(Jazz music) - 800 Years ago, these mounds were actually a city.

One of the most important cities in ancient in America.

An amazing place called Moundville.

Moundville was the largest and most powerful political and a religious center in the Southeast.

The mounds were built by hand by the Native American people who lived there.

What were these mounds used for?

We don't know everything that the mounds were used for, but we do know that people lived on and around the mounds and that they were used for spiritual ceremonies.

They were so important, that people spent years and years building them.

The people who built the mounds were part of the Mississippian culture.

The Mississippians were native American societies that lived around 1,500 years ago.

And what is now the Midwestern and Southeastern United States.

Between one and 3000 people lived at Moundville which, at the time, was a lot of people living together.

Feeding so many people required a strong connection to and understanding of the land.

The Mississippians were skilled farmers and grew the three sisters crops of corn, beans and squash.

These crops grow well together.

And this knowledge is still used by farmers today.

Moundville was built on the Black Warrior river, which was important in establishing Moundville as a cultural center.

The river meant they had lots of water for their crops and the people that live there.

The mounds made up a big city.

Cities today have a lot of buildings.

Moundville was no different.

At the time, Moundville had at least 29 mounds and hundreds of small wooden houses, built in a rectangular pattern around a large central community Plaza.

It was surrounded by the Black Warrior river, to the north, and by a large wooden Palisade or fence on the other three sides.

Mississippian culture was divided into rank classes.

Possibly including Nobles, warriors, religious leaders, and commoners.

Most people lived in the small wooden buildings in clusters, that were overseen by different family groups.

The leaders built their homes on top of the mounds.

As Moundville grew, there were eventually so many people living in the area, that people also lived outside the walls of Moundville, all along the Black Warrior river valley.

Moundville's tribal chief built a house on top of Moundville's tallest mound, Mound B, which you can still visit today.

Building the mounds took a long time.

The Mississippian people had no animals or carts to help them move the dirt, to build the mounds.

So, the dirt was piled up by people, using one basket full of dirt at a time.

Mound B is made from enough dirt to fill 22,000 dump trucks!

I have no idea how many basket fulls are in all those dump trucks, but it's a lot!

The mounds are a doorway to the past.

There is lots that we don't know about life in Moundville.

What we do know, comes from what archeologists have found in the mounds and from the stories passed down to the descendants of Moundville's original inhabitants.

Archeologists are scientists that study the past by looking at the things that people made, used and left behind.

From these sources, we have learned that people practiced politics and religion.

They traded, created art and even played sports.

On any given day, people might be busy with basket making, cooking, making pottery and tending crops.

Moundville was a major center for trade.

How do we know?

Because archeologists have discovered objects made from valuable materials that are not found in Alabama.

Like copper and the mineral Galena.

Some come from far, far away and probably came to Moundville thanks to traders.

Mississippian people are known for their technology and artistry.

They produce some of the most sophisticated and important pieces known today.

Archeologists have found beautifully crafted artifacts and pottery.

One amazing artifact is called the Rattlesnake disk, which might have been used during ceremonies on the mounds.

The disk is actually the official Alabama state artifact.

Another example of artisanship is the duck bowl... ...and sports.

The mounds surrounded a large open field, which was perfect for games.

One was stick ball, which was like lacrosse.

Stick ball is still played by some native Americans today.

Another game was called 'Chunkey'.

Disks called chunky stones are rolled down a lane and players tried to hit the moving target with the spear.

That sounds exciting, and a little dangerous.

The mounds are a celebration.

Moundville was a religious center and the mounds are spiritual places.

Some of the descendants of the original Moundville inhabitants, still live in Alabama.

Many native American communities consider Moundville to be a sacred place and ancestral homeland.

Today, Moundville has a festival each year that celebrate the native American people, and their ancestors, who made this place one of America's most important cities.

Many native Americans from all over come and join in the festivities.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)