Spiro Mounds
Before the Europeans arrived in the area that is now Oklahoma, the area was inhabited by American Indians. These tribes were ancestors of the modern Wichita and Caddo tribes. It was members of these tribes that constructed the Spiro Mounds site in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. Spiro Mounds was home to tribal leaders and their attendants. The rest of the tribe lived in villages along the Arkansas River bottoms.
1350 to 1450 AD was considered the Spiro Phase, when mound building was at its height. The culture went through major changes after the failure of their crops. Eventually the population decreased, and the culture moved towards hunting Plains bison.
The site was occupied for 1,500 years, and at least eleven mounds were built during that time. Brown Mound was the largest. It is thought that this mound, along with Copple Mound, was the location of special ceremonial functions.
Information provided by Charles Wallis, State Historic Preservation Office & Dr. Robert Brooks, Oklahoma Archeological Survey
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