The Columbus Museum of Arts and Sciences, Inc. has conducted archeological investigations at 9Cla62, the Walter F. George Dam Mound Site within an archeological district named Cemochechobee on the Chattahoochee River at Fort Gaines, Georgia. The investigated area, termed the nuclear zone, served as a civic and ceremonial center for an extensive prehistoric village. It is dominated by three mounds. Mound A is a truncated pyramidal mound which served as a burial mound. It eventually merged with adjacent Mound B, which served primarily as a foundation for elite domestic residences. Mound C is a small platform mound, of uncertain function, located north of Mound B. Beneath the mounds is an extensive premound midden, containing evidence of ceremonial structures, elite domestic residences, and a mortuary. A sequence of 19 discrete stages of rebuilding and reorganization is indicated for this nuclear zone. Test excavations were also conducted in the village area. The single, major component is Mississippian, and is assignable to the Rood Phase. Radiocarbon dates bracket the occupation from ca. A.D. 900 to A.D. 1350. Material culture from 9Cla62 is described. A modal analysis of ceramics is presented, with suggested revisions of the nomenclature presently used for "Fort Walton" ceramics. In addition to environmental data reports on botanical remains, faunal remains, human skeletal remains, and soil chemistry are offered.
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