UPDATED DECEMBER 2004 ....................................STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDA GODFREY

THE MYSTERY WOMAN OF AZTALAN

Mystery Woman of Aztalan; Princess or Priestess?

Few archaeological sites in the nation can equal the mysterious allure of the thousand-year old ruins near Lake Mills called Aztalan. Studded with conical and huge, flat-topped pyramidal mounds built by a Native American community around the twelfth century AD, it once held a bustling village of 500, surrounded by a massive, fortified wall of logs and wattle. Apparently an important trade and ceremonial center, Aztalan was a northern outpost of a much larger city in Illinois near East St. Louis called Cahokia, which also featured pyramidal mounds.

Cahokia once supported about 35,000 citizens and was easily reachable via the Mississippi River systemŠgiving our name of Mississippians to the people of these unusual places. But Aztalan, first discovered by settlers in 1836, received its name because of the largely discredited idea that it was somehow connected to the Aztecs. The village flourished for about three hundred years, then disappeared suddenly around 1200 AD for unknown reasons. At the end, the entire place was burned to the ground.

But they did leave one resident behind, safely deposited in a burial mound, who poses perhaps the biggest mystery of all. Unearthed in 1919 by Dr. S.A. Barrett from her grave situated on what would have been a high point overlooking the Crawfish River, she was dubbed "the Princess" for her splendid costume. Her body, found lying on its back, was lavishly draped in seashell beads. She was wrapped in three separate "belts" of beads, from shells found in local river mussels and in the Gulf of Mexico. Counting a few that either were separated from the belts later or were thrown into the grave separately, a total of 1,996 beads were buried with her. Each of the belts was about four feet long and six inches wide, and was constructed with the shells graded from largest to smallest from one end to the other.

Measurements of the skeleton show that she was five feet six or seven inches, tall for that time, but that she had a spinal deformity. She was estimated to be about twenty-five at the time of her death.

Although the mound was originally forty-seven feet in diameter and probably stood about six feet above the earth surrounding it, most of its soil was hauled away over the years. Judging from the original size of the mound and the richness of the burial garb, this young woman was evidently a member of the ruling class. Studies of other Mississippian type cultures that remained around southeastern United States at the time settlers came show that women could occupy high places of power.

THE OFFERING STONE FOR A PRIESTESS?

Elite ruling families lived in special houses set atop some of the flat, pyramidal mounds. Some think she may have been a type of priestess/shaman. Whatever her ancient title actually was, a former historical museum groundskeeper, Don Schuler, made a discovery that may show she was a woman of religious significance to her people. While clearing a tangle of brush behind the museum, Schuler found a flat, slightly hollowed-out slab of stone set into the earth, about two foot square, and it struck him that this was not a natural formation. Schuler called in an archaeological expert who agreed the stone's placement implied it might have been an offering place for the burial shrine.

Some Native Americans began making pilgrimages to burn sweet sage on the stone and leave offerings such as a heart-shaped rock from Mount Shasta, said Schuler. The offering stone, located about eighty feet from the mound, was later blessed in a special ceremony by a Native American shaman that was witnessed by Schuler. The shaman lit a smudgepot, said Schuler, and placed three pieces of charcoal on the stone, lighting one with a stick formed of sage and cedar. Although he only lit one piece of charcoal, the other two pieces of charcoal immediately leaped into flame, too. "I saw it myself," said Schuler. "He never touched the other two pieces with his fire."

Some archaeologists, however, caution that it's possible the woman was a member of a Woodland tribe and not from Aztalan at all, especially since the mound was found outside the village enclosure. The offering rock may have been placed by Woodland people as well. And the origins of another stone, a boulder wrapped in birch bark that was, again, unearthed outside the walls are also unknown. Area tribal members asked what the boulder might be at the time it was excavated referred to it as a "spirit stone." But the mixture of Woodland and Mississippian artifacts continues to be one of the most confusing elements about the site for those professionals who still try to fathom its secrets.

It's amazing that anything remains of Aztalan to study. When the site was first mapped in 1850, over forty mounds existed. Only a fraction remained by 1912, when some portions of the site were purchased by area residents and named Mound Park. The land had been sold as cropland at one point. Farmers hauled away soil from the pyramid mounds to level the fields, and souvenir hunters dug for artifacts. Others coveted the burned clay/grass wall remnants known as "Aztalan Brick" which were hauled out by the wagonload to fill ruts in area roads.

CANNIBALS?

The pioneer town of Aztalan that sprang up next to the grounds was located on a busy crossroad, and developers expected it to be a grand city some day. In fact, in 1839 it lost being named state capitol by one vote. The archaeological site was originally tagged "The Ancient City" by settlers and local Woodland Indian tribes alike. The fact that Woodland artifacts were found throughout the site suggests at least some "locals" were on friendly terms with the Mississippians. Not all were, however.

The stockade walls themselves are suggestive of warfare, and bones that appear to have been butchered or cracked to remove the marrow were found here. These raise the spectre of ritual cannibalism, a not-unknown practice which usually involved consuming parts of conquered enemies in order to take on their courage or other desired characteristics. Some have suggested there was more to the cannibalism than this, that the Aztalaners degenerated toward the end and made human flesh a diet staple, but anthropologists say the evidence doesn't support that idea.

