TITLE: Spiro Mounds; Oklahoma's Past Indian History
AUTHOR: Ernestine Hightower, Whittier Elementary School
Lawton, OK
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: (3-6) Whole Language
OVERVIEW: To acquaint students in grades 3 or 4 to a part
of Oklahoma's heritage by use of Whole Language techniques
and Cooperative Learning Groups.
PURPOSE: Understanding Oklahoma's Past
OBJECTIVE: Students will have gained an understanding of
the past by creating a part of it.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
"The Art of Flintknapping" by D.C. Waldorf, American
Indian Books, 533 Summit, Webster Groves, Missouri,
63119.
SPIRO MOUNDS
Prehistoric Gateway ... Present-day Enigma
The mounds at Spiro, Oklahoma, are among the most
important archaeological remains in the United States. A
remarkable assemblage of artifacts from the mounds shows
that prehistoric Spiro people created a sophisticated
culture which influenced the entire Southeast. There was an
extensive trade network, a highly developed religious
center, and a political system which controlled the region.
Located on a bend of the Arkansas River, the site was a
natural gateway between societies to the east and the west,
a gateway at which Spiro people exerted their influence. Yet
much of the Spiro culture is still a mystery, including the
reasons for the decline and abandonment of the site. Today,
the Spiro site and artifacts are among Oklahoma's richest
cultural resources, and the site is Oklahoma's only National
Historic Landmark.
This archaeological site includes the remains of a
village and eleven earthen mounds. Although various groups
of people had camped on or near the Spiro area since early
prehistoric times, the location did not become a permanent
settlement until approximately A.D. 600. Spiro Mounds was
renowned in southeastern North America between A.D. 900 and
circa 1400, when Spiro's inhabitants developed political,
religious and economic institutions with far-reaching
influence on societies from the Plains and the Mississippi
Valley to much of what is now the southeastern United
States. Because Spiroans maintained such practices as mound
construction, a leadership of priest-chiefs, horticulture
(of corn, beans and squash), and a religious tradition (the
"Southern Cult") common to the Southeast, they were an
example of what archaeologists have termed the Mississippian
cultural development in American.
Spiro was known locally as a prehistoric Indian site as
early as the late nineteenth century. However, it was not
until 1933 that the Spiro Mounds attracted national and
worldwide attention. In that year, a group of treasure
hunters leased the site and began excavation of the largest
mound. They discovered rich troves of spectacular artifacts,
including objects of wood, cloth, copper, shell, basketry
and stone. Unfortunately, the diggers were only concerned
with finding and selling the relics, not with preserving or
recording their significance or their context. Consequently,
not only were important prehistoric artifacts looted and
sold out of Oklahoma, but, like pages ripped from a rare
book, irreplaceable information about Oklahoma's past was
lost forever.
Between 1936 and 1941, WPA workers and University of
Oklahoma archaeologists, conducted a systematic excavation
of the remainder of the Spiro Mounds. They recorded the
stratigraphy, burials, crematory pits, and other features
which remained in the largest and most severely damaged
mound. Called the Craig Mound, this earthwork was 33 feet
high and 400 feet long. It was actually four joined mounds
which had been constructed between A.D. 800 and circa 1350
to cover the graves of the society's most important leaders.
Findings show the Spiro site as one of the premier
trading and religious centers of prehistoric America.
Situated in a narrow valley of the Arkansas River, the
Spiroans were in a strategic position to control traffic,
trade and communications along this waterway, especially
between the small villages scattered among the Ouachita
Mountains to the south and the Ozarks to the north. Both of
these regions were rich in raw materials favored by the
Spiro people. Not only did Spiro become an important center
for Caddoan-speaking residents of eastern Oklahoma, but it
also began to play a significant role in controlling trade
and information between bison-hunting Plains farmers to the
west and the numerous settled horticultural tribes in the
Southeast. This development was enhanced by the Spiro's
"gateway" position between the rolling grassy Plains and the
wooded Southeast, as well as by the initiative of Spiro
leaders.
