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Ocmulgee is a memorial to the antiquity of man in this corner of the North
American continent. The National Monument preserves a continuous record
of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present. From
Ice-Age hunters to the Muscogee (Creek) people of historic times, there
is evidence here of 12,000 years of human habitation. One period stands
out. Between AD 900 and 1200 a skillful farming people lived on this site.
Known to us as Mississippians, they were part of a distinctive culture which
crystallized about AD 750 in the middle Mississippi Valley and over the
next seven centuries spread along riverways throughout much ofthe central
and eastern United States. The Mississippians brought a more complex way
of life to the region and here they left behind eight earthen mounds and
the remains of a ceremonial earthlodge. The Monument today consists of two
units separated by two miles of riverine wetlands along the Ocmulgee River.
The Main Unit is adjacent to the city of Macon, an urban area with a population
of 118,000. The isolated Lamar Mounds and Village Unit can be visited by
special permit.
The Ocmulgee National Monument Association, Inc. is the park's independent cooperating association, which was organized shortly after the park was established in 1936. The Association assists the park's interpretive and educational efforts by funding the annual Calendar of Events, providing books and other library materials, materials for the Discovery Lab, helping to present the annual Ocmulgee Indian Celebration, and many other forms of support.
The Association's income is derived from memberships, donations, grants, and income from their Museum Gift Shop located in the park's Visitor Center. This unique shop specializes in Southeastern Indian arts and crafts, along with books and other items related to the park's themes. Association members receive a 20 percent discount on all purchases from the shop.
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