Strangely, both Aztalan's and Cahokia's inhabitants cleared out around 1200 AD. Some people still speculate that the Mississippians migrated south to become the Aztec population of Mexico. Readers Digest Mysteries of the Americas says, "The Aztec were latecomers to the Valley of Mexico, settling there in the 12th or 13th century AD, following a long and arduous migration from the north." Their new home was named Mexico-Tenochtitlan, "place of the Mexica and Tenochca," after the two populations who made the journey. Could the two factions have been the Aztalaners and Cahokians? Few anthropologists think so, but according to Schuler, some tribal members he's talked to believe it's true.

Schuler and other historians find further evidence of connections between Aztalan, Cahokia and the Aztecs in the way key elements of each village's mounds and main structures align with one another and with features of the landscape. A rise near Aztalan named Christmas Hill by settlers, for instance, lines up with the Princess Mound in the same "azimuth," or distance in degrees from the North Star, as do similar structures in Cahokia and in Aztec settlements in Mexico, said Schuler.

Of course, scientists note that when investigating societies of people who are no longer here to tell us their true intentions, we shouldn't leap to conclusions. Dr. Lynne Goldstein of the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University stated that the theories about the "priestess" are certainly possible, but cautions they have not yet been scientifically tested or verified, especially in regard to the offering rock. That doesn't mean, however, that they should not be considered, she emphasized.

Restoration is ongoing. Some of the conical mounds that were once used to hold huge marker posts were rebuilt on the grounds in 1921, and in 1948 the park was donated to the Wisconsin Conservation Dept., which bought the rest of the site and named it Aztalan State Park. The largest mound, a flat pyramid built on a natural terrace with a series of steps to the top, was rebuilt in 1951 although it lacks its original covering of clay. In 1952, reconstruction of the stockade wall posts began.

Today the "Princess Mound" can be seen directly behind the settler's Baptist Church that serves as the Aztalan Historical Museum. For years, the Milwaukee Public Museum exhibited the burial contentsŠalthough a purchased male skeleton was used since the original female bones had disintegrated. The display was scuttled decades ago, however, after the museum moved to a new building. The shell belts are stored in its collection vaults.

Incidentally, one of the greatest mysteries of Aztalan is where the other inhabitants were buried! Other than the princess mound and a few isolated remains, no burial grounds or mounds have been located anywhere nearby. Bodies may have been left to the open air and/or carried away as bone bundles to be deposited elsewhere, but the people of Aztalan did not leave their dead near the sacred city for today¹s scientists (or yesterday's looters) to find. Whoever the people of Aztalan were, they probably would have considered that a good thing.

---Besides the old church that serves as museum and the small log cabin that doubles as gift shop (open Th-Sun, there are several other pioneer-era buildings on the grounds furnished with period articles. Aztalan State Park Historical Museum is located in the restored settler's Baptist Church. Aztalan State Park is located 3 miles east of Lake Mills on Cty. Hwy Q. It is open May through October, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and features parking and rest areas and a self-guided walking tour of the grounds.You will need to purchase a state park sticker. Please note: as with all mound parks, this area is considered sacred ground by Native American tribes and should be treated with respect, and federal law strictly prohibits any type of digging or destructive acts.

(Photo, right: Don Schuler, former HistoricalMuseum caretaker in the gift shop)

-Want to be more involved with Aztalan or make a contribution? Join the non profit "Friends of Aztalan State Park" by phoning 920-648-8774. The Aztalan Museum now has a web site:http://www.orgsites.com/wi/aztalan/index.html Please note that the museum operation is not part of the state park but a nonprofit 501 c 3.

-Ideas for Further Reading: Please note, this is not intended as a comprehensive or necessarily recommended list. Many books and articles of varying opinions and facts have been written about Aztalan and Cahokia, particularly in regard to their relation to the Aztecs. But this list should serve as an interesting starting place for investigation.

An interesting book on Aztalan artifacts is "Ancient Aztalan" by Samuel A. Barrett. Another is "Native American History" by Judith Nies, published by Ballantine Books in 1995 as a chronology contrasted with European events. An excellent resource written by Dr. Lynne Goldstein, chair and professor of Michigan State University's Anthropology Department, is a 1991 article in the Wisconsin Academy Review, pp. 28-34 Summer 1991. Also check out Volume 78, No. 1/2 of the Wisconsin Archeologist, which is devoted to an overview of Wisconsin archaeology. There is an entire chapter on Aztalan, written by Dr. Goldstein and Joan Freeman. Additional materials may be obtained from the Aztalan Historical Society in season. Web sites of interest include www.mysteriousworld.com, or www.lakemills-wi.org.

Those interested in Aztalan may also want to learn about the nearby Rock Lake Pyramids site at Lake Mills. Rumors of submerged pyramids and other manmade structures are said to have been confirmed in the past decade with modern sonar equipment. see www.rocklakeresearch.com.