The Mound-Builders

Chapter XVIII: The Tennessee-Cumberland Area

CHAPTER XVIII THE TENNESSEE-CUMBERLAND AREA Extent and characteristics of the area-Southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois-The State of Kentucky-The State of Tennessee-Northern Georgia-The Etowah culture-Virginia and the Carolinas. T HE segregation of what the present writer has chosen to designate as the Tennessee-Cumberland area is perhaps less justifiable, from the standpoint both of culture and of physiography, than any other of the assumed divisions of the general mound area. Culturally it exhibits close affinities with the Lower Mississippi area, with which it obviously merges toward the west. Again, still culturally considered , it might be divided into two distinct subareas, the one comprising the region of the lower Wabash dividing the states of Indiana and Illinois and extending across Kentucky into central Tennessee, and the other corresponding to eastern Tennessee and adjacent portions of Georgia and the Carolinas. Geographically this division seems a logical one, with the rather sterile mountainous. belt intervening between the two subareas. Each subarea, moreover, possesses an outstanding nucleus of development, that to the westward finding its best expression in the stone-grave mounds and cemeteries about Nashville, and the eastern region culminating in the remarkable Etowah Group near Cartersville, Georgia. However, although local differentiations are rather marked and the usual diversity of cultures is in evidence, the culture complex of the area as a whole is sufficiently homogeneous to justify its classification as a single division of the general mound area. Besides, such divisions as are assumed for this volume are intended mainly as vehicles to facilitate the reader's consideration and understanding of the mound area rather than as definitely established lines. 410 THE MOUND-BUILDERS EXTENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREA The Tennessee-Cumberland area comprises the State of Kentucky with the exception of its northern and western extensions, which pertain to the Ohio and the Lower Mississippi areas; those portions of southern Indiana and Illinois bordering on the lower course of the Wabash River; Tennessee , exclusive of that portion of the state fronting on the Mississippi River; and northern and northwestern Georgia and the Carolinas. As intimated above, the affinities of the Tennessee-Cumberland are with the Lower Mississippi area, in both material and ::esthetic culture. The artistic attainment of the area approximates that of the noted Hopewell culture, but in the matter of earthen structures, such as geometric earthworks, it is not so spectacular. This is counterbalanced in great part, however, by the prevalence of the great flat-topped pyramids known as "house" or "temple" mounds. Compared with the Lower Mississippi area, the occurrence of conical mounds appears to be in greater proportion to the number of flat-topped structures, but these are not so abundant as in the Lower Mississippi area. The most persistent characteristic of the region as a whole is the frequency of boxlike stone graves, a trait which probably owes its high development to the common occurrence of stone suited to the purpose. Embankments and enclosures of both stone and earth are abundant in the region, particularly in central Kentucky and Tennessee. It is interesting to note that the general trend of these embankments and walls is northeast and southwest, perhaps in keeping with certain physiographical features. The enclosures of the region usually are roughly circular or semicircular in form, and as a rule they are situated on the bluffs and steep banks of streams, the precipitous character of which offered imposing obstacles to the approach of enemies and thus furnished a degree of protection . Enclosures almost ahyays are accompanied by stonegrave burials, hut rings, and ditches or moats. Associated mounds usually comprise one or more centrally located flat- THE TENNESSEE-CUMBERLAND AREA 4II topped structures around which are grouped smaller conical mounds. Stone-grave burials occur both in mounds and in ordinary cemeteries. Within the flat-topped earthen tumuli are found ash beds and burned clay, indicating the former presence of domiciliary and ceremonial structures, as in the area to the south. Immediately adjacent to the pyramidal mounds a clear space devoid of other structures was maintained, presumably for ceremonial and social use. N~4 . GNo FAO" {(KI"GTON FAYETTE CO.II'£NTVCII'I:'·C. ]tJi .,hr. FIG. 260. MAP OF A TYPICAL KENTUCKY EARTHWORK After Squier and Davis, A ncient Monuments. Of the minor artifacts within the area, potteryware is the most abundant and striking, indicating a high development and wide employment of the fictile art. With...