Spiro Mounds Site Tour

The Spiro Mounds archaeological site is located seven miles outside of Spiro, Oklahoma. Here, ancient people created a sophisticated culture that thrived from about AD 900 to AD 1450. As visitors walk along the trails in the 150-acre park, Archaeologist Dennis Peterson, Director, describes the mounds, the ceremonial features and relates Spiro’s amazing history. He points out that Spiro artifacts have provided considerable insight into extensive trade networks, a highly developed religious center, a political system, and the entire Mississippian way of life.

The people of Spiro Mounds are believed to have been Caddoan speakers, like the modern Wichita, Kichai, Caddo, Pawnee, and Arikara. The site remained unoccupied from A.D. 1600 until 1832. While Choctaw and Choctaw Freedmen cleared the mound site for farming late in the 1800s, they did not allow any major disturbance of the site until the Great Depression.

During the 1930s, excavations revealed one of the greatest collections of artistic and utilitarian prehistoric Native American artifacts in the United States. Early looting of the site lead to laws making Oklahoma one the first states in the U.S. to preserve and scientifically research archaeological sites.

Spiro Mounds
18154 First Street
Spiro, OK 74959
918.962.2062

"Spiro Mounds Site Tour" contains:
- 3 videos with footage of the site, historical photos of early excavations, images of many ancient artifacts and expert commentary
- 12 audio tracks tracks with additional expert commentary

Educational discounts available