We now come to the period in Ocmulgee history which is the most
plentifully supplied with facts resulting from the excavations. The
_Master Farmers_, which is the name chosen for these people in the
Museum exhibits, were newcomers to Ocmulgee. It may be that their
arrival was strongly resisted by the Early Farmers who had claimed title
to these lands for the past thousand years. About A. D. 900, they moved
into this area, probably from a northwesterly direction, and started to
build villages with some very novel features.
[Illustration: Council meeting in Master Farmer winter temple. Museum
diorama.]
We do not know where this migration had its start; students of the
subject believe that it may have begun in the Mississippi Valley near
the mouth of the Missouri River. We do know, however, that some of their
closest relatives settled in northeastern Tennessee; and perhaps, as the
ancestral group journeyed up the Tennessee River it split apart at the
point of that river’s abrupt northward bend in northern Alabama. Then a
succeeding generation, which took central Georgia for its home, settled
in two places near the Ocmulgee River. The smaller village was about 5
miles below the present city of Macon on a limestone remnant known as
Brown’s Mount; the larger, with which we are here concerned, was the
“Ocmulgee Old Fields” of the early settlers, across the river from the
modern city and adjoining its eastern limit.
The most important feature distinguishing these people from their
predecessors, however, was not their town but their very way of life.
They were farmers; besides tobacco, pumpkins, and beans, they cultivated
the New World staff of life, corn. This way of life enabled them to
settle in one place long enough and in sufficient numbers to create a
large village, and to develop the religious and ceremonial complex which
was expressed in its numerous distinctive structures. They built it on
the rolling high ground above the river, where their square, thatched
houses were scattered among the many buildings connected with their form
of worship. These latter consisted of rectangular wooden structures
which we call temples, and a circular chamber with a wooden framework
covered with clay which was a form of earthlodge. From our knowledge of
the later Indian pattern in this area, we believe that these represented
the summer and winter temples, respectively, of the tribe. Here the
grown men took part in religious ceremonies and held their tribal
councils; and here the chief could render decisions in individual
disputes, or in matters of importance to the tribe as a whole.
[Illustration: A log tomb and its central location may indicate the
principal burial in the first stage of the Funeral Mound. The face-down
position could result from the reassembled bones being wrapped in a skin
or mat for burial.]
[Illustration: Masses of shell beads must have been valued possessions
of many of the earlier temple mound dignitaries.]
Perhaps the single outstanding archeological feature to be disclosed by
the excavations at Ocmulgee is the preserved floor and lower portions of
one of these winter temples. The remains consist of a low section of
clay wall outlining a circular area some 42 feet in diameter. At the
foot of the wall, a low clay bench about 6 inches high encircles the
room and is divided into 47 seats, separated by a low ramp of clay. Each
seat has a shallow basin formed in its forward edge, and three such
basins mark seats on the rear portion of a clay platform which
interrupts the circuit of the bench opposite the long entrance passage.
This platform, on the west side of the lodge and extending from the wall
almost to the sunken central fire pit, is the most remarkable feature of
all. Slightly higher than the bench, it forms an eagle effigy strongly
reminiscent of a number of such effigies embossed on copper plates which
are a part of the paraphernalia of the Southern Cult religion, to be
described in a later section. Surface modeling of the tapering body
section may once have been present, but is now so much obliterated that
only a sort of scalloped effect across the shoulders can be made out.
Nevertheless this feature is present on at least two of the plates
mentioned, one from the Etowah site in north Georgia and the other from
central Illinois. Moreover both of these figures, which represent the
spotted eagle, are distinguished by the same, almost square, shape of
the body and wings with only a slight taper from their base toward the
shoulder. Finally, the head of the platform eagle is almost entirely
filled with a clear representation of the “forked eye,” which is
presented also, though in smaller scale, on the two figures in question,
and is a distinctive symbol of the Southern Cult. The entire ceremonial
chamber has been reconstructed on the basis of burned portions of the
original which were uncovered by excavation. It forms one of the
principal exhibits of the monument, and represents a unique
archeological treasure.
Other structures uncovered included a small circular hut framed with
poles and containing a large fireplace, out of all proportion to the
size of the building. This was evidently a sweathouse where steam was
produced by throwing water on heated stones; but it is not known whether
this common form of purification was related to their religion or merely
a sanitary feature of the village life. At the west edge of the village
the tribal chiefs and religious leaders were buried in great log tombs
where from one to seven bodies, possibly those of wives and retainers,
were deposited with masses of shell beads and other ornaments befitting
their rank. Over the whole was raised a low flat-topped mound with 14
clay steps leading to the summit.
[Illustration: Fourteen clay steps, buried under later mound
construction, led up the west slope of the earliest funeral mound to its
summit.]
