Moundville

From about A. D. 1100-1500, Moundville was a prehistoric Native American political and ceremonial center that, at its height in the 13th century, was America’s largest community north of Mexico. Between 1,000 and 3,000 people lived in this town, which was fortified by a one-mile-long wooden wall studded with guard towers. Moundville served as the capital of a powerful chiefdom of about 10,000 people living in smaller villages over a 60-mile stretch of the Black Warrior River Valley from present day Tuscaloosa to Demopolis. The Moundville people constructed 28 massive flat-topped earthen mounds arranged systematically around a vast central plaza. The mounds served as elevated platforms for civic and ceremonial structures and the homes of nobles. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Moundville, Alabama · United States