Ocmulgee National Monument

Ocmulgee National Monument

Ocmulgee National Monument, village site containing earthwork structures built by farming peoples of the Mississippian culture. The monument is located in central Georgia, U.S., on the Ocmulgee River in the eastern outskirts of Macon. The monument was authorized in 1934 and established in 1936, with boundary changes occurring in 1941 and 1992. It occupies about 700 acres (280 hectares) and consists of two units: the Main Unit, comprising the Mississippian structures, and the separate Lamar Mounds and Village Unit, located 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream, which is devoted to the Lamar culture that occupied the area following the decline of the Mississippian peoples. The Lamar Unit is open only by special permit.

In addition to the Mississippian structures, the site preserves artifacts and other evidence of human habitation dating from 10,000 bce to about 1715 ce. The Mississippians lived on the site from about 900 to 1200 ce. Among the major features of the village site are eight flat-topped earthen mounds. The Great and the Lesser Temple Mound were probably used for religious ceremonies; the Great Temple Mound, measuring 50 feet (15 metres) in height, is the largest mound on the site. Artifacts such as copper and shell ornaments and evidence of more than 100 burials have been uncovered in the Funeral Mound. Both the Funeral Mound and the Lesser Temple Mound were partially destroyed by a rail line built through the area in the mid- to late 1800s. Several earth lodges—probably meeting places for leaders—once existed in the village. The lodge that stood on the north side of the village has been reconstructed and retains its original thousand-year-old clay floor. The monument’s visitors’ centre houses an archaeological museum.