COOSA CHIEFDOM

The 'Coosa chiefdom' was a powerful Native American chiefdom near what is now Gordon and Murray counties in Georgia, in the United States.^[1] It was inhabited from about 1400 until about 1600, and was visited by Hernando de Soto and his conquistadors on their travels throughout the American Southeast in 1539–1541. The conquistadors recorded sketchy descriptions and impressions of the various chiefdoms they visited, describing Coosa as a series of communities and fertile gardens, containing much food, rather than a town or city.
Coosa contains three mounds and various pottery types, including Lamar culture, Mississippian Dallas, and Mouse Creek phases of pottery. These type variations could indicate that the chiefdom underwent three archaeological phases, each with distinct pottery and artifact styles.
The site was occupied by the Cherokee in the early 1700's, but later abandoned. During the French and Indian War, a contingent of Muskogee under a chief named The Mortar reoccupied the site in 1759 in support of Ostenaco and the other pro-French Cherokee. By the mid-1780's, however, the site was once again a Cherokee settlement.

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Source

★ Fagan, Brian. ''Ancient North America''. Thames and Hudson. London, 2005. pages 487–488.

Notes

1. New Georgia Encyclopedia article covering the Coosa chiefdom.