Brentwood Library Site

Excavations

The Brentwood Library Site is located on a low ridge next to the Harpeth River and a small spring-fed creek. The site was first mentioned by Frederic Ward Putnam as part of an Harvard Peabody Museum Expedition in the 1882, but the exact location was not mentioned. Putnam excavated forty-eight stone box graves at the site. At least one example of a Nashville style shell gorget was found by Putnam during his excavations of an infants grave, along with a notched-rim bowl, a human effigy hooded bottle and eight marine shell beads. The site was then forgotten until construction for the new Brentwood library in 1997 uncovered a substantial village and associated burial area.

Ceramics

Mississippian culture pottery vessels and sherds found at the site were made with techniques and forms found across the Mississippian world. Common shapes include bowls with notched rim straps and jars with a direct rim. Strap handles were the only closed handle style found, although bifurcate and tabular lugs were sometimes attached. Some sherds were found to be fabric impressed and other examples used a technique known as negative painting, a technique which involved painting the background and allowing the natural buff or grey of the clay to create the positive image. Notable pottery classifications found were examples of Mound Place Incised, Matthews Incised var. Matthews, Manly Incised and Beckwith Incised, with Beckwith Incised being found in the largest numbers. A few pieces of effigy pottery were also found, mostly of zoomorphic figures such as fish, frogs, and ducks although some examples with anthropomorphic shapes were found. These humans effigies often depicted a standing woman with top-knots in her hair, a pronounced hunchback and ear spools Similar ceramic and stone statues are found throughout the Middle Tennessee area.