Emerald Mound site
Emerald Mound site, located in southwestern Mississippi near Fairchild's Creek, is a significant archaeological site associated with the prehistoric Natchez Indians. It served as the last major ceremonial center of this culture prior to European contact, with occupation dating from approximately 1300 to 1600 CE. The site features six confirmed mounds positioned atop an artificially enlarged ridge, creating a flat-topped platform that spans 5 acres. The largest of these mounds, a truncated pyramid, stands 30 feet tall and is believed to have been part of a complex ceremonial landscape.
Emerald Mound is considered a successor to the nearby Anna site, reflecting the political and social evolution of the Natchez people during the late Mississippian period. It is speculated that the site may have been home to the notable chief Quigualtam, who is known for his defiance against the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto. While the prominence of Emerald shifted over time, it remained a key location until the seventeenth century when it was largely abandoned in favor of newer centers of power. The site is a testament to the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of the Natchez Indians.
Emerald Mound site
Category: Archaeological site
Date: 1300-1600
Location: Stanton, Mississippi
Culture affected: Natchez
The Emerald (Selzertown) Mound site is located on Fairchild’s Creek in the hardwood-covered löessial hills of southwestern Mississippi about six miles east of the Mississippi River, one mile north of Stanton Station, and nine miles northeast of Natchez. It was the last major ceremonial seat of the prehistoric Natchez Indians immediately before European contact.
The site consists of six confirmed mounds and a nearby area bearing a light scatter of pottery. The mounds sit on top of an artificially widened ridge crest. Dirt was added to the upper slopes of the ridge, forming a steep-sided, flat-topped platform measuring 435 by 770 feet at the base, 345 by 640 feet at the summit, and between 27 and 35 feet high. The summit plateau covers 5 acres.
Mounds lined the edges of the massive platform, two small ones along each side and a large one on each end (west and east). Only the two largest structures survive today. The western mound stands 30 feet high and has basal dimensions of 160 by 190 feet. It seems to have originally been a truncated pyramid with a ramp leading up its eastern face. The mutilated eastern mound is only 5 feet high, and its original shape is not clear. The other four mounds were small low rises, largely obliterated during the early nineteenth century.
Emerald was occupied from circa 1300 to 1600 c.e., or during the late Anna or early Foster through the Emerald phases of the Late Mississippian period. The earliest occupants lived on the ridge crest and built houses framed by posts set in wall trenches. Earthwork construction started a short time later. First, an earthen embankment was put up around the ridge nose, followed by infilling behind the embankment and general mantling that raised the artificial apron to the level of the exposed ridge crest. All this construction was completed during the Foster phase. Finally, mounds were erected atop the platform during the Emerald phase.
The Emerald Mound site resembles the nearby Anna site, located on the Mississippi River bluff, and is believed to have succeeded Anna as the primary center of the late prehistoric and protohistoric Natchez Indians. Some authorities identify Emerald as the home of the arrogant Quigualtam, chief of a powerful native province, who upon being summoned to worship and serve the conquistador, Hernando de Soto, challenged the Spaniard to dry up the Mississippi River as proof that he was a god or else face a mortal’s fate if he tried to confront Quigualtam. Whether the home of Quigualtam is Emerald or somewhere farther north, as other authorities maintain, Emerald was the most politically, socially, and ceremonially prominent site in the Natchez locality during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Prominence subsequently shifted south to the Fatherland site, the Grand Village of the historic Natchez Indians; by the seventeenth century, Emerald was abandoned or used as a minor campground on the outskirts of Natchez tribal territory and political authority.