As certain Spiro inhabitants became political and
religious leaders, they also became commercial
entrepreneurs. To help identify their growing status in the
community, these leaders accumulated exotic goods which they
wore as status markers or used in special ceremonies. Among
the most favored exotic goods were conch shells from western
coastal Florida, copper from the Southeast and other
regions, lead from Iowa and Missouri, pottery from northeast
Arkansas and Tennessee, quartz from central Arkansas and
flint from Kansas, Texas, Tennessee and southern Illinois.
Spiro artisans fashioned many of these materials into
elaborately decorated ornaments, ceremonial cups, batons and
other symbols of status and authority. Among the prehistoric
societies, such objects were a sign of wealth, and Spiro's
priestly leaders were among the most affluent of the time.
Elaborate artifacts of conch and copper were more numerous
at Spiro than at any other prehistoric site in North
America.
The Spiro site reached its peak as an inhabited
ceremonial center between A.D. 900 and 1200 when the village
and public buildings covered nearly 100 acres, with a
sizeable village occupying an upland ridge and portions of
the adjacent bottomlands. During this time, two sets of
earthworks were constructed: one on the upland ridge which
contained a ring of eight mounds erected over the remains of
burned or dismantled special buildings, and one on the
bottomlands where three mounds were built.
In contrast to other mound centers along the
Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, the Spiro site was
never fortified by either moat or palisade. Assumption being
that they felt secure with their military control of most
strategic sites. It is clear that Spiro was the most
powerful of a group of at least 15 political-religious
centers in northeast Oklahoma. All of these centers were
located at strategic frontier points along navigable
waterways in the area, thus allowing Spiroans or their
allies to monitor all traders, travelers, or potential
enemies coming into their sphere of influence. These
northeast Oklahoma natives could easily launch forays into
neighboring regions from these sites. Utilizing canoes,
parties were sent out to hunt, trade, raid or complete
diplomatic missions.
Between A.D. 900 and 1350 Spiro was clearly an
important political/religious center. It was also the home
of artisans who influenced the ideas and works of many
southeastern people. Conch shell and copper were favored
materials for Spiro artisans. They used a variety of
techniques including engraving and embossing, depicting
elaborate scenes of dance, gaming, warriors, and
mythological creatures. Among the latter were winged
serpents, antlered serpents, spiders, and catlike monsters
that later became important in the mythologies of historic
southeastern tribes. At Spiro, however, the animal figures
favored by early artisans were later replaced by humanlike
figures.
For two or three centuries, Spiro and its satellite
centers flourished. Around A.D. 1250, they began to change
their way of life. Frontier settlements were abandoned, some
people completely left northeast Oklahoma, and others began
congregating along the Grand and Arkansas Rivers. From A.D.
1200 to 1400, a large community developed on the uplands and
terraces around the Spiro site; however few, if any, people
were actually living at the site itself. Apparently, they
only visited the mounds periodically for certain rituals and
ceremonies. Mound construction continued, and many people
were buried in Craig Mound. Their diverse graves and burial
associations attest to the presence of a highly developed
hierarchy of political-religious leaders. More than 700
burials have been discovered at Craig Mound. By A.D. 1450,
the dominant priestly chiefs were no longer evident in Spiro
society; trade and influence among Southeastern cheifdoms
were no more; and ritual mound construction at the Spiro
site had apparently ceased.
By the mid-sixteenth century, Spiro's descendants were
living in hamlets scattered along the Arkansas River. Their
settlements consisted of small, less substantial houses with
many nearby storage and trash pits. For the first time in
their history, these people were hunting bison extensively.
The use of buffalo and increased use of storage pits
indicates that Spiro's descendants were becoming part-time
hunters and farmers. Another noteworthy feature of these
later people's cultural change was their adoption of ideas
and tools which had long been common with the Plains
Indians. As trade with the Southeastern chiefdoms decreased,
that with the Plains people increased.
