IV. ABORIGINAL HOUSE MOUNDS[ToC]
The small, low, flattened mounds of the lower Mississippi Valley are a problem to archeologists. They have been studied principally near the Mississippi River, in Arkansas and Missouri, and for many years it was thought that in the latter State they are confined entirely to the southeastern portion. Recently they have been found much farther to the north and the west than they were supposed to exist.
A group, rather limited as to number and to the area covered, is at the head of a narrow valley trending northward from Granite Mountain in Iron County.
"Near Iron Mountain, in St. François County, more than 500 of these small mounds, arranged in parallel rows following the direction of the watercourses, were counted within a radius of 3 miles."[1]
The next group known north of this is on the right bank of Plattin Creek in Jefferson County, about 12 miles from the Mississippi.
"A group of some 50 similar mounds is situated on the right bank of the Meramec, about 6 miles above its mouth, in Jefferson County."[2]
The most northern group so far observed is near Ferguson in St. Louis County, Missouri, where 46 are located on a narrow ridge which has the same general elevation as the table-land. The ridge extends around the head of a ravine, and the mounds are placed along its crest or on the gentle slopes near the top. There are 10 or 12 at the southern edge of Ferguson, on an overflow bottom bordering a small creek.
Toward the west from the swamp region a small group is in a broad valley near Alton in Oregon County, which borders on Arkansas. They are scattered along a gentle slope which has a little stream at the foot.
In Dent County four groups are known. One is on the infirmary farm south of the town of Salem. Most of these are but slightly changed from their natural condition. Another group is 6 miles east of Salem. These also are largely intact. A third is on the road from Salem to Short Bend. The fourth is at the edge of Salem, on the Rolla road.