xt7qft8dhs4s https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7qft8dhs4s/data/mets.xml Alabama Alabama Museum of Natural History 1950 Other titles include: Alabama Museum of Natural History museum paper, Geological Survey of Alabama, Museum of the Geological Survey of Alabama. Other creators include: United States. Work Projects Administration, Geological Survey of Alabama, Tennessee Valley Authority. Issues for 1, 3 carry no series numbering. No. 2 also as Education papers no. 1. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call number  AS36 .A2. journals  English University, Ala. : Alabama Museum of Natural History, 1910-1960 This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Alabama Works Progress Administration Publications Museum Paper, no. 29, 1950 - including "Moundville: An Historic Document" by Carl E. Guthe, Ph.D. text Museum Paper, no. 29, 1950 - including "Moundville: An Historic Document" by Carl E. Guthe, Ph.D. 1950 1950 2015 true xt7qft8dhs4s section xt7qft8dhs4s mv,
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I GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA
U WALTER B. JONES, STATE GEOLOGIST
MUSEUM PAPER 29
MOUNDVILLE: AN HISTORIC DOCUMENT
By
CARL E. GUTHE, PH. D.
DIRECTOR, NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
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FEBRUARY, 1950
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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA ·
·- WALTER B. Jonas, STATE GEOLOGIST ;
MUSEUM PAPER 29
MOUNDVILLE: AN HISTORIC DOCUMENT  
By   `
CARL B. GUTHB, 1¤H.¤.  
DIRECTOR, New YORK STATE Museum
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UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA
FEBRUARY, 1950

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  LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL  
I.  University, Alabama  
iq February 1, 1950 ,
Hon -·.·able James E. Folsom  
Gowrnor of Alabama j
Q lllmwaomery, Alabama  
p Sir:  
it E have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of  
  u smech delivered at the dedication of the Erskine Ramsay
. .~\rc·i>·zeological Research Center, Mound State Monument, on
_ Sep wuber 24, 1947, by Dr. Carl E. Guthe, Director of the New
_ YOl'l·—. State Museum. The title of the address is "M0undville:
An Historic Document". It is requested that it be printed I
HS Yllhseum Paper 29, of the Geological Survey of Alabama. ,
` Very respectfully,  
l WALTER B. JONES,
 ’ State Geologist

     PERSONNEL
i   Geological Survey Staff V
  i
    Walter B. Jones ..................l......................ll.........»....................l....»...l.... State Geoliiqist
    Stewart J. Lloyd ............................»...................... Assistant State Geologist
  i E. F. Burchard ....................................r.................................................. Senior Geologist {
    Hugh D. Pallister .............................................................................. Senior Geoli gist (
    Allan F. Archer ...........,........._............................................................................._._ Ecohgist . (
    Winnie MCGlammery .....................,..............i...........................,.......... Paleontolilgist i
    Roland M. Harper .........,............................i................................................... Gr€O§{l`£i]lll€l` 3  
    Thomas Detlarnette ...................................,............................................. Photogr;.i¤her    
    Katherine L. Fraker .......,.............................................. Principal Stenogr4»;»lier  _  
    Maria Montgomery ..........................................,......................................,........... Libiwriaii    
    Mary Claire Ryan ....................................,........,.............................i.............. Senior Vlerk  i
l     Julia Leatherwoocl ............................,..............................._.._____._.._._.._______ Stenog·1wi¤liei‘  
    Ruth Robertson ...................................i..............._.............._........__._.._.....,__.._ Stenog·r;.;>liei‘  {
 
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    Alabama Museum of Natural History Staff ‘
    Walter B. Jones ......................................................................................................... Dil·¤l··Q‘l‘i  _
    N. R. Montgomery ............................................................ Caretaker, Moulifl Pillk  i
    Betty Sue Clausen ............_......................................................................................... rlflllgt A
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  i   On Leave. A
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MOUNDVILLE: AN HISTORIC DOCUMENT  
By §
gist Carl E. Guthe, Ph.D.  
