A Lost Native American Presence

One of the great civilizations of North America was the Mississippian Culture or as some call them the Mound builders. Their cities can be found by most rivers. They used the rivers to connect themselves with other cities in the Indian Community. At one time, Cahokia, the capital of the Mississippians was larger than London and Paris. They built large several story mounds on which stood the homes of the elite and religious structures.
 
They had ball fields with amphitheaters that held thousands to gather and watch. They had grand festivals such as the annual Green Corn Festival. They had communal gardens and their presence was prolific on this side of the Mississippi River.
 
Eventually, their civilization died out due to disease and environmental ruins among other things. Today the mounds of these great people can be found throughout the Eastern United States. Some mounds are in the shape of serpents. Today there are state parks and national monuments that preserve the remnants of this great civilization. In Georgia you have the Ocmulgee Mounds in Macon and the Etowah Mounds in Cartersville.
 
It is little known but Savannah had their own mound city. It was called the Irene Mounds and was excavated and destroyed for port expansion in the 1940’s. It was located five miles northwest of Savannah. It was occupied during the Middle Mississippian period between 1100-1350. It was abandoned by the time Europeans came. It would be some of what Tomochichi the Native American who was here when Oglethorpe came would refer to when he said he wanted to be close to burial grounds of his ancestors.
 
In 1937 to 1940 it was almost completely excavated by professional archaeologists as part of the Works Progress Administration. Its importance rests on the fact that it was the most completely excavated mound site in Georgia. The excavation was unusual in that black women were used in the excavation. Black women were excluded from many of the Works Progress Administration Projects. But in this project on the Irene Mounds they were welcomed workers and highly praised by the archeologists for their professionalism.
 
The site included a large rectangular, flat-topped mound called the Temple Mound; a small conical mound with much shell and several burials called the Burial Mound; and a square building and surrounding wall at ground level in the village with many burials named the Mortuary. The site also included a series of concentric circular walls interpreted as a rotunda. These and smaller structures were found.
Savannah’s history of the Native American’s who lived here before the Europeans came is not well known. But thank goodness there is a recently published books that gives and excellent bird’s eye view of that history if you are interested: Native American History of Savannah.
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An illustrated view of Cahokia: Capital City of the Mississippian Culture Indians

Serpent Mound

Picture of Black Women who worked on the excavation of the Irene Mounds