The Central Plaza

At Chucalissa, the central plaza was a flat, recessed square kept clean and left free of burials. It was most clearly defined by a residential edge surrounding it on three sides, and this ridge was built up when the largest mound was begun in 1350 CE, during Chucalissa's largest population. Because archaeologists rarely find objects in plazas at Mississippian sites, the plaza's use is inferred from other communities. At Chucalissa, it is believed to have served as a shared community space much like parks and town squares in the European tradition, and historic Native American communities in the Southeast, as documented by French and Spanish imperial explorers and by continuing Native American practice, used plazas for ceremonies, dances, sporting events, and other gatherings involving the entire community.

Memphis, Tennessee · United States