​About Moundville archaeological site:

Moundville Archaeological Park preserves one of the largest archaeological sites in North America. Administered by UA Museums, the 320-acre park protects the remains of an ancient Native American town founded 800 years ago. The Moundville site consists of at least 29 enormous earthen mounds arranged around a great open plaza, the well-preserved remnants of a mile-long stockade, and the buried evidence of hundreds of dwellings for thousands of people. These ancient inhabitants, ancestors of modern-day Southeastern native peoples, produced beautifully crafted artifacts in clay, stone, copper, and shell, which along with the humble residues of daily activities, have provided archaeologists with the evidence to reconstruct Moundville’s history and past way of life. Some of the most remarkable artifacts are displayed at the site’s award-winning museum. As many as 40,000 citizens visit the park annually, including many Alabama school children, as well as Southeastern native peoples who gather at the popular Moundville Native American Festival every fall. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and is under consideration for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Since 1956, the UA Department of Anthropology has conducted an annual fall field school in archaeology at the park, where UA undergraduates participate in excavations as part of a research project, often writing up their findings in a follow-up course.

UA Department of Anthropology Courses that involve Moundville research:

ANT 269 – Field Archaeology

Where? Moundville Archaeological Park, 14 miles south of UA.
When? Every fall Semester, Tuesday and Thursday 1-5 p.m.
What? Archaeological excavation.
Credits? 6 hours
No prerequisites (ANT 107 or 103 recommended). This course does require the ability to be physically active in an outdoor setting.
 Dr. Elliot Blair in the Department of Anthropology currently conducts research at Moundville with UA students. Please see his website for additional information about UA Moundville research.​
In ANT 269, undergraduates participate in archaeological investigations at Moundville, one of North America’s premier archaeological sites. You will be a part of a research team and learn what field archaeologists do by doing it! You will learn basic excavation techniques and skills: how to identify, map, measure, recover, record, and process archaeological data. Your efforts will also contribute to a greater understanding of ancient Moundville society.

Many ANT 269 Field Archaeology students choose to take this follow-up class:

ANT 466 – Laboratory Methods in Archaeology
Where? 27 ten Hoor Hall archaeology lab.
When? Every spring semester, time TBA.
What? Analysis and interpretation of archaeological materials recovered in the Field Archaeology class.
Credits? 3 hours
Prerequisites: ANT 103/107 and 6 additional hrs.
 
In ANT 466, undergraduates work individually and as a team in a “hands-on” course in archaeological analysis and interpretation. You will learn how to:

  • Classify and analyze prehistoric artifacts and associated data in a systematic manner in the lab.
  • Learn how to build interpretations of the past by using artifact assemblages.
  • Discriminate between reliable and less reliable information in laboratory activities.
  • Practice collaborating and performing in team activities.
  • Contribute to an archaeological report.

Examples of Reports produced by ANT 466 students:

2014 report.
2015 report.
​2016 report.

Selected publications, reports, data on Moundville Archaeology:

  • 2015    Mound X and Selective Forgetting at Early Moundville. J. H. Blitz. In Rethinking Moundville and Its Hinterland, edited by V. P. Steponaitis and C. M. Scarry, pp. 54-73. University Press of Florida.
  • 2015    Remote Sensing as Community Settlement Analysis at Moundville. J. R. Davis, C. P. Walker, and J. H. Blitz. American Antiquity 80 (1): 161-169.
  • 2012    Moundville in the Mississippian World. J. H. Blitz. In Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology, edited by T. Pauketat, pp. 534-543. Oxford University Press, New York.
  • 2007    Test Excavations at Mound X, Moundville (1TU500), 2004. Early Moundville Archaeological Project 1, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama. Report on file at the Office of Archaeological Research, Moundville Archaeological Park. Access this file here.
  • Access UA accession inventory of 2016 plaza excavations here.
  • Map of the geophysical survey imposed over topographic map of Moundville. Access a pdf here.
  • Interpretive map of geophysical survey at Moundville showing detected features (Davis et al 2015). Access a map here.