Aden Mounds once had three Native American mounds surrounding a rectangular plaza, with the fourth side open to Jeff Davis Bayou (across Deer Creek Road). When they were recorded in the 1950s, Mounds A and B were rectangular, 10-feet tall platform mounds, and Mound A had a house located on its northern flank. Mound C was a little over 6 feet tall, with a house on its summit. The mounds have sustained significant damage since that time, particularly Mound C, which is no longer visible on the surface as a result of modern agricultural activities.
In 2014, professional archaeologists conducted excavations at Aden. They discovered that flood deposits had covered the site in as much as 6 feet of alluvium. They located the remaining portion of Mound C and determined that Mounds A and B were once taller than they now appear. Based on their excavations in Mounds A and B, archaeologists determined that the mounds were built during the Coles Creek period and used by Coles Creek people between about AD 900 and 1100, though there is some limited evidence that the early stages of Mound C may date to the Middle Woodland period, as early as AD 200-400.
The excavations from Mound A revealed some important information about the site and the people who lived here a thousand years ago. Archeologists found that Mound A was built in at least two distinct stages. The first stage was associated with an abundance of refuse that points to the ceremonial nature of events taking place on top of the mound. Artifacts recovered include animal bones, mussel shell, pottery, stone tools, and fragments of quartz crystal. Quartz crystal is not available locally and was obtained via trade from a source over 200 miles away near present day Hot Springs, Arkansas.
