Aztalan State Park

Aztalan State Park preserves a precontact Mississippian-period settlement in south-central Wisconsin with earthen platform mounds and traces of a stockade. The site is an important regional example of Mississippian town planning with mounds, plaza space, and defensive earthworks.

Mound groups and the footprint of a palisade define the former village layout; reconstructions and archaeological work have produced a visible demonstration of Mississippian settlement design. Trails and interpretive panels guide visitors around the principal features.

Archaeological investigations have dated the primary occupation to the Middle Mississippian period, and the park was established to protect and interpret the site for the public. Preservation has included reconstruction of select elements and ongoing interpretation.

Aztalan State Park is located near Jefferson County communities in southern Wisconsin along the Crawfish River corridor, set within a rural agricultural landscape.

• Occupation period: The archaeological site was occupied by a Mississippian culture settlement between roughly the 10th and 13th centuries, featuring platform mounds, a central plaza, and a wooden palisade.

What to See #

• Platform mounds and palisade: A set of earthen platform mounds and the remains of a palisaded Mississippian settlement, with visible mounds and reconstructed features showing the original village layout.
• Interpretive center and trails: A small interpretive center and trails that explain the site's archaeology and display artifacts and reconstructions related to the precontact settlement.