The Pinson Mounds comprise a prehistoric Native American complex located in Madison County, Tennessee, in the region that is known as the Eastern Woodlands. The complex, which includes 17 mounds, an earthen geometric enclosure, and numerous habitation areas, was most likely built during the Middle Woodland period (c. 1-500 AD). The complex is the largest group of Middle Woodland mounds in the United States. Sauls' Mound, at , is the second-highest surviving mound in the United States.
The Pinson Mounds are now part of Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park, one of two archaeological parks in Tennessee (the other being Old Stone Fort near Manchester). Pinson Mounds is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geographic setting
right|325px|thumb|The view from atop Sauls' Mound, looking east
The Pinson Mounds are located on a plateau-like upland above the wetlands that line the banks of the South Fork of the Forked Deer River. The river and its wetlands form the complex's southern boundary. The Pinson Mounds are located amidst three distinctive biotic zones: the oak forests atop the plateau, the cypress forests in the wet bottomlands, and the beech forests on the slopes between the uplands and the bottomlands. The ground is mostly composed of Tertiary period rocks known for producing high-quality clay.
The mounds complex can be roughly divided into three sections— the Inner section, situated at the center of the complex around Saul's Mound, the Western (or Ozier) section, and the Eastern section, which includes the geometric enclosure. A stream known as Hudson Branch runs perpendicular to the Forked Deer River and divides the Inner section from the Western section. The Eastern and Western sections are both roughly from the Inner section.
The Pinson Mounds complex is managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The Western section is managed by the Tennessee Division of Forestry and includes a nursery and irrigation pond. Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park is located appx. east of the town of Pinson and approximately southeast of Jackson.
Archaeological features
The Pinson Mounds complex covers approximately and contains at least 30 mounds, 17 of which have been identified as being completely or partially constructed by prehistoric peoples. The mounds range in height from the prominent Saul's Mound to barely noticeable rises. Most mounds were probably constructed between 100 and 300 AD, based on radiocarbon dating and the predominance of Woodland-period artifacts found at the site. The following are major features at the Pinson Mounds site:
Inner Complex
right|210px|thumb|The view across the top of Mound 10 into a field below
- Sauls' Mound (Mound 9), at the center of the complex. The mound was named after John Sauls, the owner of the property before its purchase by the state. Sauls' Mound is the second-highest prehistoric mound in the United States. The mound is rectangular in formation, with each corner aligned with one of the four cardinal directions. The mound's function was believed to be ceremonial. A viewing platform has been constructed atop the mound for park visitors. Dimensions: base— , height— .
- Mound 10, a few meters to the east of Sauls' Mound. Mound 10 is believed to have been a platform mound with a ceremonial function. Dimensions: base— , height— .
Eastern Section
right|210px|thumb|The view from atop Mound 29 into the area enclosed by the walls of the Eastern Citadel below
- The Eastern Citadel, an earthen geometric enclosure located approximately east of Sauls' Mound. William Myer gave the enclosure its present name in the early 20th century, although archeologists believe its function to have been primarily ceremonial rather than defensive. The walls form a near-perfect semicircle with a diameter of , enclosing approximately . The height of the walls is, on average, approximately . The enclosed area is not level, with the western edge being approximately lower than the eastern edge.
- The Twin Mounds (Mound 6), a double-conical mound located a few meters south of the Ozier Mound. The Twin Mounds were burial mounds. Base approximately .
Pinson Mounds in recorded history
thumb|left|"City of Cisco" - Pinson Mounds - William E. Myer - September 1922
After the Chickasaw were forced from much of West Tennessee in 1818, land speculator Joel Pinson arrived in what is now Madison County to survey the area. Pinson "discovered" the complex which was named after him in 1820. The complex did not receive much attention until a Jackson-area journalist named J.G. Cisco began writing about it in the late 19th century. Cisco's articles drew the interest of the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1916 the Smithsonian dispatched the archaeologist William E. Myer to investigate the site. Myer suggested that the entire complex was built according to a master plan, and created a map for the site. In 1947, the Tennessee Division of Forestry purchased the Western section of the Pinson site.
left|210px|thumb|Mound 12
Excavations by Dan Morse and Richard Polhemus in 1963 uncovered what they believed was an oval-shaped house, a large hearth, and various refuse pits. Morse and Polhemus agreed that the mounds were mostly built during the Middle Woodland period. The state purchased the prehistoric property in 1965 from the Williams and Saul families. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places that same year. Broster's team also found a number of "exotic" artifacts at the Cochran area. This suggested Pinson Mounds may have been a "manufacture" area for grave goods, or a regional trade center.
In the 1980s, Robert Mainfort discovered six tombs in the Twin Mounds, one of which contained the remains of eight young women wearing headdresses with copper adornments. Another tomb had four older men, one of whom had been buried with two round rattles bearing abstract designs. Mainfort also uncovered a single burial in Mound 31 and evidence of food offerings at the base of the mounds. In the late 1990s, four additional mounds were verified as prehistoric, bringing the total to 17. It is one of the oldest such mounds in the Eastern Woodlands region. At least three of the mounds— 6, 12, and 31— contain burials or cremations.
Some evidence suggests that the layout of the Pinson Mounds might be due to astronomical alignment, and expresses the people's cosmology, as is the case at some later mound complexes, such as Cahokia. The corners of Sauls' Mound, for instance, face the four cardinal directions. The Eastern and Western sections of the complex are roughly equidistant (appx. ) from the Inner complex, although the alignment is not exact. Mound 29 in the Eastern section is aligned with Sauls' Mound in the direction of the equinox sunrise, and Mound 28 is almost aligned with Sauls' in the direction of the Summer solstice sunrise. To date, no mound has been found in the direction of the Winter solstice sunrise.