Events Calendar
May 20, 11:30am: Increase Lapham Day, Lapham impersonator, Rob Nurre, will speak about Increase Lapham's contribution to our knowledge of Aztalan. Guided Park Tours by archeologists.
June 21, 6pm: Solstice Event at Aztalan State Park. Friends of Aztalan State Park sponsored cookout with program and sun set viewing on South West Platform Mound.
July 1, 11am: Aztalan Day. Museum and school open at the town of Aztalan Grounds. Meet “Crush” the Red Tailed Hawk, Geri Schrab, an expert in ancient rock art and see Atlatl Throwers at Aztalan State Park. Potluck picnic at 11:30am and programs beginning at 1pm. Guided tours at the park.
July 15, 1pm: Aztalan Interpretive Center Fund Raiser. Aztec Dancers from the Ballet Folklorico Mexico will perform traditional Aztec dances. Contributions for a Aztalan Interpretive Center building will be welcome. Ballet Folklorico Mexico de Los Hermanos Avila
Aug 19, 11am: Friends of Aztalan Annual Picnic. Taste of Aztalan with Native food. Please bring a dish to pass. Program to highlight Aztalan and Native American food. Artifact Identification by Archeologists.
Sept 7,8,9: Indian Summer at Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee, Friends of Aztalan booth. Indian Summer Festival
Sept 16: Craig Wilson will take aerial kite shots of Aztalan and explain how he does it. Time to be announced.
Oct 6: Aztalan Mississippian Archeology Conference at The Hoard Museum in Lake Mills, WI. The Friends of Aztalan State Park will host a lecture series about current Mississippian research. Times to be announced.
Oct 20, 11:30am: Aztalan State Park Birthday. National Archeology Day. Event co-sponsored by Friends of Aztalan State Park and The Wisconsin Archeological Society. Archeologist guided tours of Aztalan at 11:30am and 2pm. Bring your artifacts. Artifact Identification by Archeologists.
Oct: Annual bus trip to the Effigy Mounds of Dodge County. Date and time to be announced.
For further information contact president Kurt Sampson at ksampson@wi.rr.com or (414) 405-4367.
Native American Garden: This will be the fifth year that the Friends will plant and are maintain the Tom Davies Memorial Native American garden at Aztalan State Park.
Park photos by Dan Seurer: SLIDE SHOW
Aztalan State Park is 2 miles off I-94 at Lake Mills, 1 hour from Milwaukee or Madison. Slide show photos by Dan Seuer. Check out his website http://seurer-photography.com
Group tours can be arranged for adults and schools. Call Bob Birmingham at (608) 241-4958 or email birmi@sbcglobal.net for more information.
Tours every Sunday at 2:00, May - Sept: Free guided tours, weather permitting. Wisconsin State Park sticker required.
Historical Summary
Aztalan State Park is the site of a ceremonial and residential Native American town established in 1100 AD (approximately). This site has provided insights into ancient agriculture and gardening.
While people lived along the Crawfish River in Wisconsin's Jefferson County before 900 A.D., the Mississippians arrived at ancient Aztalan between 1050 and 1100AD. They established a heirarchal society that was culturally exotic for the area.
The Mississippian people built earthen pyramids used by the religious and ruling leaders. The largest Mississippian site is Cahokia, located near St. Louis. Aztalan is the most northern outpost.
The Aztalan people built three earthern pyramids and a protective stockade complete with guard towers. Two of the pyramids and sections of the stockade are reconstructed.
In 1837 Nathaniel Hyer mapped the site and, believing that it was built by people from the ancient Mexican city of Aztalan, named the Wisconsin site Aztalan. Though it is now known that the inhabitants were not from Mexico the name of the site was not changed.
The Book by Bob Birmingham, Executive Manager of Friends of Aztalan, former Wisconsin state archeologist and Lynne Goldstein of Michigan State University.
See the video, purchased by the Friends of Aztalan to raise awareness of the historical uniqueness of Aztalan, and funds for an on-site visitor's interpretive center.
The charter of the Friends of Aztalan is to raise money to augment the state's budget for an Aztalan State Park Interpretive Center. In the spring of 2012 Friends of Aztalan State Park purchased the large office trailer which was used last year as an interim interpretive center. It provides information and books about the site and related places of interest in the region.
Site designed/developed by Marifrances A Cataldi
5/8/2012
This website was developed and is maintained by the Friends of Aztalan State Park. We invite you to learn about the Mississippian culture from the information presented here and the links to other Mississippian sites that we found of interest.
Friends of Aztalan State Park
P.O Box 855
Lake Mills, WI 53551
