Greetings friends and neighbors!
June is bustin’ out all over Memphis, and even though the official first day of summer isn’t here yet, the signs of summer are all around us. The delicious aroma of backyard grills smoking into afternoons that are definitely getting longer, fireflies hover close to the green grass at evening time, and the unmistakable music of the ice cream man can be heard in the distance as he prowls neighborhood streets with his icy treats. It was on just this kind of Sunday afternoon that I sat under the trees in my backyard contemplating the meaning of life and everything around me. It got me thinking of how many generations of people before me could have sat here in this very spot thinking the same things. After all, Memphis has been populated since the very first settlers made their way up the Mississippi River more than 250 years ago. And before them? Well, there is certainly evidence that ancient civilizations have called this place home as far back as 3000 years. Who were these people? How did they live? What kinds of houses did they live in? What did they eat, and what did they believe? It’s a mystery that is being unraveled day by day in a place not far from the banks of the Mississippi just south of town, and that’s where we are going today. It’s the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa, and if you haven’t been there, you should definitely plan to go soon. Chucalissa is located in T.O. Fuller state park off Mitchell Road in South Memphis, and it’s one of the most fascinating things the city has to offer. Actually, it’s like a trip back in time that takes you back not just generations, but hundreds and hundreds of years.
Although projectile points dating back some 3000 years have been found at the site, most evidence indicates that the first town was founded around 1000 C.E. Although brief, this occupation, known as the Ensley Phase, paved the way for more stable communities in the following centuries. Little has survived of this first occupation, the site appears to have been a satellite of a larger community located near Downtown Memphis.
Around 1200 C.E. the village was again brought to life during what is referred to as the Mitchell Phase. Daily life and customs appear to have changed little, but this phase marked the initiation of the mound building phase with the construction of the first small mound. There is also evidence of contact with people to the south; yet again the village was short lived.
After being abandoned for some two hundred years, the site was again settled around 1400 C.E. During the Boxtown Phase of occupation, perhaps the most important evidence suggests a broad trading network extending from the Natchez area of Mississippi to Western Kentucky and Illinois. The most impressive evidence for these contacts is seen by the presence of potsherds.
Around 1500 C.E. the last, and most powerful settlement of the area occurred. The village constructed during this, the Walls Phase, is the one represented at the site today. During this phase, large mounds were constructed around the central plaza. Society and technology had evolved and produced a rather advanced chiefdom of both stratification and order.social and civil.
During this occupation farming, supplemented by hunting and fishing were the mainstays of daily life. Meanwhile a substantial artisan class practiced their trades, and extended the economic network of the village. Additionally the residents enjoyed sufficient free time to warrant the construction of a ball field/ceremonial ground. Although it is unclear exactly why, these inhabitants too abandoned the site before the arrival of DeSoto in the Mid-south.
In 1541 Spanish colonial explorer Hernando DeSoto "discovered" the Mississippi River somewhere south of Memphis. Over the course of the next 500 years, many nations would lay claim to the land that Chucalissa is on and by 1800 it was considered the property of the expanding United States.
The bottom-lands between the bluff and the river were turned to farming early in the 19th century. This improved land was bought in 1854 and run as a cotton plantation. 19 enslaved African Americans were purchased as laborers along with the land, its buildings and some animals. These and other slaves were freed during the course of the Civil War. Though we do not know what became of these individuals, many local African Americans remained in this area and farmed under the sharecropping and tenant farming systems.
Following the Civil War, this land traded hands a number of times until 1936, when it was purchased by the state to create the Shelby County Negro Park. This park was to be the Jim Crow-era analogy to the whites-only Shelby Forest north of Memphis. The archaeological site was discovered in 1938 by Civilian Conservation Corps workers preparing the new park. The University of Tennessee began archaeological excavations at the site in 1940, but soon halted them in response to World War II. In 1955 work resumed at Chucalissa and the first public museum at the site was opened in 1956.
Today, Chucalissa continues to provide educational experiences for the general public and elementary and secondary students, and visitors to the Memphis through its exhibitions, tour programs and special events. Our goal is to provide a range of educational programs to promote greater awareness and appreciation of the accomplishments of the Native American people of the mid-south, both past and present.
The C.H. Nash Museum and Chucalissa support diverse undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Memphis. The museum and its associated educational programs provide training opportunities for students in the Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program. The museum has recently renewed a program of scientific investigation at Chucalissa through the reexamination of previous excavations to develop refined stratigraphic control of the site and to obtain organic samples for AMS dating analysis. This work has contributed to refined and revised chronologies for cultural occupations at Chucalissa and their associated patterns of political cycling.
Chucalissa offers guided tours, traveling exhibits, and a variety of special events for students and the general public. The Southeast Indian Heritage Festival is held annually in October. Other events include fun runs, Archeology Day, family days, and various demonstrations of crafts and early technologies. For more information contact the museum at (901)-785-3160.
Have a GREAT week and remember to keep a smile on your face, hope in your heart and always, ALWAYS keep the faith baby! Your ride home, Bill ;-)
