My final stop in Mississippi for this journey is at Bear Creek Mound along the Natchez Trace Parkway near Tishomingo. According to the National Park Service sign, this site has been used by humans going back 10,000 years:
“The village site was occupied as early as 8000 B.C. by hunters who stayed only long enough to prepare their kill. From the time of Christ to 1000 A.D., migratory people of this area practiced limited agriculture. The nearby fields and streams offered an abundance of nuts, fruits, game and fish. These people shaped this mound and build a crude temple on its summit to house their sacred images.” United Stated Department of the Interior, National Park Service
A sign titled “Centuries of Use” diagrams the rich natural resources that allowed human activity for thousands of years, and details how the mounds were built about 900 years ago during the Mississippian period. A ceremonial building once sat on Bear Creek Mound’s flat top.
The mound itself isn’t much to look at, and I’d estimate the height at like 8-10 feet from memory. But if you use your imagination to those ancient times and see the generations that have crossed through here it does become a bit more alive.
The Mississippi-Alabama state line is within sight up the road and I am heading that way. Until next time, Mississippi!
