The Lohmann Site: An Early Mississippian Center in the American Bottom

The archaeological excavations have documented the subsurface remains of early Mississippian period (AD 1000 to 1150) structures, pits, and postmolds. The primary component of the site, the Lohmann phase (AD 1000 to 1050) remains, provides ample support for the interpretation of this large site as a Mississippian center. The Stirling phase (AD 1050 to 1150) features, while in all probability part of a Mississippian center, are less susceptible to such interpretation (the large piece of rubbed hematite and the only piece of charred red cedar wood from the Stirling phase features may prove to be of significance).

The recovered artifactual and architectural samples, while perhaps a biased reflection of household and community activities and facilities, have provided evidence of a distinct settlement, relative to other small Mississippian sites documented by the FAI-270 Archaeological Mitigation Project. An extradomestic building, human remains in unusual contexts, suggestive plant and animal remains, temporally and spatially restricted deposits of unfinished celts and microdrills, and hints of extraordinarily long occupation spans of domestic zones are believed to support the notion that the Lohmann site was a Mississippian town where locally important elite individuals resided.