Archaeological Excavations at Little River (9MG46) 1984 & 1987

During the summer of 1984 mapping and test excavations took place at the Little River site (9Mg46) in the southern part of Morgan County, Georgia. The Little River site has four mounds and a large village. The site is on a flat-topped bluff above a small tributary of Little River. A permanent grid was installed on the site and contour maps were made of the village and the mounds. Test pits were placed in the village and on the edges of each small mound. Results of this work show that while there is a substantial Dyar phase Lamar occupation at the site (A.D. 1530-1580), at least two of the mounds and much of the village date to the early Swift Creek period (A.D. 100-200). The village appears never to have been plowed and preservation of features from both periods is excellent. One Lamar period village structure was partially excavated. During the summer of 1987 excavations were conducted exclusively on Mound A. This mound was built in two stages during the Dyar phase of the Lamar period. The fill Mound A consisted mostly of Swift Creek midden gathered from around the mound. The remains of the structure(s) on the summit of the mound are well preserved. This mound was the last one begun in the Oconee Valley and reflects the changing demographic environment there in the late Mississippian period.