Wilt Director, New York State Museum  
gist Thank you, Dr. Jones. Mr. McMillan, Mr. Ramsay, ladies _
and uentlemen: Q
dist  
it is an honor and a privilege to be able to be with you I
gist - on this occasion. I take considerable personal satisfaction  
in l.~~ing here for two reasons. In the first place, today marks I
YM the ·»elebration of an important landmark in the development  
mer of   public-spirited project in which I played a humble part  
I ne;.1   twenty years ago. In the second place, it IS something ot I
mer i zi tlwill to be able to talk to you within the limits of what once I
was the center of a thriving and artistic community thought
they ‘ of ;~— home by several thousand people. I want to share with
  you tow some of the thoughts which have come to me during the
yjtiii · pas hours as I have become reacquainted with Moundville
I itsell and with the work which Dr. Jones and his colleagues
l€1‘l<   hziw married forward here for nearly a quarter of a century. As
  I   nd here facing these mounds my thoughts go naturally to I
’h‘”`   the -·eople who are responsible for their creation. Let me give I
? you Jriefly an outline of the history of the Mound State Monu-
its »  
 I yiany thousands of years ago, long before the great cities I
I MI ancient Mesopotamia or ancient Egypt were even contem-
  liiar   the ancestors of the builders of Moundville came over to
  Iihr jI~:v»‘ Iiiorld from Asia by way of Alaska. Tlleji were people
{mi- I ‘·‘-IF? sa simple way of life who gained their food by hunting and
. fisr.   As they spread over the two continents of the New
‘zi’f01` ‘,,  IIIWI I they adapted their activities and habits to fit the natnr2<.l
U   si;. Iindings in which they found themselves without, however.  
wgt -  Ill `llig the traditions and the customs which they had been  
awk C lil} Ii   their elders. As the centuries passed the descendants
L °   I ‘**»* iwst pioneers in the New World. mixed with descendants I
VPN f IQ II-Iiyes who came later from Asia by the same route. dw- I
 _Q   I an many kinds of civilizations throughout North ancl Eéoittlw
 E ai;.I—;·ica. Among the greatest of these was that which t'lov,·ere·I
 gw ;i1 TI~>;i·;o and Central America. and which left its influence up I~*. in
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l   both North and South American communities long before the r
  l coming of the Europeans. _ t
1
  l Some fifteen hundred years ago in the Mississippi Valler
  p the ancestors of the mound-builders lived in the forests and (
l   along the streams as hunters, berry pickers and shell ilish 2
  I eaters. Our first records of them are found in the great de- j
    posits of shells along the streams, which are the refuse i·esrilt- 1
ii l ing from the feasts of shell fish which these ancient people I-are (
l   enjoyed. About a thousand years ago these people learned from ·
l i their neighbors that containers could be made from the Arty 3
  { that was found near their villages. And so the concept of j
    pottery making came into existence. Shortly thereafter whey _ i
    received a new idea which came originally from Mexico rnd ‘
  l Central America, although they themselves were not awaiw- of I
il j that fact. They learned that by planting seeds of various lxrrltls e
    near their homes they could obtain from the resulting plans a
    harvest of the foods which they needed. In this way agricur are
  l was introduced to the ancestors of the builders of Moundr ille.
li I It marked a great step forward not alone for these anwent
    peoples but also for us today. The agriculture of the New
    World centered around the growing of corn, beans and squar hes. _
  i When the Europeans came to the New World in the beginnin  of
  y the 16th Century they found the Indians living upon wese Q
  agricultural staples. They carried them back to Europe. Today.  
  l corn and beans form an important segment of our agriculrrral I
  l economy. We have the Indians to thank for this. We also owe ~_ 
  I the Indians many other things in addition to corn, beans ind  
    squash. Rubber was first used by the Indians of Cewisral  
    America. The Spaniards were astounded by the propwlies  i
gi l of rubber which came from the sap of a tree. Today, 1`l@l~lJ€l`  Q
  l plays an important part in our lives. Another gift to us from ‘
    the Indians is tobacco, Here in the southern states we lar?  it
    reason to thank the Indians for still another important 21§`E»*Glll‘ 1
  l tural product. Short staple cotton had been known in th— lll~> rm  ‘
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3lie episide in the history of human experience which has great  
~ significance for us today.  
ley If we could transport ourselves backward in time by use  
ind of slime mythical time machine to this exact spot some 500 years  
ish ago in the middle of the 15th Century, we would find ourselves  
de- in me midst of a thriving, active Indian community, the in-  
ilt- l‘lu.~iiee of which was being felt for several hundred miles in all  
irc dliwstions. At that time, the Aztecs in the Mexican Valley  
om wen consolidating their military empire under Montezuma the l
lay Fira The ancestors of the present Pueblo Indians of New {
of liexico and Arizona were building villages on the mesas of that {
ley _ i·egi»n after having abandoned the cliff dwellings a few genera- l
ind tions earlier. Up in the north the Iroquois League was being  
of estahlished in the Finger Lakes area by Hiawatha and his l
ids assiriates. Overseas, in a small and unimportant community, a E
S yl mail called Christopher Columbus was born.  
