Bynum Indian Mounds site on the Natchez Trace Parkway

A paved path takes visitors up to and around two of the original six mounds at the Bynum Indian Mounds site on the Natchez Trace Parkway. I have no idea where the other four are, nor do I know where the name “Bynum” came from, though mounds are often named after the modern day land owner. To make matters worse, an information kiosk and a few panels along the paved path fail to provide any useful information about the mounds. Instead, they provide generic prose about Indian life back when the mounds were built. Were these burial mounds? Ceremonial mounds? Sledding hills?

I had to go on-line to get information, oddly enough from a National Park Service web page that tells all about them. Why this information is not at the actual site is beyond me. The mounds were built between 100 BC and 100 AD, a period known as the Middle Woodland in Mississippi River Valley history. The two largest of the mounds, which aren’t very large, are the two on display at this stop. Mound A, the southernmost mound, did indeed contain human remains. The skeleton of a woman was found along with traces of cremated remains from two adults and a child.

One of two mounds at the Bynum site

Within the larger of the two mounds, Mound B, cremated remains were found along with an L-shaped row of axe heads, copper spools, and projectile points. Many of these items did not originate in Mississippi, evidence of trade between the Bynum locals and other tribes from far away.

A walk through the site and time to read the information takes about 15 minutes. Start at the information kiosk and follow the paved path, which loops around and comes out on the other side of the parking lot.