The Choccolocco Creek Archaeological Complex

The Choccolocco Creek Archaeological Complex. Alabama Indigenous Mound Trail. , Centered around Boiling Spring, the Choccolocco Creek Archaeological Complex once consisted of at least three earthen mounds, a large stone mound, and a large snake effigy (representation) also made of stone. The largest earthen mound once stood high above the Choccolocco Creek floodplain. The earliest mound construction began during the Middle Woodland period (ca. 100 BC to AD 250) when the site became a regionally important ritual center associated with peoples from the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley. Mound construction appears to have resumed around AD 1100 when the inhabitants of this area were closely connected with the people of the Etowah site near Cartersville, Georgia. , Prior to the 1830s, this site was the location of the ceremonial ground of the Abihkas, one of the most ancient tribal towns within the modern Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Ethnographic research conducted by the Smithsonian Institution indicates that the stone constructions are associated with oral histories that tell of a town "lost in the water." The large stone mound is thought to be the result of "burden" stones carried by the Abihka in remembrance of those lost in a great flood. , This site is very important to numerous Southeastern indigenous tribes who assert an ancestral connection with those who built and occupied Alabama's ancient mounds. The earthwork landscapes and the objects and information recovered from them reveal a rich cultural tradition that still thrives today among these tribes. Our indigenous mound sites represent a heritage for all Alabamians to cherish, and it is important that we protect and preserve them for future generations., How do you celebrate your ancestors?