Chucalissa is Choctaw for "abandoned house," and at this museum visitors can see reconstructed houses dating from the 15th century AD - but the real attraction is the live archeological site, used as a lab for training archaeologists as well as a museum to educate about the early lives of Native Americans. A reconstructed village and other historic artifacts create a tableau for visitors. The museum itself was founded in the late 1950s following a discovery of a Mississippian (AD 1000 - 1500) mound complex; it explores the prehistory of the Mid-South, contemporary Southeastern Native Americans, and the African American cultural heritage of the Chucalissa site.