SPIRO MOUNDS - Spiro Mounds The mounds site, located seven miles outside of Spiro, Oklahoma, is the only prehistoric, Native American archaeological site in Oklahoma open to the public. The mounds are one of the most important Native American sites in the nation. The prehistoric Spiro people created a sophisticated culture which influenced the entire Southeast. Artifacts indicate an extensive trade network, a highly developed religious center, and a political system, which controlled the entire region. Located on a bend of the Arkansas River, the site was a natural gateway from which the Spiro people exerted their influence. Yet much of the Spiro culture is still a mystery, as well as the reasons for the decline and abandonment of the site. Today, the Spiro Mounds site and artifacts are among Oklahomas richest cultural resources. The protected site included 150 acres of land that encompass twelve mounds, the elite village area and part of the support city. Although various groups of people camped on or near the Spiro area over the previous 8000 years, the location did not become a permanent settlement until A.D. 800 and was used until about A.D. 1450. During this time period, known as the Mississippian period, Spiro leaders were developing political, religious and economic ties with people from the Gulf of California to the Gulf of Mexico and from the coast of Virginia to the Great Lakes. They shared horticulture, elaborate ceremonies, mound building and an iconographic (picture) writing system with over 60 different tribes. From A.D. 900 to 1300, the leaders at Spiro Mounds thrived. The mound center declined and was eventually abandoned by A.D. 1450, although the city continued to be occupied for another 150 years. The people of the Spiro Mounds are believed to have been Caddoan speakers, like the modern Wichita, Kichai, Caddo, Pawnee, and Arikara.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 18:19:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015