Beside their large and thriving religious center, we can reconstruct
many aspects of their daily lives in which the Master Farmers were
different from their predecessors. This difference is noted in their
tools, weapons, and household utensils. These have survived because they
were made of such durable material as stone and pottery. The many
smaller projectile points now making their appearance suggest that the
bow and arrow were in general use at this time. Greater range and
accuracy have been advanced as possible reasons for adopting this weapon
in place of the spear thrower and dart, which preceded the bow in most
parts of the world. Perhaps equally important was an increase in tribal
unrest and strife which made a larger quantity of relatively small and
light missiles more effective in the brief skirmishes of Indian warfare
than two or three of the bulkier darts. With regard to their other
equipment, surprisingly few bone tools have been preserved; but this may
be due to their greater use of cane, which was very effective for
knives, awls, and other implements but did not last as well as bone.
Evidence has also been found to show that they manufactured and used
basketry and a simple twined weave type of cloth fabric.
[Illustration: Pottery for everyday use was plain but well made and came
in a large variety of pleasing shapes. Diameter of jar on right, 14
inches.]
The pottery obtained in excavation has already been studied in
considerable detail because of the recognized importance of this time
marker to the archeologist. It is here that we find one of the most
noticeable differences between these people from the Mississippi Valley
and the native Georgia tribes whose pottery had developed along very
different lines for some thousand years or more. Now, in place of the
many forms of surface roughening which marked the history of the latter,
plain surfaces become the rule. Jar forms have rounded bottoms, are
often as broad as they are tall, or broader, and show a tendency toward
constricted openings. One common form has a straight sloping shoulder
which turns in from the rounded body contour of the pot rather suddenly.
Its slope may continue without change to the rim, but more often it will
turn upward again to form a slight lip or even a short neck. These
contrast with the deep jars of the preceding period in which the mouth,
regardless of neck or rim treatment, tends almost to equal the largest
diameter, and in which the base is conoidal, i. e., rounded to at least
the suggestion of a point.
[Illustration: The clay figures which often adorned the rims of open
bowls represented all manner of creatures both real and imaginary. About
one-third actual size.]
Of course the Master Farmers made other types of pottery, too. Some were
open bowls, and others had an incurving rim which gracefully repeated
the curve of the lower portion just below the belly. There were also
deep, straight-sided jars with extremely thick walls, and big shallow
bowls several feet in diameter which have been called salt pans from the
belief that the type was sometimes used in the making of that substance.
Actually they were probably the large family food bowl in common use
also in later times. Impressions of a twined cloth fabric on the outer
surfaces of the latter, some cord marking, and crude scoring or other
treatment of the sides of the former were exceptions to the general rule
of smooth surfaces during this period.
In place of surface decoration, however, we find another form of
elaboration which is somewhat less common but equally distinctive. This
is the attempt to depict some form, either natural or supernatural, in
the body of the vessel or attached to it in some way as an independent
figure. Small heads suggesting a fox or an owl or some night creature
with big staring eyes grow out of the rim of a bowl and peer into it.
The small handles which are fairly common on the straight-shouldered
jars often have two little earlike knobs at the top; and knobs and
bosses with more or less modeling of the body of the pot are frequently
used to represent gourds or squashes or some other vegetable which is
not easy to identify. One curious style of jar has a neck which is
closed at the top, something like a gourd, but has an opening about an
inch in diameter below this on the side. Modeling at the top suggests
ears, a style of hair arrangement, or some other human or animal feature
that gives rise to the name, “blank-faced effigy bottle.”
[Illustration: Effigy bottles were usually a finer grade of pottery and
generally accompanied burials. The hole in the human figure is in the
back of the head; the face is painted white, the body red, and the hair
the natural brown of clay. Diameter of bottle, 5⁵/₁₆ inches.]
In time, other changes began to mark the village of the Master Farmers.
The temples, built originally at ground level, were rebuilt
occasionally; and with the leveling of the old building to make way for
the new the surrounding ground surface was raised at first into a small
platform. Gradually this platform was increased in height and size until
the mound at the south side of the village was some 300 feet broad at
the base and almost 50 feet high. The other temple mounds grew in a
similar fashion but were either started later or were less important and
so never achieved as great a size. The earthlodges, too, were sometimes
rebuilt and often on the same site; but no attempt was made to increase
their elevation. The funeral mound, however, followed the pattern of the
others; and in each new layer of the seven there were fresh burials of
the village leaders, and on top of each a new wooden structure which may
have been connected with the preparation of the dead for their final
rites. In the later stages, too, the flat summit area was surrounded by
an enclosure of wooden posts.
[Illustration: The structure atop the funeral mound may have been for
preparing corpses for burial. From Museum exhibit.]
At the northwest corner of the village lay a cultivated field which
surrounded the site of one of the earlier temples. This was no ordinary
field since most of these must have lain in the bottom land below the
village. From its position, then, could we infer some sacred purpose,
possibly to create an offering to the spirits, or by the power in its
seed absorbed from the surroundings to increase the yield of the
villagers’ crops? In any case, the mounds for succeeding structures were
gradually raised above it; and by this act the rows were buried and thus
preserved as conclusive proof of the advanced state of culture which the
Master Farmers had achieved.
