Buried City

Buried City. Prehistory. , Remains of an ancient Native American metropolis lie deep beneath the surface of modern day Nashville. Both here and directly to the east across the Cumberland River once stood a bustling city with thousands of inhabitants. Archaeologists have identified this settlement as part of the network of Mississippian Culture that existed in the region between roughly 800 to 1500 CE. (Common Era).

Mississippian Culture is characterized by intensive agriculture. Communities developed large-scale crop production , mostly beans, corn, and squash , for the purpose of protection and sustainability for an expanding population. They also created a wide-spread manufacturing and exchange of other commodities, especially chert implements and salt. The location of this Mississippian city took advantage of the mineral deposits in the nearby springs for manufacturing salt.

Two of the most prominent features of Mississippian villages were large platform mounds and plazas. Houses, temples, and burial buildings were usually constructed atop the mound. Towns also featured open courtyards surrounded by mounds. The plazas were used for ceremonial and recreational purposes. Though little is known about the decline of Mississippians in the Nashville area, the remnants of their once vibrant culture still exists on the Middle Tennessee landscape.

[Caption:] , Ancestral Native Americans played Chunkey games in flat fields like the Sulphur Dell. The game was played by rolling disc-shaped stones across the ground and throwing spears at them in an attempt to place the spear as close to the stopped stone as possible. It was played in huge arenas that housed great audiences designed to bring people of the region together.