Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site

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Kincaid Site
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
The Kincaid Site early on a summer morning, an original oil painting by the artist Herb Roe
Nearest city:	Brookport, Illinois
Designated as NHL:	July 19, 1964[1]
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966[2]
NRHP Reference#:	66000326
Governing body:	State

Kincaid Mounds Historic Site is one of the largest Mississippian culture chiefdom centers, important for both its significant role in native North American prehistory and for the central role the site played in the development of modern archaeological techniques. 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.^[1] 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 time a number of famous anthropologists and archaeologists were trained under the direction of Fay-Cooper Cole, including Richard MacNeish, discoverer of the origins of maize.^[3]

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency owns and operates an area including 9 mounds in Massac County. This includes the majority of the 141 estimated acres area contained within a wooden palisade, as well as an unknown amount of additional occupation to the west.^[4]

A photo of the Kincaid Site showing (clockwise from left) mounds 7, 8, and 9. Image by Herb Roe.

[edit] The History of Kincaid

The Chicago excavators in the 1930's 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, like the Adena culture.

Far more intensive occupation was documented in the ensuing Early Woodland and Middle Woodland periods, involving a sedentary, semi-agricultural culture characterized by the use of limestone-tempered ceramics and the presence of permanent wooden houses. The Baumer culture is similar to the Adena culture and Hopewell culture, which it is contemporaneous with. The Baumer occupation at Kincaid was shown to be extensive.

Occupation continued into the Late Woodland, and is known as the Lewis culture.

The truly recognizable occupation at Kincaid, however, is the Mississippian mound-building community that developed out of the local Lewis community around 1050 AD. Kincaid was a near neighbor of Cahokia, only about 90 miles 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. ^[5] A large central plaza surrounded by the major mounds, fills the center of the community. The central mounds are as much as 30 feet tall and one almost 500 feet long; not rivaling Monk's Mound but very large by Mississippian standards. A major burial mound was excavated by Chicago, giving further evidence for hierarchical social structures and showing that Kincaid was a chiefdom. Large buildings atop the main mounds seem to indicate temples or council houses. Carved figurines in coal and fluorite seem to characterize the local iconography, with images showing connections to the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Trade for chert resources seems to have extended at least 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 tribes exist. The site was evidently abandoned until the arrival of African American and European American settlers centuries later.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kincaid Mounds and the 2007 SIUC Archaeological Field School
• Kincaid Mounds, at Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
• The Kincaid Mounds
• ChromeSun Productions-The Artwork Of Herb Roe

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