added by archaeologs A large temple mound site in northern Georgia, of the Mississippian tradition and dating from the Temple Mound II period, c 1200-1700 AD. There was a fortified farming village with three temple mounds, which appears to have functioned mainly as a ceremonial center. In North America only Monk's Mound at Cahokia contains a greater volume than Etowah's 20-meter high mound. The artifacts include Lamar pottery (an elaborately stamped or incised utilitarian ware), under life-size stone statues of humans usually in a sitting or kneeling position, and Southern Cult paraphernalia.
added by archaeologs A large Mississippian site located on the north bank of the Etowah River in northern Georgia, USA, which appears to have functioned as a ceremonial centre rather than a centre for population. Its major features are three truncated pyramid mounds, surrounded by a ditch and palisade. The largest mound contains over 125,000 cubic metres of earth; in North America only Monk’s Mound at Cahokia contains a greater volume. The artefact inventory includes Lamar pottery (an elaborately stamped or incised utilitarian ware), under life-size stone statues of humans usually in a sitting or kneeling position, and large quantities of the paraphernalia of the Southern Cult. The site’s florescence is strongly linked to that of the Cult and dates to C1200-1700 ad.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983