Aztalan Mound Park - Aztalan, WI
N 43° 04.122 W 088° 51.775
16T E 348324 N 4770127
The Aztalan State Park contains ruins of a prehistoric Native American village.
Waymark Code: WM3790
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 02/21/2008
Views: 45
The Wisconsin: Guide to the Badger State pg. 545 reads:
"In Aztalan Mound Park (L), 35.9 m., are ruins of a prehistoric village built by an unknown people. Judge Nathaniel F. Hyer, who surveyed the site in 1837, named it Aztalan because he believed that the cultural remains might be those of Mexican Aztecs. Earthworks are heaped up on both banks of the Crawfish River; on the west bank are the foundations of two stockades of earth, covered with clay and grass, which protected the native homes scattered within. In the southwest corner of the enclosure are the ruins of a terraced pyramidal mound; in the northwest corner is a smaller ceremonial mound. Large numbers of human bones which archeologists have taken from the refuse pits indicate that the Indians, or whoever they were, were cannibalistic. Other relics - pottery, bones, shells, stones, copper artifacts - found in the pits and burial mounds prove that the culture of these tribes was alien to Wisconsin (see Indians). The terraces and truncated pyramids, the plastered walls and pits, the shells from the Gulf Coast identify Aztalan definitely with the culture of the Middle and Lower Mississippi rather than the Upper Mississippi and Woodland culture found in other parts of the State."
Current situation:
The Park is now a State Park and a replica of the village has been built at the site of the ruins.
The historical marker now at the site reads:
"Indian people lived at Aztalan between AD 900 and 1200. The village encompassed 20 acres and was well-planned. The inhabitants planted corn, beans and squash, hunted wild game, fished and collected native plants for food. An elite group of individuals organized ceremonies and village life. A stockade surrounded the major portion of the village. Inside, three platform mounds and a natural knoll marked four corners of a large plaza. The village was abandoned for reasons that remain a mystery.
Aztalan is one of the most important archeological sites in Wisconsin, representing a complex life-style rarely found in the Great Lakes region: a unique blend of native and exotic cultures. Information about the site was first published in 1836, and since then the ruins have attracted considerable public and scientific interest. Archeological excavations continue to uncover valuable information about Aztalan's daily life."