The construction of all these mounds and earthlodges required a large
amount of material as well as innumerable man-hours of labor. Two series
of great linked pits, averaging about 7 feet deep and 18 by 40 feet in
area, seem to indicate that the earth was obtained immediately outside
the main village limits, for they have been traced around considerable
portions of its north and south borders. They do not enclose the entire
area occupied by the temple mounds, though, because at least three of
these mounds lie outside their confines today; others were destroyed in
the construction of Fort Hawkins and the adjacent portions of East Macon
a little farther to the north. It is not unlikely that the irregular
ditches formed by these pits served also as a protection against raids
on the village; for otherwise, why would their course have outlined the
village area so closely?
All the evidence, then, points to the existence here at Ocmulgee of a
town of Indians who lived in a state of culture as advanced in some
respects as any to be found north of Mexico. We see a prosperous
community devoted chiefly to the yearly round of activities designed to
cement its relationship with the powerful unseen forces on which its
well-being depended. Not too much work was required with the abundant
rainfall on this fertile soil to raise the principal food supply for an
entire family. The men, like all later Indians, hunted to supply the
meat for their diet; but they had plenty of free time to devote to the
construction and repair of the town’s several temple buildings. Here
they gathered at stated intervals to go through the time-honored ritual
first taught to their fathers by the very spirits themselves, those
spirits which gave man the fish and the game and finally the wonderful
gift of the corn plant. All of these gifts and many more must be
accepted with reverence and treated according to the rules established
for their proper use; otherwise the spirits would be offended, the game
would disappear, and the fields would wither and die.
[Illustration: This series of cultivated rows buried beneath the fill of
later mound construction confirms our belief that the temple mound
builders lived mainly by farming.]
Of all the annual round of ceremonies the most important was that in
honor of the deity whose gift of corn had the miraculous power to renew
itself every year. The summer temple, then, was the scene of the year’s
biggest festival when the new crop was ripe. All the fires of the
village were put out; and after the men had fasted and purified
themselves with the sacred drink, the new fire was lit and offered with
the first of the new corn to the Master of Breath. With this act the
sins of the past year were forgiven, and the town entered upon a new
year with rejoicing. But ever so often the temple needed to be rebuilt,
perhaps at the death of the chief priest, who may at the same time have
been the chief of the town as well. This called for a mound to be built
or the old one to be enlarged and raised higher as a mark of extra
devotion; and every man must have given his allotment of working days to
complete the project, even if several years were required before it was
finished. For the new mound was proof to the divine forces of how much
their gifts had been appreciated, and a plea that their favor might
continue and the town prosper. Also it was proof to all the surrounding
tribes of the wealth and strength of the village which was able to erect
and maintain these large structures and at the same time to live in
plenty and defend itself from its enemies.
[Illustration: General view of excavations northeast of ceremonial
earthlodge, showing portion of trench surrounding the village.]
Much of this reconstruction depends heavily on our knowledge of the
later tribes of the Southeast and on broader analogies as well.
Archeological proof does not exist for much that we have inferred. Yet
we know that what we find here could not have been built by villagers
living at the level of bare subsistence. Economic surplus was essential,
and we know the Indians had the corn with which to create it. Strong
leadership was needed to carry such large projects to completion; and
with it there must have been a social and religious class system to
organize the economic and priestly functions of such a community. The
temple priests and their assistants and retainers would have formed a
rather numerous class with high status in a society so clearly impressed
with the importance of the physical expression of its religious ideas.
Wealth and power may likewise have rested with a specialized warrior
class which controlled the governing function of the group, or it may be
that these were combined with the religious duties of the priestly
class. Whatever the system employed, several hundred unusually important
individuals given special burial in the Funeral Mound attest to the
distinctions which existed. Class differences of this sort are the most
common basis for a high degree of social and political control; and
Ocmulgee is a good example of the real attainments of some American
Indians along these lines.
[Illustration: Ungrooved ax, or celt, of the temple mound builders.]
In spite of the relatively large amount of information we have about
them, however, we know surprisingly little of the ultimate fate of the
Master Farmers. We do know that these first bearers of an alien culture
from the Mississippi Valley did not persist very long in the area in
terms of its previous history. Within 200 years the busy village was
deserted, only to be visited by an occasional traveling band descended
from the Early Farmers who had lived on in nearby sections. We do not
know even whether the last occupants left here in a body to settle
elsewhere, whether they gradually died off, whether they were absorbed
into the surrounding population, or whether they were finally
exterminated by neighbors who had themselves developed large settled
communities capable of effective military action. Other ideas came to
Georgia from the Mississippi Valley, but Ocmulgee lay silent and was
passed by. Only in the last chapter of Indian history in this State was
the site again reoccupied for a brief time. Here at the end, to be
described in our final chapter, we find the Creek Indians once more
living among the haunts of their ancestors.
[Illustration: Model of portion of Lamar village, showing ball post in
plaza at foot of smaller mound.]