Tag Archives: Prehistoric Georgia

Rock Eagle, Putnam County

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View of Rock Eagle effigy mound from observation tower

Rock Eagle is often cited as one of the great wonders of Georgia, yet it remains largely a mystery. Irby Hudson Scott acquired the land after the 1802 treaty with the Creek Indians and his family never farmed the area near the effigy, before selling it to the federal government in 1938. The first known published reference to the mound was made in 1854 by Reverend George White in his Historical Collections of Georgia. In the 1878 Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, C. C. Jones referred to it as the Scott Eagle Mound, in a detailed description of his research at the site. The most recent scholarship places construction of the site at 1500-500 years ago, but dating a place like this is an evolving process. There isn’t even agreement that it’s an eagle. Some have suggested that it represents a vulture. The image of a bird with open wings has been found on many Mississippian artifacts, religious objects, and petroglyphs, and while Rock Eagle is likely of the Woodland period, the influence continued.

Another large bird effigy mound consisting of milky white quartz, known as Rock Hawk, is located nearby. A third effigy mound, known as the Pressley [Presley] Mound or Mound No. 3, was identified on a map of these sites made by C. C. Jones in the 1870s. Now lost to insensitive excavation, it was located on the Eatonton-Godfrey Road.

In June 1940, the Georgia Society of Colonial Dames of the XVII Century erected a bronze plaque on a slab of Georgia granite, between the parking lot and the effigy. It reads: Rock Eagle Mound – Mound of Prehistoric Origin. Believed to be Ceremonial Mound. Made with white quartz rocks in the shape of an eagle. Head turned to east. Length 102 feet. Spread of wings 120 feet. Depth of breast 8 feet. Only two such configurations discovered East of the Mississippi River. Both in Putnam County. “Tread softly here white man, for long ere you came, strange races lived, fought and loved.”

In 1936, Works Progress Administration archaeologist Martin Cromer dug exploratory trenches around the mound and found little more than pottery shards and daub. At the time, Rock Eagle was likely in a condition similar to present-day Rock Hawk. By 1938, Cromer restored the effigy to measurements and specifications made by C. C. Jones in 1877.

The tower is a landmark unto itself. Along with the parking lot, fence, and walkway, it was built in 1938.

Some of the most important excavations done at the site were completed in 1954 by Dr. Vincenzo Petrullo and Dr. A. R. Kelly, who recovered burned and unburned human and animal remains, as well as a single quartz point. This research suggested evidence of a prehistoric presence at the site, but unfortunately, the artifacts are lost today.

The Rock Eagle 4-H Center opened in 1955, and has undoubtedly hosted tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of students over its 70 year history.

As a ceremonial site, Rock Eagle is sacred to Native Americans. The University of Georgia is committed to its perpetual preservation and it is open year-round and with no admission cost. The surrounding property is some of the most beautiful and unspoiled in the region.

National Register of Historic Places

Rock Hawk, Putnam County

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From the Rock Hawk website: It is not known who built the Rock Eagle or Rock Hawk Effigies, nor exactly when or why. The effigies were located on land occupied by Native Americans before early settlers took ownership via treaties and land grants shortly after 1800.

In 1805 Robert White acquired the property where the Rock Hawk Effigy is located through a land lottery but sold it in 1818 to Kinchen Little, who would become one of Putnam County’s most prominent citizens. (Rock Hawk was often known as the “Sparta Road Eagle” or “Little Eagle,” which generally referred to the Little family, but many interpreted this to mean an eagle smaller than Rock Eagle.)

The Rock Eagle Effigy is located at the University of Georgia 4-H Center on US Highway 441 in Putnam County. Dr. A.R. Kelly of the University of Georgia, after at least a couple of years of interest in the local mounds, became involved with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in 1936 to conduct numerous excavations and surveys at Rock Eagle. They recovered small amounts of aboriginal pottery, chipped stone, and daub, which were not considered significant and suggested to many archaeologists and others that the “clean” mound was used for religious purposes. During that time, the effigy was reconstructed to the 1877 measurements of C.C. Jones. By 1938 the fence, walkway, and tower were added to finish off the preservation of the mound, as it appears today.

At the time that Dr. A. R. Kelly of the University of Georgia and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) were excavating at the Rock Eagle Effigy, a letter dated March 23, 1936 was sent from George A. Turner of the Rural Resettlement Administration to Richard W. Smith, Secretary Treasurer of the Society of Georgia Archaeology concerning a third bird effigy. The letter referred to a map of Putnam County prepared by Turner, which showed the locations of important archaeological sites. In addition to Rock Eagle (“Scott Eagle Mound”) and Rock Hawk (“Sparta Road Eagle”) he identified the following mound, which became known as the Pressley (Presley) Mound: “No.3, Northwest of Eatonton on the Eatonton-Godfrey road is known as the old Pressley place. There is, at this time a large pile of rock, and someone stated that this pile of rock was once in the same shape of the Scott Eagle Mound but was destroyed by moving part of the rock. Indian relics have been found near this location.

Kolomoki Mounds, 350-750 AD, Early County

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Temple Mound, Kolomoki

Located along Kolomoki Creek, a tributary of the nearby Chattahoochee River, Kolomoki Mounds is among the largest Woodland Period burial and temple complexes in the Southeast.  The site dates to 350-750AD/CE and may have been one of the most populous settlements north of Mexico at the time. Most of the mounds are quite small in contrast to the Temple Mound, which has a base of 325 by 200 feet and a height of 56 feet. It is believed that the Temple Mound was used for religious ceremonies and there is speculation that the chieftain’s house was located on the west side (seen below) of the mound, which is slightly higher than the east side.

Various tribes made this site home, including Weeden Island, Kolomoki, and Lamar Indians.

This view, from atop the Temple Mound, looks out onto a vast plaza. This was a typical layout for Woodland villages. The plaza would have included various houses of wattle and daub construction, roofed with local grasses. In its time, all of this would have been exposed red clay.

Looking down the steps to the plaza gives some perspective as to the size of the temple mound.

This burial mound, on the plaza, is known simply as Mound D. At 20 feet, it’s one of the largest extant Woodland burial mounds. It was completely excavated in the early 1950s; radiocarbon dating has suggested it was built around 30AD/CE, with a margin of error of 300 years. More information about the site’s smaller mounds and a history of archaeological excavations conducted here over the years can be found at the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Sadly, a theft at the site in 1974 resulted in the loss of numerous pieces of pottery and other artifacts. It’s hoped that an inventory of the stolen items, which are still sought by the park, will eventually lead to some of them being recovered.

There is much to see at Kolomoki Mounds State Park, including abundant wildlife and flora. This Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), covered in red clay, was crossing the main road in the park. They were likely quite abundant here in the Woodland Period.

National Historic Landmark

Altamaha Formation Outcrop, Jeff Davis County

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If you’ve ever traveled Georgia Highway 107 between Jacksonville and Snipesville, you’ve undoubtedly noticed these large outcrops near the Coffee/Jeff Davis County line. They’re an extension of the better-known Broxton Rocks, a natural area protected by the Nature Conservancy of Georgia. The area, known as Flat Tub,  is accessible as a Georgia Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and recent covenants have led to further protections of this fascinating resource.

Long thought to be Altamaha Grit, different hypotheses suggest that it could be of Altamaha Formation, but not as “gritty” as other such areas previously identified. Another thesis suggests this may be a more specific “Ocmulgee Formation”, the result of a meteorite impact which may have created the Big Bend of the Ocmulgee.

Whatever the specific geology, it’s certainly an amazing environment, almost alien in comparison to adjacent lands.