Collaborative Archaeology, Public Parks, and the Importance of Chronology at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7471829
AutoresV D Thompson (0000-0003-1688-8932, University of Georgia, autor de correspondencia), Jasmine Birch (0000-0001-9208-9783, University of Georgia), Raelynn A Butler (College of the Muscogee Nation), Raelynn Butler (Secretary of Culture and Humanities at the Muscogee (Creek) Nation), Alex Cherkinsky (University of Georgia), Carey J Garland (0000-0002-0823-5571, University of Georgia), Greg Luna Golya (University of Georgia), Carla S Hadden (0000-0002-6577-5558, University of Georgia), Turner Hunt (Citizen, Muscogee (Creek) Nation), John M Williams (0000-0001-5578-4787)
Año2026
Volumen91
Número1
Páginas183-206
Fecha de publicación2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/aaq.2025.10106
OpenAlexW4417496855
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas33

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, located in Macon, Georgia, is one of the most iconic cultural sites in the Southeast and is a Traditional Cultural Place (TCP) of the Muscogee Nation and other federally recognized Tribal Nations. Early work (1933–1941) revealed a network of earthen monuments and other features. Prior to our work, there were only two radiocarbon dates from the primary Native American occupation of Ocmulgee. Both were run in the 1960s—and only one is from the famous Earthlodge community building. These assays contributed to a general chronological assignment of the site to AD 1015. Our new dating program—including wiggle-matched radiocarbon dates from one of the timbers of this building—indicates a later construction for the Earthlodge and likely continuous occupation for other areas of the site, calling into question beliefs about Ocmulgee and its place in interpretative constructs. This work is a collaborative effort that includes Muscogee Nation, academics, National Park Service archaeologists, and private citizens. The results have implications for understanding not only the Muskogean-speaking people’s histories and their relationship to TCPs but also how we can begin to conduct archaeology in a way that strengthens descendants’ connections to ancestral homelands