The Kinlock Shelter is a

rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long or wide, rock shelters are alm ...

and Native American cultural site located just outside Sipsey Wilderness in Bankhead National Forest, near Double Springs,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The shelter is located not far from Hubbard Creek, near a former

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

work camp off Kinlock Road. The name "Kinlock" is taken from a former plantation nearby.''Walking Sipsey'', Intro by Terra Manasco, Jim Manasco. Kinlock Shelter, occasionally referred to as the Kinlock Antiquities, is the home of a Native American

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

sunrise ritual. The shelter was first used by the

Yuchi The Yuchi people are a Native American tribe based in Oklahoma, though their original homeland was in the southeastern United States. In the 16th century, the Yuchi lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley. By the late 17th century, they had ...

Tribe who used the site and the patterns drawn in the rock as part of a trance-inducing process, and for ceremonial acknowledgement of solar cycles. The site has also been used by other tribes, including the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

. It has been used for many thousands of years. Possession of alcoholic beverages and camping without a written permit from the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

is prohibited inside Kinlock Shelter.

References

External links

More Information About The Yuchi/Uchee Tribe From Yuchi.org
Archaeological sites in Alabama Protected areas of Lawrence County, Alabama North Alabama Rock shelters in the United States {{LawrenceCountyAL-geo-stub