Factors in Siting a Middle Woodland Enclosure in

The site chosen for the Old Stone Fort hilltop enclosure at Manchester, Tennessee, was a fishery, near major trails. It was a portage point, near geophysical and archaeological phase boundaries. The waterfalls and plunge pools were major features at the site. The whirlpool eddies below the waterfalls may have been considered the homes of water monsters. Additional supernatural entities may have been associated with the ritual precinct around the enclosure. An early water barrier enclosure was built, then reinforced by a stone wall enclosure. The enclosure design suggests it was built to control meetings with supernatural entities. The exposure of the local Middle Woodland population to a set of mythological beliefs that associated unique topographical features with supernatural entities was probably the principal factor in the decision to construct a Middle Woodland enclosure at this location. The enclosure design appears to represent the acquisition of three distinct mythological/cosmological concepts over a period of about 400 years.