Foster's Mound
Encyclopedia
Foster's Mound is a Plaquemine culture
archaeological site
located in Adams County, Mississippi
northeast of Natchez
off US 61. It is the type site
for the Foster Phase (1350-1500 CE) of the Natchez Bluffs Plaquemine culture chronology. It was added to the NRHP
on September 2, 1982 as NRIS number 82003091.
. The largest mound, Mound A, is 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height and 30 metres (98.4 ft) by 30 metres (98.4 ft) at its base and has had a plantation house on its summit since the 1790s. Its dimensions were originally smaller but it was enlarged to accommodate the veranda of the plantation house. Mound B is 220 metres (721.8 ft) to the south across a large plaza
area. It is an amorphous blob about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) at its highest point. It has been seriously eroded by the creek and is barely recognizable as a rectangular platform mound. The site sat at a major crossroads in Precolumbian times, because of its location on the original route of the Natchez Trace
, directly connected to Emerald Mound to the northeast and the Grand Village of the Natchez
to the southwest, and its proximity to the Mississippi River. The site was excavated in 1971-72 by Jeffrey P. Brain as part of the Lower Mississippi Survey for the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
of Harvard University
. Pottery
recovered from beneath the mounds was found to be proto-Natchezan
and was instrumental in defining the protohistoric Foster Phase (1350 to 1500 CE) of the Plaquemine culture chronology.
Plaquemine culture
The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana. Good examples of this culture are the Medora Site in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, and the Anna, Emerald Mound, Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located...
archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
located in Adams County, Mississippi
Adams County, Mississippi
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,340 people, 13,677 households, and 9,409 families residing in the county. The population density was 75 people per square mile . There were 15,175 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
northeast of Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
off US 61. It is the type site
Type site
In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...
for the Foster Phase (1350-1500 CE) of the Natchez Bluffs Plaquemine culture chronology. It was added to the NRHP
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on September 2, 1982 as NRIS number 82003091.
Description
The Foster's site has two platform mounds and is located on the northern bank of St. Catherine Creek near its confluence with the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The largest mound, Mound A, is 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height and 30 metres (98.4 ft) by 30 metres (98.4 ft) at its base and has had a plantation house on its summit since the 1790s. Its dimensions were originally smaller but it was enlarged to accommodate the veranda of the plantation house. Mound B is 220 metres (721.8 ft) to the south across a large plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
area. It is an amorphous blob about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) at its highest point. It has been seriously eroded by the creek and is barely recognizable as a rectangular platform mound. The site sat at a major crossroads in Precolumbian times, because of its location on the original route of the Natchez Trace
Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers...
, directly connected to Emerald Mound to the northeast and the Grand Village of the Natchez
Grand Village of the Natchez
Grand Village of the Natchez, also known as the Fatherland Site, is a site encompassing a prehistoric indigenous village and earthwork mounds in present-day south Natchez, Mississippi. The village complex was constructed starting about 1200 CE by members of the prehistoric Plaquemine culture....
to the southwest, and its proximity to the Mississippi River. The site was excavated in 1971-72 by Jeffrey P. Brain as part of the Lower Mississippi Survey for the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, and is particularly strong in New World ethnography and...
of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Pottery
Mississippian culture pottery
Mississippian culture pottery is the ceramic tradition of the Mississippian culture found as artifacts in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. It is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine shell-tempering agents in the clay paste. Shell tempering is one of...
recovered from beneath the mounds was found to be proto-Natchezan
Natchez people
The Natchez are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area, near the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi. They spoke a language isolate that has no known close relatives, although it may be very distantly related to the Muskogean languages of the Creek...
and was instrumental in defining the protohistoric Foster Phase (1350 to 1500 CE) of the Plaquemine culture chronology.