Town Creek Indian Mound

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This will take a while please be patient.

The Canadian cold front has just hit and it's in the high 40's. At 60 mph it's cold. I either start early or wait til it gets cold. But what the heck, like my friend Muthuh says, It's the Ride fool, not the destination. Check out his site for some great stories of rides he has taken. So here I am, all bundled up and off to see the Town Creek Indian Mound. The Mound is a North Carolina Historic Site. It's just south of Hwy 731 a couple of miles and south east of Mt. Gilead, NC. That puts it about 45 miles west of Southern Pines.

The visitors center has a great gift shop and books about the Indians that used to live in and around Town Creek. There is an auditorium that offers a video presentation (about 20 minutes) that explains what the Indian mound is all about and how it was discovered and developed. The mounds are across a large grass field from the back of the visitors center. The Ceremonial mound is visible to the right. The North entrance is off to the left. The North gate was originally built to permit only one person at a time to pass through. A defensive design that gave a measure of protection to the folks inside the walls of Town Creek Indian Mound. The hut in the front is a replica of a burial hut and is a typical design when the area was populated. There are picnick benches available if you want to bring a basket of food.

Inside the first hut to the right after passing through the North gate is a child burial depiction. These shots are taken through glass so they are not my best. The man is holding a child wrapped in animal skin. As part of the ceremony the child is placed in the pottery. A hole is broken in the bottom of the pottery so the childs spirit can leave. There is much more to the story but you should go for yourself and listen to the commentary. It's worth it.

The first shot is taken from atop the ceremonial mound toward the East. The hut is made of sticks and the sides are basically straw and clay mixed. Inside is not very fancy but back then they didn't have electricity either. All around the hut are tall poles to afford some measure of security. Looking back to the west is the Ceremonial mound.

The entrance to the Ceremonial hut is very short and decorated with these images. The inside is where the ceremonial fires were burnt. Notice the hole in the roof. Smoke, stars, and rain all passed through. The next shot was taken from the Ceremonial hut toward the Northeast.

Historical background of Town Creek Indian Mound

For more that one thousand years, Indians lived an agricultural life on the lands that became known as North Carolina. About the year A.D. 1200, a new cultural tradition arrived in the Pee Dee River valley. That new culture, called "Pee Dee" by archaeologists, was part of a widespread tradition known as "South Appalachian Mississippian." Throughout Georgia, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and the southern North Carolina Piedmont, the new culture gave rise to complex societies that built earthen mounds for their spiritual and political leaders, engaged in widespread trade, supported craft specialists, and celebrated a new kind of religion.

The Ceremonial Center

Pee Dee culture represents a regional expression of South Appalachian Mississippian culture that interacted and evolved with other centers located throughout the Southeast. Indians of the Pee Dee culture established a political and ceremonial center on a low bluff overlooking the confluence of Town Creek and the Little River. In addition to being a major habitation spot, the Town Creek site served as a place for discussion of matters important to the collective clans of the tribe. In this way, it was the setting for significant religious ceremonies and feasts which often lasted several days. There many socially high-ranking members of the tribe lived, died, and were buried.

The "busk" was the most important ceremony of Indians living in the South Appalacian Mississippian sphere. During the busk, houses were cleaned and the temple and grounds were repaired. All fires were extinguished. All debts and grievances were resolved. From outlying villages, people came and gathered at the ceremonial center for rituals of purification: ceremonial bathing, fasting, scratching the body with a garfish tooth, and taking cathartic medicines. Everyone prepared to begin the new year with the eating of new corn at the conclusion of the busk, also known as the "poskito." At close of the busk, visitors returned to their villages, carrying with them embers from the sacred fire with which to relight the hearths in their homes. Sharing the fire symbolized unity among the Pee Dee, making them "people of one fire."

Uncovering the Town Creek Site

Excavations began at Town Creek in 1937 and continued for fifty years. Today excavations continue on a limited basis. The property became a state historical site in 1955. During the 1950s and 1960s key features of the site were reconstructed, including the mound, two temple structures, the burial hut, and the surrounding stockade. Today the Town Creek site remains the only Native American heritage.

Excavations revealed that the mound at Town Creek was constructed over an early rectangular structure described as an "earth lodge." The walls of the structure were joined by individual posts set in holes. Earth was then piled in an embankment around the walls and over the roof to create the lodge. Eventually this structure collapsed. Its remains and the surrounding area were covered, creating a low earthen mound that served as a platform upon which a temple was erected. This structure was later destroyed by fire. A second structure was built atop the new mound. An east-facing ramp provided access from the plaza to the top of the mound.

Public meetings and ceremonial activities took place in the large plaza or open area. Several structures, including some that served as burial huts or mortuary houses, were constructed around the edge of the plaza. The burial hut was a special building that contained the graves of people who probably belonged to the same clan. The mound, plaza, mortuary, and habitation areas were enclosed by a stockade made of closely set posts plastered with a mixture of clay and straw called daub. Evidence of five episodes of stockade building was found.

A visit to Town Creek Indian Mound offers a glimpse of pre-Columbian life in Piedmont North Carolina. The visitors center contains interpretive exhibits, as well as audiovisual programs that bring alive a rich cultural heritage from the buried past. Self-guided tours of the rebuilt structures and mound and other group activities are available.

Now that the weather is turning a little colder, don't let that stop you from being in the wind and enjoying the ride.

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