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Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site
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The Kincaid Mounds Historic Site, circa 1050-1400 CE, was among the largest Mississippian culture chiefdom centers, located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of Illinois. Kincaid Mounds has been notable for both its significant role in native North American prehistory and for the central role the site has played in the development of modern archaeological techniques. The area had royal or central buildings on at least 11 mounds (ranking 5th for mound-culture pyramids).
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The Kincaid Mounds Historic Site, circa 1050-1400 CE, was among the largest Mississippian culture chiefdom centers, located at the southern tip of the U.S. state of Illinois. Kincaid Mounds has been notable for both its significant role in native North American prehistory and for the central role the site has played in the development of modern archaeological techniques. The area had royal or central buildings on at least 11 mounds (ranking 5th for mound-culture pyramids). Some artifacts link the settlement to southern Mississippian culture, built after an earlier culture from the Late Woodland period (500 to 1000 CE).
The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964 for its significance as a major Native American mound center and prehistoric trading post along the Ohio River.
The site straddles the modern-day counties of Massac County and Pope County in deep southern Illinois, an area colloquially known as Little Egypt. The site was the subject of major excavations by the University of Chicago from 1934-1941, during which a number of famous anthropologists and archaeologists were trained under the direction of Fay-Cooper Cole. These included Richard MacNeish, discoverer of the origins of maize. Exploration with new technology and excavations by teams from Southern Illinois University since 2003 has yielded significant new data.
The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency owns and operates an area including nine mounds in Massac County. This includes the majority of the estimated area contained within a wooden palisade, as well as an undefined area of additional occupation to the west.
The Pope County portion is privately owned.
History of Kincaid
The Chicago excavators in the 1930s documented a prehistory in the Kincaid area stretching back thousands of years, into what is now known as the Archaic Period. The Chicago crew recognized this period as the Faulkner Component, which was described as a pre-pottery culture otherwise very like the cultures of the Early Woodland, such as the Adena culture.
More intensive occupation was documented in the ensuing Early Woodland and Middle Woodland periods. This involved a sedentary, semi-agricultural culture characterized by the use of limestone-tempered ceramics and the presence of permanent wooden houses. The Baumer culture was similar to the Adena culture and Hopewell culture, with which it was contemporary. The Baumer occupation at Kincaid was shown to be extensive.
Occupation continued into the Late Woodland. This period is known as the Lewis culture.
The recognizable occupation at Kincaid, however, is the Mississippian mound-building community that developed out of the local Lewis community about 1050 AD. Kincaid was a near neighbor of Cahokia, only away, and is thought to have been influenced by developments there. At least 19 mounds were built during this period, mostly the characteristic Mississippian platform mounds. Teams from Southern Illinois University have been conducting more intensive research since 2003. A large central plaza surrounded by the major mounds occupies the center of the community. The central mounds are as much as tall and one is almost long; not rivaling Monk's Mound but very large by Mississippian standards.
A major burial mound was excavated by the University of Chicago team, yielding further evidence for hierarchical social structures and showing that Kincaid was a chiefdom. Large buildings atop the main mounds seemed to indicate temples or council houses. Carved figurines in coal and fluorite seemed to characterize the local iconography, with images showing connections to the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Trade for chert resources appeared to extend into Missouri, Tennessee, and other parts of Illinois. Ceramics painted with a negative resist are also characteristic of the site.
Mississippian occupation at the site appears to have ended by 1400-1450 AD. No documented occupation by historic Native American tribes exists. The site was evidently abandoned until the arrival of European-American and African-American settlers centuries later.
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- Illustration of palisaded village: .
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