The principal stimulus for this marked change is
believed to have been the onset of a drier climate around
A.D. 1200. This change adversely affected the ability of
northeast Oklahoma villagers to produce crops, eventually
causing them to move down-stream toward the Arkansas River
Valley where summer rainfall remained dependable for growing
crops. However, this increase in population placed more
demand on the available soils and resources, creating
ecological and social stresses that Spiro leaders could not
resolve. It is thought that this eventually brought about
the decline of these leaders' political and religious power,
this undermining the Spiro society's high level or
organization and cultural development. By A.D. 1450, the
Spiro site was abandoned. And, by 1719, when eastern
Oklahoma was first visited by Europeans, the natives were
bison hunting, part-time farmers of a tribe now part of the
Wichitas.
Text by Don G. Wyckoff and Dennis Peterson
Vocabulary
Archaeology -- the study of ancient cultures through
digging
Anthropology -- study of cultures and behavior of people
artifacts -- articles made or modified by people
Caddoan -- culture to which Spiro people belonged
community -- in Spiro times, a political-religious center
conch -- a type os seashell -- used for ornaments, cups,
etc.
earspools -- kind of earring worn by Spiro people
flintknapping -- working with stone; method to create
tools, projectile points
gorget -- engraved shell ornament worn around neck
Mississippian -- the many societies of intensive farmers
who lived in the central and southeast United States between
AD 900 and 1400 who developed complex communities ranked
social systems, and widespread trading networks.
Historically, the Natchez and Caddo were groups still
practicing the Mississippian life-way when first visited by
European explorers.
palisade -- barrier made of strong timbers set in ground
potsherd -- a piece of broken pottery
trade network -- a system of trading raw materials and
finished products among different societies living over a
large area.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1. Make a model of a Spiro village---include grass roof,
evidence of farming, hunting and pottery making.
2. Make a three-dimensional map or chart of the Spiro
trade network. Use real materials to illustrate your
work.
3. Pretend you are an archaeologist. Use classroom as a
"site". Write an exact description of all you find and
then describe how you think they were used.
4. Write a story describing your life as a member of the
Spiro village. Illustrate your story.
5. Compare and contrast other mound builders in other
parts of the United States and elsewhere.
6. Do some flintknapping (read "Art of Flintknapping" by
D.C. Waldorf, American Indian Books)
7. Corn grinding--use a matate and dried corn
8. Pottery making
9. Create a Pump Drill--an ancient tool that was used by
Indians throughout the Americas.
10. Word Search
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
The following activity relates to the resourcefulness
of prehistoric people in utilizing their natural
environment. Students can gain an appreciation for the
abilities and skills required to survive.
Corn Grinding
Many native peoples in North American grew corn as a
staple crop. Corn has many uses, and was one of the greatest
developments of the Indians. After harvest, many ears would
be dried for future use. It could be used during the winter;
boiled, made into pudding or porridge, or ground into meal
for cornbread or corn cakes. To grind corn, you need a
grinding stone, a milling basin and dried corn. (The Spanish
names for such equipment are mano, matate and maize.)
1. Find a large, flat chunk of sandstone. (This may be
purchased from landscape supplier, or you can use a
cement slab
--DANGER! Do not let students eat corn ground on cement
slab.)
It should be at least 18" x 10" and 5" thick. Using
stones or chisel, carefully make a depression in the
top. The depression should be about 5" in diameter (or
larger) and about 3" deep in the center.
2. Find a grinding stone. It should be a fist-sized rock,
made of some material harder than sandstone. Dried corn
may be purchased at any Feed and Seed store.
3. Place a small handful of dried corn in the milling
basin. Tap kernels gently in order to break the kernel
open. Grind in a circular or up-and-down motion until
the meal is fine. May be used to make something.
Students will notice it is very gritty because of the
sandstone content. May lead to some interesting
discussions about prehistoric dental problems.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org