Places
Comparing Mound Centers Without Flattening Them
This field note is part of the FOBA learning stream. It is meant to orient readers and point toward better source work.
Key points
- Comparison helps learners see patterns, but it can also hide differences in period, region, source type, and public interpretation.
- Kolomoki belongs in a Woodland-period learning frame, while Etowah and Lake Jackson need Mississippian and Fort Walton period labels.
- Ocmulgee asks readers to hold deep time, mound landscapes, archaeology, and Native continuity in the same view without collapsing them.
Next steps
- Compare sites only after writing each site date range and source trail.
- Use teaching visuals as diagrams, not excavation reports.
- Send broad or uncertain claims to Fact Check before publishing them as settled.