National Historic Landmark

Moundville

Moundville, Hale County, Alabama
Listed
October 14, 1966
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
66000149

About this property

Moundville Archaeological Site, also known as the Moundville Archaeological Park, is a Mississippian culture archaeological site on the Black Warrior River in Hale County, near the modern city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Extensive archaeological investigation has shown that the site was the political and ceremonial center of a regionally organized Mississippian culture chiefdom polity known as the Province of Pafalaya between the 11th and 16th centuries. The archaeological park portion of the site is administered by the University of Alabama Museums and encompasses 185 acres (75 ha), consisting of 29 platform mounds around a rectangular plaza. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Moundville is the second-largest site in the United States of the classic Middle Mississippian era, after Cahokia in Illinois. The culture was expressed in villages and chiefdoms throughout the central Mississippi River Valley, the lower Ohio River Valley, and most of the Mid-South area, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi as the core of the classic Mississippian culture area. The park contains a museum and an archaeological laboratory.

Location

Moundville, Hale County, Alabama
33.00886, -87.63067

Categories

PREHISTORIC
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Finds & Access
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Nearby Historic Sites

Foster Home/Sylvan Plantation
Early Republic
6.5 mi
Tanglewood
Civil War
11 mi
Kennedy-Foster House
Industrial
13.5 mi
Stillman College
Listed
13.5 mi
Jemison School-Drish House
Industrial
13.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Moundville listed on the National Register?

Moundville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Moundville?

Moundville is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Moundville a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Moundville has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Moundville?

The period of significance for Moundville is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Moundville?

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