This Wisconsin State Park Protects Ancient Mississippian Town Ruins from 900 CE

Aztalan State Park, Wisconsin

Aztalan State Park doesn’t get the crowds that Devil’s Lake pulls, but it should.

This quiet spot along the Crawfish River was once Wisconsin’s biggest city, home to over a thousand Mississippian people who built their homes in the prairie. The earthworks they left behind still define the landscape.

Here’s a look at this forgotten settlement.

From Woodland Village to Mississippian Town

A Late Woodland village existed at Aztalan by 900 CE. The community lived in simple structures and farmed the fertile river valley.

Around 1050 CE, people from Cahokia in southern Illinois migrated northward. Cahokia, near modern East St. Louis, supported 30,000 people – larger than London at that time.

The newcomers lived alongside the Woodland residents.

Together they transformed the 35-acre site into a miniature version of Cahokia, complete with a central plaza, platform mounds, and a massive stockade wall.

Platform Mounds for Ceremony and Status

Three large earthen platform mounds anchored Aztalan. Workers carried countless baskets of soil to build these structures in layers.

The largest mound rose in three construction phases with built-in steps to its flat top. A building covered the summit, housing a sacred fire for religious ceremonies.

A second mound supported a mortuary structure for preparing the dead.

The third platform likely held the residence of the chief, physically elevating leaders above ordinary citizens in the Mississippian social hierarchy.

The Defensive Stockade System

Walls protected Aztalan on three sides, with the Crawfish River guarding the east.

The stockade measured 23 feet wide at its base and stood 4-5 feet high. During Aztalan’s occupation, residents built two stockade systems.

The first rotted away while the second burned and was never rebuilt. Workers set vertical logs into narrow ground holes, then added watch towers at intervals.

They covered the wooden framework with clay and grass in a technique called wattle and daub.

Daily Life in the Ancient Village

Most residents lived between the river and eastern stockade.

They built rectangular or circular houses using wooden poles with bark walls covered in clay for insulation.

The town followed a planned layout divided by interior walls into specific zones. Most people lived in the residential area while a large plaza served as community space.

Elite members inhabited a separate section.

Houses clustered together in groups, creating a close-knit community where people conducted daily activities in shared spaces.

Agriculture and Hunting Practices

Farmers cultivated the Crawfish River floodplain. They grew corn as their primary crop, plus squash, gourds, and sunflowers.

They stored harvested corn in pits inside structures on the platform mounds.

Deer hunting provided most meat. Hunters also pursued elk, raccoon, beaver, muskrat, fox, and turtle using bows with distinctive stone points.

The community gathered hickory nuts, acorns, and berries from surrounding forests, maintaining a balance of cultivated crops and wild foods throughout the year.

The Mystery of the Marker Mounds

Northwest of the main settlement, a line of round mounds extends northward.

When archaeologists dug into these mounds in the 1920s, they found something unexpected. Each mound contained a large wooden post set in a central pit.

Workers had surrounded each post with gravel and soil, then capped the pit with clay to hold it steady.

These “marker mounds” may have guided travelers, relayed messages, or tracked astronomical events.

Samuel Barrett suggested they connected to Green Corn Ceremonies practiced by Southeastern tribes.

Artifacts That Tell Their Story

Pottery fragments dominate the archaeological record at Aztalan.

Mississippian pottery includes bowls, jars, plates, and beakers with smooth exteriors and incised decorations. Woodland pottery shows cord markings on the outside.

Both styles appear throughout the site, supporting the theory that two cultural groups lived together.

Excavations uncovered animal bones, storage pits, and tools.

Unique finds include a Mississippian deity figurine and stone disks from “chunkey,” a popular game throughout the Mississippian world.

The Mysterious Abandonment

Between 1200 and 1300 CE, after two centuries of occupation, the people of Aztalan abandoned their town. They left behind their homes, mounds, and fortifications.

The timing coincides with Cahokia’s decline and the abandonment of Trempealeau, another Wisconsin Mississippian site.

This suggests a larger collapse across the northern Mississippian world. The community may have depleted local resources or faced increased warfare.

The Little Ice Age began shortly after 1300, creating challenges for corn farmers.

Visiting Aztalan State Park

Aztalan State Park sits one mile east of Lake Mills. Visitors need a Wisconsin State Park vehicle admission sticker to enter.

The park features reconstructed stockade sections and two platform mounds.

Walking trails guide visitors through the ancient town with interpretive signs explaining key features. The Friends of Aztalan State Park host events throughout the year, including Native American Day in July with traditional dances and cultural demonstrations.

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