Mysterious Yamacutah – A Sacred Native American Indian Shrine
Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - Mystery surrounds the Yamacutah, a sacred Native American shrine located along the North Oconee River in Jackson, County, Georgia, where Indians believed the Great Spirit once walked.
According to Apalache tradition, one day, when the Master of Breath was standing on a hilltop, he disappeared before their eyes. The place where he disappeared was developed into a shrine with stone monuments engraved with galactic symbols and the new Apalache writing system.
When the first newcomers began settling the interior of the Southeast the Yamacutah was still used, but what happened later is unclear.
The story of Yamacutah might have been lost in time if not for the documentation by local historian Gustavus James Wilson, who wrote of the shrine in his book “The Early History of Jackson County.” Wilson, 1827-1909, lived in Jefferson at the time he wrote the history.
According to Commerce resident Becky Perry, there is a lot of disagreement on where it is. Perry, is a member of the Tumbling Waters Society, a group working to preserve the history and natural environment of Hurricane Shoals Park, which is located along the North Oconee River in the general vicinity of where the shrine may have been located.
She believes the sacred place will be found as recent efforts have been conducted to find remnants of the shrine. The Creek Indians protected the site until 1785, when a treaty was signed that ceded the lands to white settlers.
From Wilson's book, we learn of two men who traveled from Virginia to Georgia in 1784. The explorers Jordan Clark and Jacob Bankston heard of Yamacutah from a group of Choctaw Indians in Wilkes County, and upon searching for the shrine, they found it on April 22, 1784.
They described a statue set atop an earthen mound about 6 feet high and 17 feet in circumference. The statue had a head that “was well-formed. The neck was unduly long and slender. The chin and forehead were retreating. Their eyes were finely executed and looked anxiously to the east.” Four smooth paths led in four directions from the statue. “And here, amid those gloomy solitudes, the natives believed that our God, their Great Spirit, had walked as a man walks along his homeward pathway.”
The mound was in the center of a circular landscape that measured 150 yards in diameter. There were other rock monuments carved with designs such as moons and the sun.
Surrounding the holy grounds were the giant hardwoods and pines of a virgin forest. Thornton, a Creek Indian, said he once considered Yamacutah a myth.
“I didn’t even know the name Yamacutah. I just knew there was some mystical place where God came down to earth. I thought it was some tall story from my grandmother, ” said Thornton, who has studied Indian history and was an architect for a Trail of Tears Memorial in Oklahoma.
The details that guide searchers like Thornton for Yamacutah are only found in Wilson’s book.
Wilson’s book also records that in 1785, there was a bitterly cold winter in which wildlife froze to death and a day of darkness in which the sun, while visible, gave no light as it appeared hidden by fog.
Thornton said that these conditions actually happened due to volcano eruptions in Iceland. “The finding of Yamacutah would be far-reaching beyond the borders of Jackson County. It’s a treasure for Georgia.” Thornton said.
Many still think Yamacutah is a real place, not a legend.
Updated on January 27, 2024
Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
More From Ancient Pages
-
Ancient Secret Tunnel Discovered Beneath The Pyramid Of The Moon In Mexico’s Teotihuacan
Archaeology | Jul 8, 2017
-
Codex Borgia: Pre-Columbian Mexican Manuscript Of Great Importance
Ancient Traditions And Customs | Sep 7, 2016
-
Neith – Fearsome Egyptian Mother Of The Gods – Creator Of Sun God Ra, His Archenemy Serpent God Apophis And The Universe
Egyptian Mythology | Jul 9, 2018
-
Hidden Treasures Revealed In Unique 3D Rendering Of Robber’s Cave In Nebraska
Archaeology | Dec 11, 2019
-
Controversial Evidence – Ancient Chinese Visited America 2,500 Years Ago
Civilizations | May 9, 2015
-
Schist Disk – Mysterious Piece Of Sophisticated Technology Could Rewrite History – Scientists Are Not Sure What They Are Dealing With
Artifacts | Jun 30, 2013
-
Pax Assyriaca: Important Time For The Neo Assyrian Empire And Surrounding Regions
Ancient History Facts | Aug 11, 2016
-
Ancient Jaintia Kingdom And The Garden Of Monoliths And Dolmens
Featured Stories | Nov 8, 2016
-
Mythical Submerged City Of Ys – Europe’s Own Sodom And Gomorrah
Featured Stories | Feb 1, 2023
-
Plants, Trees And Food Brought To Earth From Space
Featured Stories | Dec 7, 2014
-
60-Meter Longhouse Discovered Near Viking Ship At Gjellestad, Norway
Archaeology | Dec 6, 2021
-
Qumran: The Dead Sea Scrolls And Their Connection To Enigmatic Essenes
Civilizations | Feb 20, 2016
-
Roman Copper-Alloy Tortoise Figurine Discovered In Suffolk, UK
Archaeology | Dec 4, 2023
-
New Discovery: Unknown Use Of Yellow Colors In Ancient Egypt – Revealed
Archaeology | Oct 16, 2019
-
Earliest Baltic Amber In Western Europe Found On The Iberian Peninsula 5,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Oct 21, 2023
-
Amazing Discovery Of Ancient Roman Temple In The Netherlands Hailed As An Extraordinary Archaeological Find
Archaeology | Jun 20, 2022
-
Boxer At Rest – Rare Sculpture And Masterpiece Of Hellenistic Bronze Art
Artifacts | May 21, 2021
-
“The Starving Of Saqqara Statue” And Its Undeciphered Inscription Could Pre-Date The Pyramids Of Egypt
Archaeology | Jun 2, 2014
-
Green Comet Last Seen By The Neanderthals 50,000 Years Ago May Be Visible To The Naked Eye This Week
Archaeoastronomy | Jan 9, 2023
-
Forgotten Ancient Ugarit: One Of The Flourishing And Oldest Cities Of Canaan
Featured Stories | Jun 15, 2023