tire ·
lle. At that time, the mounds which we see about us today were  
mg clearccl of trees and had houses upon them. The walls of these C
{N- hoi=·—.~s were made of upright saplings with branches woven ”
lei laeiwteen them and then plastered with mud. Above the walls _
mf ` Weie roofs of thatch. These mounds were of different heights, ,
N, » mir probably reflected in their size the importance of the house
my L \‘»‘li*··li stood upon them, The great mound which we call Mound I
um I P iiris the highest and the most important. Upon it stood a °
iw _°  Strli ¤i.· ture which was either the temple or the city hall of this
md   Conilniinity. The other mounds nearby were the homes of the
md 1 Chir tains and other leaders of this great city. The open spaces A ,
UGS   l»<él1‘~·en the·mounds were cleared level areas used for games
p , and leremonies. Scattered for several miles around this center
WY  ¤ \‘·'*:é`~ the houses of the common people, built like those upon the l
""lll ·o  ll"'ll wls but without the elaborate foundations. Close to each
lll?   ef `wsse houses were the family gardens. It   not difficult to
l‘lll‘   llliillle the area which now forms Mound State Mtilltlnient 21%
*’llt   (
  I to these ancient builders of Moundville and their relatives for  2 5
  I bequeathing to us the sites of our cities and the locations for  
ga   our great highways. -; 
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3; For some reason which we do not yet fully unders and. _ i
  Noundville as I have described it ceased to exist about the `_  l
  , beginning of the 16th Century. It undoubtedly had flourislied J  i
  i for at least two centuries, longer than our own United States   >
  , has been in existence. \Ve know that it was no longer occupied   {
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th. when De Soto came in the middle of the 16th Century for no trace  
uid · has g·.‘et been found here of European materials which were being _
iple traded to the Indians by that time. All that was left at Mound- E
but ville were the InOuI’1ClS HS yOu see them, the refuse heaps, and  
tho the several generations of burials of their dead with whom had [
ali- been placed reverently their most treasured and artistic objects j
do- for hse in the after world. l
per  
sed i have told you very briefly a story which I hope reveals i
.rd. whge these mounds are much more than mere lifeless heaps of  
led earth upon a plateau. I have told you a story which I am con- Y
»ui· vin¤·»·d is true history and is not based upon imagination. In i
dar . doiiie so, I have omitted a great many detailed facts which when  
tel confined have made this story possible. You may well ask ‘
1lcs hw l=i» this history can be learned since there were no written docu- g
ae- mens to record it for us.  
i as 3
th€ Che answer lies, of course, in the way in which students i
MHS of lizdian history study and interpret the clues to their living `
  habiws which these ancient people unintentionally left behind v
r a then. in the ground. Any object, whether it is whole or broken,
mag. have intrinsic artistic value. But the story of how and
whe; it was used lies not in itself but in the conditions which '
his suiiiund it when it is discovered by the student. For example. . I
ory » an iis-ised pottery bowl may be a thing of beauty in itself, but  
mi L its historical meaning is revealed through a knowledge of the ,
his \‘ille.;;»v site in which it was found, the depth it occurred below ,
not   the ground surface, its association with other vessels, imple- I
: of » nien`- or ornaments and its relation to burials or house founda- t . I
nor j ti·;»1;.<. Every clue, no matter how insignificant it may seem to
sed p lie. ii list be preserved and recorded, whether it be a broken piece I
the _  of lvl ttery, a burial, the ashes in a long dead fireplace, an aban-
ebt   flow? house floor, or only the hole left in the ground by a rotteil
for  1 sttizwn of a house post.
for  
·;  The archaeologists job is that of solving a very complex
  oll`: these niatei·ialS_ This building is a tangible expression      
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    of the responsibility we all have to hold in trust for all the pe..{)l€ (
{ { the irreplaceable historical materials gathered not alone from r {
    Moundville but from all archaeological sites in this regiorr_ in {
{   or·der that the earlier history of this area may be revealed, The V {
    Erskine Ramsay Archaeological Research Center is being r%ed21§' to which I want to refer in closing; \Ve all realixu Tllill
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·l>l¤# our civilization today is faced with tremendously complex prob-  
om » lems because scientific technology and mechanized industry have
. ia far autdistanced our social organization. Today, the student of
Ellie ‘ huiian relationships, the social scientist, carries a very great l
e