Irene Mound site

Irene Mound
Location	Near Savannah, Georgia
History
Founded	1,150-1,300 AD
Cultures	Mississippian culture

The Irene Mound is a historical site in Georgia associated with the Mississippian culture.

Description

The Irene Mound site was located on the western bluff of the Savannah River. Its location is about 5 miles from Savannah city center.^[1] Pipemakers Creek ran along one side and a ditch enclosed the other.^[2] It previously consisted of a collection of temple mounds and residences, a burial mound and a rotunda. It was about 2.4 hectares in size,^[3] and is the largest Mississippian site on the Georgia coast.^[4]

History

The site went through seven phases of construction while it was occupied, between 1,150 AD and 1,300 AD.^[5] It is believed to have housed the local chief and his family, no more than 30 or 40 people total.^[6] Different types of ware, including cordmarked, stamped and burnished ware.^[5] Food waste like shell middens was also found there.^[3]

Excavations

The Works Progress Administration, Chatham County commissioners and Savannah chamber of commerce organized an archaeological project which excavated the Irene Mound site between 1937 and 1940.^[7] Many women, especially black women, took part in the excavations of the Irene Mound site in the 1930s.^[8] Gussie White is one of the most prominent examples of these women archaeologists.

References

^ Fewkes, Vladimir J. (1938). W.P.A. Excavations at Irene Mound. Savannah Chamber of Commerce. p. 6.
^ "Irene Mounds". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
^ ^a ^b Reitz, Elizabeth J.; Williams, Mark; Dalton, Katie B. (2020-05-03). "Rare animals at a Mississippian chiefly compound: the Irene Mound site (9CH1), Georgia, USA". Southeastern Archaeology. 39 (2): 89–108. doi:10.1080/0734578X.2019.1702489. ISSN 0734-578X.
^ Giles, Bretton T.; Lambert, Shawn P. (2021-10-19). New Methods and Theories for Analyzing Mississippian Imagery. University Press of Florida. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-68340-246-6.
^ ^a ^b Ward, H. Trawick; Jr, R. P. Stephen Davis (2018-06-15). Time before History: The Archaeology of North Carolina. UNC Press Books. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4696-4777-7.
^ Murphree, Daniel S. (2012-03-09). Native America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia [3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-12142-8.
^ Banks, Kimball M.; Czaplicki, Jon S. (2016-06-16). Dam Projects and the Growth of American Archaeology: The River Basin Surveys and the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-315-43072-0.
^ Varela, Sandra L. López (2023-07-12). Women in Archaeology: Intersectionalities in Practice Worldwide. Springer Nature. p. 78. ISBN 978-3-031-27650-7.

[1] Fewkes, Vladimir J. (1938). W.P.A. Excavations at Irene Mound. Savannah Chamber of Commerce. p. 6.

[2] "Irene Mounds". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-07-09.

[:1-3] Reitz, Elizabeth J.; Williams, Mark; Dalton, Katie B. (2020-05-03). "Rare animals at a Mississippian chiefly compound: the Irene Mound site (9CH1), Georgia, USA". Southeastern Archaeology. 39 (2): 89–108. doi:10.1080/0734578X.2019.1702489. ISSN 0734-578X.

[4] Giles, Bretton T.; Lambert, Shawn P. (2021-10-19). New Methods and Theories for Analyzing Mississippian Imagery. University Press of Florida. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-68340-246-6.

[:0-5] Ward, H. Trawick; Jr, R. P. Stephen Davis (2018-06-15). Time before History: The Archaeology of North Carolina. UNC Press Books. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4696-4777-7.

[6] Murphree, Daniel S. (2012-03-09). Native America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia [3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-12142-8.

[7] Banks, Kimball M.; Czaplicki, Jon S. (2016-06-16). Dam Projects and the Growth of American Archaeology: The River Basin Surveys and the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-315-43072-0.

[8] Varela, Sandra L. López (2023-07-12). Women in Archaeology: Intersectionalities in Practice Worldwide. Springer Nature. p. 78. ISBN 978-3-031-27650-7.

[1]