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This exhibit and companion CD-ROM have been awarded the Roger K. Warlick Local History Achievement Award by the Georgia Historical Society.
Native Americans constructed impressive structures (referred to as Indian mounds) throughout the state of Georgia for over 4,000 years. This building activity occurred across three separate archaeological time periods: the Archaic period, the Woodland period, and the Mississippian period.
The first monumental constructions, the Sapelo Shell Ring complex, were built along the Atlantic coast during the Archaic period. In fact, these structures are older than the pyramids in Egypt! These Native Americans also created some of the earliest pottery ever found in North America.
The next major constructions, Rock Eagle and Rock Hawk, were not built until the Woodland period. Along with these bird effigy mounds, other constructions during this time period include mysterious stone walls such as Fort Mountain encircling the tops of many north Georgia mountains and the first major site to include truncated pyramid mounds-- Kolomoki (in southwest Georgia.) Kolomoki's inhabitants also created designs on pottery indicating a detailed knowledge of astronomy!
This building activity reached its height during the Mississippian period when more and larger truncated pyramid mounds, temple mounds, funeral mounds and circular earth lodges were constructed at places such as Ocmulgee and Etowah. This explosion of monumental building occurred after a new religious cult entered the southeast originating possibly in Mexico.
So come along and join us for the epic story of Georgia's Native Americans. Each site features several multimedia elements including a short video, 360 degree interactive panoramas, 3D computer animations, and an image gallery.
You can follow the story in chronological order or jump to the site that interests you most. Since we continually update this exhibit based on the latest research, please bookmark our site now to come back again and again to stay up-to-date on Georgia's Moundbuilders.
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