Towosahgy State Historic Site
{{short description|Archaeological site in the U.S. state of Missouri}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Towosahgy State Historic Site
(23 MI 2)
| alternate_name = Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site
| image = Towosahgy HRoe 2009 02.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| alt =
| caption = Towosahgy Site main platform mound
| map =
| map_type = USA Missouri#USA
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in Missouri today
| map_size =
| iso_region =
| relief =
| map_dot_label =
| coordinates = {{coord|36|41|36|N|89|14|08|W|display=inline,title}}
| location = Mississippi County, Missouri, United States
| region = Missouri Bootheel
| built =
| abandoned =
| epochs =
| cultures = Mississippian culture
| event =
| excavations =
| archaeologists =
| architectural_styles = platform mound
| architectural_details = Number of monuments: 4
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site
| nrhp_type =
| added = July 29, 1969
| area = {{convert|116|acre}}
| refnum = 69000113{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
}}
}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Towosahgy State Historic Site
| elevation = {{convert|299|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{cite gnis|727748|Towosahgy State Park}}
| website = [https://mostateparks.com/park/towosahgy-state-historic-site Towosahgy State Historic Site]
| governing_body = Missouri Department of Natural Resources
| visitation_num = 2,383
| visitation_year = 2022
}}
Towosahgy State Historic Site (23MI2), also known as Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site, is a large Mississippian archaeological site with a Woodland period Baytown culture component located in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. It is believed to have been inhabited from c. 400–1350 CE. The site is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a state historic site. The name Towosahgy is an Osage word which means "old town". It is not known if members of the historic Osage people, who dominated a large area of present-day Missouri at the beginning of the 19th century, ever occupied the site.{{cite web |url=https://mostateparks.com/park/towosahgy-state-historic-site |title=Towosahgy State Historic Site |date=10 December 2010 |publisher=Missouri Department of Natural Resources |access-date=September 4, 2014}}{{cite web| url =http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/towosaghy.html| title = Towosahgy Site 23MI2 | access-date = 2017-01-01| author=Missouri Archaeology Society| date=n.d.|publisher=Missouri Archaeology Society}} (includes 7 photographs) The site was acquired by the Missouri state park system in 1967{{cite web |url=https://mostateparks.com/page/59045/state-park-land-acquisition-summary |title=State Park Land Acquisition Summary |date=25 August 2011 |publisher=Missouri State Parks |access-date=November 4, 2015}} and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 as NRIS number 69000113.{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
History of Towosahgy
The earliest portion of Towosahgy State Historic Site is in the southern half, where a Late Woodland period village once stood. Wilkie dates this component to about 400 to 700 CE.
Later the site was fortified and built up as a Mississippian village with seven platform mounds, most surrounding a central plaza area. During this time, the site was surrounded by a palisade wall of vertical logs and a moat.{{Cite book|author=John W. Cottier and Michael D. Southard|year=1977|title=An Introduction to the Archaeology of Towosahgy State Archaeological Site|publisher=Missouri Archaeologist|pages=230–268}} Like other Mississippian mound centers, Towosahgy also had a borrow pit from which earth was removed to create the mounds. The largest remaining mound in the complex is Mound 2, also known as the "temple mound". Excavations on this part of the site were conducted in 1989 by James Price.{{cite book |author1=James E. Price |author2=Cynthia R. Price |year=1990 |title=Archaeological Investigations in Three Areas of the Towosahgy State Historic Site, 23MI2, Mississippi County, Missouri, 1989 |publisher=University of Missouri |location=Columbia, Mo. |oclc=68738170}} The site was abandoned during the late 14th century for unknown reasons, as were many similar Mississippian sites in the region.
Ceramics from the site represent typical pottery found in the Missouri Bootheel region. Sherds from the Woodland occupation are typically grog tempered. The later Mississippian culture pottery is shell tempered. Type varieties identified include Baytown Plain and Mulberry Creek Cordmarked. Mississippian ceramics were also both plain and decorated. Punctuated, incised, fabric impressed, and red, black, and brown painted/slipped sherds, typical decorating methods, are all present.{{cite book |author=Duncan Wilkie |year=1988 |title=Field Work at Towosahgy State Historic Site| publisher=The Center for Regional History and Cultural Heritage, Southeast Missouri State University |location=Cape Girardeau, Mo. |oclc=68738164}} A large collection of ceramic vessels from the site are part of the Beckwith Collection displayed at the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State University.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{stack|{{commons category|Towosahgy site|Towosahgy State Historic Site}}}}
- [https://mostateparks.com/park/towosahgy-state-historic-site Towosahgy State Historic Site] Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- [https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/towosahgy.pdf Towosahgy State Historic Site Map] Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- [http://www.semo.edu/museum/archaeology.htm Beckwith Collection. Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum, Southeast Missouri State University]
- [http://library.semo.edu/archives/collections/Finding%20Aids/Wilkie%20Collection,%20Duncan/Cascading%20Style%20Sheet/Wilkie%20Title%20Page.htm The Wilkie Collection, Southeast Missouri State University Special Collections and Archive]
{{Mississippian and related cultures}}
{{Pre-Columbian North America}}
{{Protected areas of Missouri}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri}}
Category:Middle Mississippian culture
Category:Native American history of Missouri
Category:Missouri State Historic Sites
Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
Category:Buildings and structures in Mississippi County, Missouri
Category:Protected areas established in 1967