Highlights Archives
Museum Talk Explores the Mysteries of Aztalan
Located near Lake Mills, Aztalan is Wisconsin's premier and most visited archaeological site. Occupied by a group of Mississippian Indians from southern Illinois between A.D. 1050 and 1200, Aztalan was an agricultural and ceremonial town with large earthen platform mounds enclosed by wood and clay walls. Learn its secrets and the mysteries that still surround the site at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, when Robert Birmingham describes Aztalan's archaeological history at the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
The site of Aztalan had already been settled by Woodland peoples when the Middle Mississippians came up the Mississippi River and Rock River valleys into Wisconsin. The Mississippians were based at Cahokia, a massive city across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Moving up the river, the Mississippians built a vast trade network across the upper Midwest for, among other things, their pottery.
In addition to Aztalan, Mississippians also settled near modern-day Trempealeau. Both sites were abandoned around A.D. 1200, around the same time that Cahokia slipped into decline. A new culture, Oneota, began to expand across the Midwest, giving rise to many of the tribal groups known today. Many questions about this period remain unanswered, however.
Today, you can visit Aztalan, stand inside the re-created stockade and climb the pyramids to imagine for yourself how people lived in Wisconsin 10 centuries ago.
:: Posted April 11, 2008
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