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Various artifacts found at
the Jaketown Site, including clay pipes, red jasper beads,
plummets, and projectile points. (Plummets are polished stone
artifacts that have many conjectured uses, possibly ceremonial
objects)
From the National Historic Landmarks Survey collection
Jaketown Site
From the National Register collection |
Two prominent flat-topped rectangular mounds are present at the
Jaketown site. Mound B, the largest, measures about 150 by 200
feet at its base and is 23 feet high. On its eastern side, a projecting
bulge marks a ramp once used as a stairway. Mound C, northwest
of B, is about 15 feet high. While neither mound has been excavated,
distinctively styled pottery fragments found in the surrounding
area indicate that the mounds are probably Mississippian period
earthworks, dating to between1100 and 1500 A.D. Both mounds presumably
had ceremonial temples or elite residences on their summits.
Numerous smaller mounds at the Jaketown site, some of which may
have dated to the Late Archaic/Poverty Point period (1500 to 1000
B.C.), have been destroyed by plowing and highway construction.
The two remaining large mounds described above are owned and protected
by the state of Mississippi.
The Jaketown Site is located on the west side of State Hwy.
7, about four miles north of Belzoni, Mississippi. There are no
on-site visitor accommodations, and the mounds are covered with
dense underbrush. For safety, the mounds should be viewed from
the highway only.
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