibly for a different use. This second building was later destroyed by fire. A third building was then built on the same spot, and it also burned down. Twelve burials were found just outside where these buildings stood. We don't know if the buildings were burned on purpose as part of a ceremony or if it was from a battle. After the last fire, the mound was no longer used for buildings. Another burial was found in a shallow grave in one of the smaller mounds at the edge of the village. Finding human burials with mounds is a key sign of Mississippian chiefdoms, which were societies led by powerful chiefs.

The artifacts found by the CCC workers are now kept and displayed at the University of Kentucky Museum of Anthropology. In 1995, the museum was renamed the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology to honor his many contributions to the study of ancient cultures.