My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: The Natchez Trace Part Two, Indian Mounds

The most elaborate ceremonial mounds were built by Mississippian Culture Indians, which flourished from roughly 1000 AD to 1500 AD. Less grand mounds were built much earlier than that, for instance, the Bynum Mounds, which I'll get to in a little bit, are believed to have been constructed around the time of the birth of Christ.

But first we'll start with Emerald Mound, pictured above, which is on the southern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway, the second largest Indian mound in North America. The biggest is Monk's Mound, part of the sprawling mound complex in Cahokia, Illinois near St. Louis.

(Correction...Diane of Respublica, who lives in the area, informs me Monk's Mound is in Collinsiville, Illinois.)

Emerald Mound is supposed to be open during daylight hours, but the gate was locked, so I had to climb over a short fence to take my picture, even though it was about 4:30pm. I do not advocate lawbreaking, but there was no "Do Not Enter" sign visible. There also are several smaller mounds within near Emerald.

On the right are two of the Bynum Mounds, they are located thirty miles south of Tupelo.

Since the Native Americans who built the mounds had no system of writing, not much is known about them, or who they were. But it's believed they are ancestors to the many Indian tribes who European explorers encountered in the 1500 and 1600s, such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, Miami, and Natchez.

Next: More of the Natchez Trace

Previous My Mississippi Manifest Destiny posts:

The Natchez Trace Part One
$aving$ in Tupelo
Where Elvis bought his first guitar
Elvis Presley's birthplace
The Battle of Tupelo
Corinth
Shiloh Part Four
Shiloh Part Three
Shiloh Part Two
Shiloh Part One
Carl Perkins
The Varsity Theatre in Martin, Tennessee
Lincoln and Kentucky
Metropolis

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