Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site

Visit the fortified aboriginal center that was the home to several thousand persons more than 400 years ago. Walk among the mounds, the largest standing 63 feet tall and covering three acres. Tour the museum where artifacts and exhibits interpret daily life in this once self-sufficient Native American community. The Etowah Indian Mounds symbolize a society rich in ritual. Towering over the community, these flat-topped earthen knolls were used between 1000-1500 A.D. as a platform for the home of the priest-chief, temples and mortuary houses. In some mounds, nobility were buried in elaborate costumes accompanied by items they would need in their after-lives. Although the Etowah people left no written records, artifacts help explain their lives and culture. Many artifacts at the museum show that the natives of this political and religious center decorated themselves with shell beads, tattoos, paint, complicated hairdos, feathers and copper ear ornaments. Well-preserved stone effigies and objects made of wood, seashells, stone and copper are also displayed.

Annual Special Events
subject to change . . . also, see the Events Calendar

Artifact Identification Day (March & Novemeber) Native American Tools & Weapons (April) Bird Walk (May) Lecture - History of Cherokee People (June) Cherokee Flute Concert, by Tommy Wildcat (July) Flint-knapping Demonstration (August) Lecture - History of Creek People (September) Skills of the Past - Demonstration of flint-knapping, pottery, basket weaving, spinning, and weaponary (October) Pottery Program (December)

Nearby Attractions

• Red Top Mountain State Park and Lodge
• Pickett's Mill Battlefield State Historic Site
• Chieftains Trail
• Lake Allatoona
• Weinman Mineral Museum

Contact Information

Site Hours: (Mound area closes 30 minutes prior to closing times) Tuesday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sunday, 2 - 5:30 p.m.; Closed Monday (except legal holidays), Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Closed Tuesday when open Monday. Small admission fee. Group rates available with advance notice. Bus parking available. For a more enjoyable visit, plan to spend 11/2 hours.

Directions

Located 5 miles southwest of I-75 exit #288.