Sites to See
Nearby Archaeological Site Museums
Parkin Archaeological Site
Parkin is located about 45 minutes west of Memphis and consists of a mound complex that dates to about the same time period as Chucalissa. Parkin also has an excellent museum and programs for the young and old alike.
Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site
Wickliffe is located near Cairo Illinois, a three hour drive north of Memphis. Wickliffe is a also Mississippian culture site that dates to the same time period as Chucalissa and contains mounds, museum exhibits and interactive programs.
Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park
Pinson is located in Jackson Tennessee about 90 minutes east of Memphis. The Pinson site dates Is one of the largest Middle Woodland period mound groups that was occupied from about AD 1 - 500. The site's initial occupation predates the Chucalissa site by about 1000 years. In addition to an archaeological museum, as a Tennessee State Park, Pinson offers hiking trails, camping and picnic facilities.
Hampson Archaeological Museum
The Hampson Museum is located about one hour north of Memphis in Wilson, Arkansas. The Museum exhibits a nationally renowned collection of ceramic vessels from the nearby Mississipian culture Nodena site. The Virtual Hampson Museum contains an extensive 3-D representation of the collections.
Winterville Mounds
Winterville, located on Highway 1 just north of Greenville Mississippi, is the location of a prehistoric ceremonial center occupied from about A.D. 1000 to 1450. During the height of the prehistoric occupation, Winterville contained at least 23 mounds that served as a center for public activities of the surrounding community. The mounds currently preserved at Winterville are some of the largest in the Southeast United States. A museum at the site exhibits the material culture of the prehistoric Native Americans who built the mounds and lived at the site.
Native American Links
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
The Choctaw Indian Reservation comprising 35,000 acres of trust land scattered over 10 counties in east central Mississippi is home to nearly 10,000 members of Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, descendants of the Choctaw who refused to be removed to Oklahoma in the 1830s. The tribal headquarters, industrial park, Pearl River Resort, the Choctaw Health Department/Center, and other main tribal services, are located in the Pearl River Community in Neshoba County, Mississippi. The website of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma also contains important historical and cultural information about the Choctaw people.
Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma
The Chickasaw Nation's jurisdictional territory includes 7,648 square miles of south-central Oklahoma and encompasses all or parts of 13 Oklahoma counties. Today there are nearly 50,000 members of the Chickasaw Nation. In the 1830s the United States Government forced the Chickasaw people to leave their traditional homelands in what is now Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee to their new homeland in south-central Oklahoma. With the spirits of their ancestors the Chickasaw Nation today is "Unconquered and Unconquerable." The Chickasaw Nation has five museums and historic buildings open to the public including a recently dedicated Chickasaw Culture Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma
Located today in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, in the 1600s the Quapaw people lived in four villages in an area where the Arkansas River met the Mississippi River. In the 1800s the Quapaw were forced to relocate further west because of the expansion of European-Americans.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
"The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a Federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony -- to lineal descendants, and culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations."
Memphis Area Links
Dixon Gallery and Gardens--An art Museum and Botanic Garden.
Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology--This site is dedicated to the study of art and culture in ancient Egypt. The institute, located at The University of Memphis regularly exhibits artifacts and conducts educational programming.
Mud Island Park--A park and museum dedicated to the mighty Mississippi and her influences on life and culture in the south. The park is also home the WW II, B-17 bomber, "Memphis Belle."
National Civil Rights Museum--Exhibits a comprehensive overview of the Civil Rights Movement. The site includes a virtual tour of the museum.
Other Links of Interest
Mississippi River Parkway Commission--A fantastic resource for activities, museums, parks, and more along the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to New Orleans.