Green Mound is one of the largest Pre-Columbian shell mounds, or shell middens, in the United States. Located in Ponce Inlet, Florida, the peak of the mound is the highest elevation in the small city. While it once stood at forty feet above sea level, a combination of public works projects on the nearby roads and natural erosion have reduced the height of the mound by about 10 feet.[1]
The mound was built by Native Americans of the late St. Johns II cultural period,[2] as indicated by the finding of pre-Columbian "chalky ware" ceramics dating to later than 800 AD. These overlie earlier relics of the St. Johns I cultural period, the cultural period following the Archaic period.[3] The St. Johns period was characterized by the introduction of mound-building and a more sedentary, rather than nomadic, lifestyle. The natives who once lived at this location were closely tied to both the nearby Atlantic Ocean and the resource-rich saltwater estuaries of the Halifax River immediately west of the mound. The mound formed from a combination of discarded oyster shells, clam shells, and other debris.
Whether or not the shell heaps scattered in coastal and riparian locations throughout Florida were natural deposits or of human origin remained a matter of debate in the mid-19th century, although Daniel Brinton had come to the conclusion by 1859 that the shell mounds on the east coast of Florida were the waste heaps of aboriginal groups that had accumulated over centuries.[4] Initial studies of the Green Mound area were conducted in the early to mid-1940s by archeologist Dr. John Griffin, who found that the mound was in fact inhabited by its builders and their subsequent generations. Later excavation revealed multiple layers of clay floors, remnants of structural components such as postholes, and evidence of ash, fire pits and hearths at the site. It is thought that the dwellings that sat upon the mound were constructed of materials such as palmetto limbs and other local forms of timber such as oak. It is also inferred that due to the social structure that existed at the time, the inhabitation of the mound's top was reserved for the highest-ranking members (elites) of the community. The most likely inhabitants of these prime locations on top of the mound would have been tribal chiefs and religious leaders. Depending on their social status, other members of the community would have lived in areas closer to ground level.
The mound was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
^Ripley P. Bullen; Frederick W. Sleight (1960). "Archaeological investigations of Green Mound, Florida". American Studies (2). William L. Bryant Foundation: 6.
^John Mann Goggin (1952). Space and Time Perspective in Northern St. Johns Archeology, Florida. University Press of Florida. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8130-1634-4.
^Elizabeth Horvath (2006). "The Lake Monroe Outlet Midden (8VO53): An Overview of a Middle - Late Archaic Period Site in the Upper St. Johns River Valley". Fflmnh.ufl.edu. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
^John W. Griffin; Patricia C. Griffin (1996). Fifty Years of Southeastern Archaeology: Selected Works of John W. Griffin. University Press of Florida. pp. 116–119. ISBN 978-0-8130-1420-3.
GreenMound is one of the largest Pre-Columbian shell mounds, or shell middens, in the United States. Located in Ponce Inlet, Florida, the peak of the...
tumulus (pl.: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or (in Siberia and Central...
shell-middens Crystal River Archaeological State Park Emeryville Shellmound GreenMound Landfill Mussel Point, a megamidden in the South African West Coast Packrat...
of kob that here represents abundant wildlife. The shield stands on a greenmound, representing fertile land, and directly above a representation of the...
"GreenMound" (Chinese: 青塚; pinyin: Qīng Zhǒng), refers to a legend that in autumn, when grass and trees wither, those plants on the cemetery mound continue...
Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to specific...
Fort Center Fort Walton Mound Galt Island Garden Patch GreenMound Halfway Creek Helen Blazes Hickory Ridge Cemetery Hinson Mounds Horr's Island Indian Fields...
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-feet-long (411 m), three-feet-high prehistoric effigy mound located in Peebles, Ohio. It was built on what is known...
Fort Center Fort Walton Mound Galt Island Garden Patch GreenMound Halfway Creek Helen Blazes Hickory Ridge Cemetery Hinson Mounds Horr's Island Indian Fields...
square in the Angel (Pentonville) part of Islington, London. Its central greenmound, hiding a reservoir, is dotted with mature trees on all four sides (embankments)...
The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site /kəˈhoʊkiə/ (11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed c. 1050–1350 CE) directly...
strong-growing mat-forming plant collected on the Bonin Islands, and 'GreenMound', which may just be a renaming of 'Nana'. A variegated plant sold under...
The Princess Mound is a historic site near Green Cove Springs, Florida. It is located on Fleming Island, northwest of Green Cove Springs. On March 2, 1990...
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity. It typically refers to a flat-topped mound, whose sides may be...
have up several green flowers with faint white stripes. The flowers have an insect-like labellum which is green with a dark greenmound on its upper end...
Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas and the largest pyramid north of Mesoamerica. The beginning of its construction dates...
culture is defined by the presence of Safety Harbor ceramics in burial mounds. The culture is named after the Safety Harbor site, which is close to the...
Turtle Mound is a prehistoric archaeological site located 9 miles (14 km) south of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on State Road A1A. On September 29, 1970...
Waiya (alternately spelled Nunih Waya) (Choctaw: slanting mound) is an ancient platform mound in southern Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous...
planted on a large artificial mound, "a hundred paces in height and over a mile in cicumference", known as the "GreenMound", with a palace or pavilion...
to 1250 CE. The site encompasses two sand mounds, Grant Mound (8DU14) and the contemporaneous Shields Mound (8DU12) located 750 metres (0.47 mi) away...
shiny, translucent green flowers with darker green stripes. The flowers have an insect-like labellum which is green with a dark greenmound on its upper end...
Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park (8LE1) is one of the most important archaeological sites in Florida, the capital of chiefdom and ceremonial...
Angel Mounds State Historic Site (12 VG 1), an expression of the Mississippian culture, is an archaeological site managed by the Indiana State Museum and...
crest is: On a Mount Vert a Grasshopper Or (a golden grasshopper on a greenmound); it is displayed by Gresham College, which he founded, and also forms...
personal union of England and Scotland. Bottom left: a white horse on a greenmound surmounted by the crown, representing the House of Hanover. Bottom right:...
Global Information
