Audio
“A Remarkable Feat,” Emerald Mound, Milepost 10, Panel A
Transcript
You are at the base of the eight-acre mound. A flat field atop the mound, the plaza level, is 35 feet above you. A trail to the plaza begins to your left. A smaller mound on one end rises above the plaza level. The parking lot is behind you. There are four exhibits here.
This panel, titled “A Remarkable Feat,” shows an illustration of the plaza during an athletic contest between tribal warriors. Spectators and their leader the Great Sun watch the game. [Text] Around 800 years ago, native peoples in this region began to transform a natural hill into what we call Emerald Mound. They followed a visionary plan and built this flat-topped sacred mound over perhaps 300 years. Covering eight acres, this remarkably engineered mound is the second largest mound structure in the United States. The large rectangular mound once held eight smaller mounds, three along each side of a long plaza plus one at each end. The Great Sun, a semi- divine chief, led from atop the largest of the eight mounds—more than 60 feet above where you are standing. Built along the ancient paths that became known as the Natchez Trace, Emerald Mound was an important ceremonial center for trade, ritual sporting contests, and social, political, and spiritual events. In the painting, the outstretched arms of two players reach for a small ball floating free in the air above their heads. All around them more than a dozen other male players converge on the ball, running, pushing, and shoving into the center of the action. One player has fallen onto the dirt playing field. On the right, two players pause, heads up, eyes on the ball, waiting to see who grabs it.
All the players are bare-chested with bare feet. They wear loincloths and decorative belts. Each is tattooed. Their ears have ear spools or earrings. Some wear armbands or anklets. Most have shaved the sides of their heads leaving only a single strip of dark hair down the middle. Each player has either red or white feathers in his hair. Some have white paint on their face, legs, and torso. Others wear red.
Behind the players, at the end of the plaza, there is a mound with steps that lead to a building at the top. Three bird effigies sit on the thatched roofline, one at each end and another in the center.
Three men stand in front of this building watching the game. All three wear jewelry in their ears, around their necks, wrists, and arms. The clothing they wear around their waists is decorated with colorful, geometric patterns. The central figure, the tallest, stands with his arms crossed over his chest. He wears a feathered robe over his shoulders and a feathered headdress.
On the left of the painting, lining the playing field, there are more than a dozen men, women, and children watching the game. Behind them, others watch from a small mound that holds a wooden structure with a high thatched roof.
Another exhibit is to your right.
Description
This panel, titled “A Remarkable Feat,” shows an illustration of the plaza during an athletic contest between tribal warriors. Spectators and their leader the Great Sun watch the game.
Duration
3 minutes, 25 seconds
Credit
NPS
Date Created
07/13/2017
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