For over a thousand years, Southwestern Indiana was home to many Native Americans. Today, Angel Mounds State Historic Site is nationally recognized as one of the best preserved prehistoric Native American sites in the United States. From 1100 to 1450 A. D., a town on this site was home to people of the Middle Mississippian culture, who engaged in hunting and farming on the rich bottom lands of the Ohio River. Several thousand people lived in this town protected by a stockade made of wattle and daub. Because Angel Mounds was a chiefdom (the home of the chief) it was the regional center of a large community that grew outward from it for many miles.
This settlement was the largest known town of its time in Indiana, but the Mississippian people eventually deserted it. No one today knows why. Fortunately, preservation and archaeological efforts at Angel Mounds State Historic Site offer a glimpse into this highly developed culture of the distant past. For 60 years, this living museum has told the story of one pre-contact Native American culture on the Ohio River.
Angel Mounds State Historic Site is part of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Indiana State Museums and Historic Sites. It is one of 16 state museums and historic sites in Indiana.
Mound F
Mound F has been completely excavated and reconstructed. Although it was subject to many years of cultivation, the mound retained its original truncate-pyramidal form and measured 235 feet north to south, 239 feet east to west and 13 feet in height. Beneath the surface now represented, evidence was found of two earlier, smaller, earthen structures superimposed one upon the other. Mound F has been termed the "Temple Mound" because its location, architectural features, unusual burials, and a unique stone figurine found there reflect early descriptions of a temple which was guarded by a "priesthood" and housed revered religious symbols and the bodies of important people. Based on magnetometer surveys, archaeologists believe that the area around this mound was not used for housing.
For over a thousand years, Southwestern Indiana was home to many Native Americans. Today, Angel Mounds State Historic Site is nationally recognized as one of the best preserved prehistoric Native American sites in the United States. From 1100 to 1450 A. D., a town on this site was home to people of the Middle Mississippian culture, who engaged in hunting and farming on the rich bottom lands of the Ohio River. Several thousand people lived in this town protected by a stockade made of wattle and daub. Because Angel Mounds was a chiefdom (the home of the chief) it was the regional center of a large community that grew outward from it for many miles.
This settlement was the largest known town of its time in Indiana, but the Mississippian people eventually deserted it. No one today knows why. Fortunately, preservation and archaeological efforts at Angel Mounds State Historic Site offer a glimpse into this highly developed culture of the distant past. For 60 years, this living museum has told the story of one pre-contact Native American culture on the Ohio River.
Angel Mounds State Historic Site is part of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Indiana State Museums and Historic Sites. It is one of 16 state museums and historic sites in Indiana.
Mound F
Mound F has been completely excavated and reconstructed. Although it was subject to many years of cultivation, the mound retained its original truncate-pyramidal form and measured 235 feet north to south, 239 feet east to west and 13 feet in height. Beneath the surface now represented, evidence was found of two earlier, smaller, earthen structures superimposed one upon the other. Mound F has been termed the "Temple Mound" because its location, architectural features, unusual burials, and a unique stone figurine found there reflect early descriptions of a temple which was guarded by a "priesthood" and housed revered religious symbols and the bodies of important people. Based on magnetometer surveys, archaeologists believe that the area around this mound was not used for housing.
