We've all pretty much forgotten about spring break, that sunny time in the middle of March when everything was right. So you're all probably wondering why anyone would write a column about it in April. The answer is simple: this past spring break, I took one of the most enjoyable classes I ever had at Longwood University. The class was Anthropology 395, more eloquently titled "Ancient American Moundbuilders," a course that took eight students through the states of North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to come in contact with our oldest man-made American landmarks: the Indian mounds.
If you have no idea what a mound is, I'll enlighten you. A mound is a pile of earth built by prehistoric North Americans, sometimes reaching heights of over 50 feet. They were built for various reasons and made into modern state parks to save them from demolition. The concept of centuries old Indian mounds is alien to many Virginians.
There weren't ever any huge ones in the state, and the small ones seem to have simply been plowed over. So it proved an enlightening experience just to see this new and not often publicized side of our country. It was also interesting, fun, or any positive adjective you wish to use because of the people who traveled together. An anthropology class is secretly one of the best ways to get to know people and simultaneously learn how all of you connect to what's being taught. Some of the students who came were history majors, some were anthropology majors, but all found something in the mounds to awe them.
If it wasn't the huge size of these ancient construction projects or the sophistication and effort put into them, it was the act of getting away from Farmville. In Mississippi and Louisiana, we got as far from simple Virginia life as possible when we faced one of the longest rivers in the world, the grand old plantation mansions of Natchez and the city of New Orleans. For many people, the three days we spent in New Orleans were the defining point of the trip. Spending much of our time traveling the lively, bright colored French Quarter and part of our time walking the city's neighborhoods and cemeteries, we all had the best of times.
We enjoyed the food, music and entertainment. On top of that, there was the city's distinctive culture that we learned by walking through the city and going to a museum. But we didn't learn very much, except for an inside joke from a city tour led by a man named Preston. His habit of doing the Watusi was imitated by all of the students. After New Orleans, we finished up our trip by visiting two mound sites in Georgia, Ocmulgee and Kolomoki. Both were big village sites with over half a dozen large mounds.
The only bigger site we saw was at Moundville in Alabama where most of the mounds were over 20 feet tall and represented clans that used to live in the area. Another notable large mound was at Poverty Point, La, the Bird Mound, which rose to about 70 feet in the air. Smaller mounds and ridges that may have supported houses were also part of the site. One really important part of this trip was historic recreation and the presentation of archaeological work.
Many times, we take for granted what goes into a museum but at the trip's numerous sites, the good work was noticeable. At Kolomoki, the museum is built into the cut open side of a mound with the pots left as they were found at excavation. The human remains which were once there were removed in accordance with the Native American Grave and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and replaced with plaster casts. In the rest of the museum, exhibits were made showing off everything that is known or can be safely assumed about these ancient people.
Another stunning museum was at Moundville, where a life-sized model of warriors carrying a tribal noblewoman formed the centerpiece of a ground floor that creatively showed off artifacts. By the Saturday night we returned to Farmville, there was a feeling much like withdrawal. After covering so much ground and enjoying so many crazy jokes, I almost didn't want to leave the bus. But like all good things, it had to stop to let something else happen. Unfortunately, what had to happen next was a gamut of classes on the normal schedule in the assigned location.
