Who built the Great Serpent Mound and why?
When it was first discovered by European explorers, the indigenous Adena people were cited as the builders. Carbon dating done in 1996 placed the age of the Serpent Mound at 1070 A.D., meaning it was most likely the work of the Fort Ancient people.
What is the serpent or snake mound an example of?
Nominated as a World Heritage Site, Serpent Mound is the largest surviving example of a prehistoric effigy mound in the world.
How does the Serpent Mound relate to astronomy?
The head of Serpent Mound is lined up to the point on the western horizon where the sun sets on the Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year. Some think the three main curves of the serpent's body point to the Summer Solstice sunrise, the Equinox sunrise and the Winter Solstice sunrise.
Which culture created the Great Serpent Mound?
A serpent 1300 feet long Numerous mounds were made by the ancient Native American cultures that flourished along the fertile valleys of the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers a thousand years ago, though many were destroyed as farms spread across this region during the modern era.
What does the great serpent relate to?
The mythology of the Abenaki tribe told of a great serpent called the Kita-skog meaning "Big Snake" or Pita-skog meaning "Grand Snake". The meaning of the Great Serpent symbol are chaos, corruption and darkness. The Great Serpent is seen as a malevolent being or monster who devours his enemies.
What kind of art is the Great Serpent Mound?
Earthwork/effigy moundEarthwork/effigy mound. c. 1070 C.E. Adams County, Ohio (created by Fort Ancient peoples of the Middle Ohio River Valley)
What is the serpent or snake mound an example of quizlet?
The Great Serpent Mound is one of the largest effigy snake effigy forms in the world, with effigy mounds being classified as ceremonial mounds in the shape of an animal. It is also an example of being an Earth Work, or an art piece made only of natural resources, in this case dirt.
What is inside an Indian mound?
All of the largest mounds were built out of packed clay. All of the mounds were built with individual human labor. Native Americans had no beasts of burden or excavation machinery. Soil, clay, or stones were carried in baskets on the backs of laborers to the top or flanks of the mound and then dumped.
What is mound in history?
A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial mounds have been created for a variety of reasons throughout history, including habitation (see Tell and Terp), ceremonial (platform mound), burial (tumulus), and commemorative purposes (e.g. Kościuszko Mound).
What is the great serpent?
Great Serpent was a Maya king of Calakmul, a Maya city-state. He is also known as Ruler 8 and Ruler Z. The unfinished Stele 62 marked the completion of the sixteenth k'atun in AD 751; the commissioning ruler's name is damaged but appears to be different from that of previous kings.
Who built the mound when did they build it?
Mound Builders were prehistoric American Indians, named for their practice of burying their dead in large mounds. Beginning about three thousand years ago, they built extensive earthworks from the Great Lakes down through the Mississippi River Valley and into the Gulf of Mexico region.
What is the serpent or snake mound an example of quizlet?
The Great Serpent Mound is one of the largest effigy snake effigy forms in the world, with effigy mounds being classified as ceremonial mounds in the shape of an animal. It is also an example of being an Earth Work, or an art piece made only of natural resources, in this case dirt.
What is mound in history?
A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial mounds have been created for a variety of reasons throughout history, including habitation (see Tell and Terp), ceremonial (platform mound), burial (tumulus), and commemorative purposes (e.g. Kościuszko Mound).
Where are the serpent mounds?
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-foot-long (411 m), three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located in Peebles, Ohio. The mound itself resides on the Serpent Mound crater plateau, running along the Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio.
What do archaeologists believe Monks Mound was used for?
The largest mound at Cahokia was Monks Mound, a four-terraced platform mound about 100 feet high that served as the city's central point. Atop its summit sat one of the largest rectangular buildings ever constructed at Cahokia; it likely served as a ritual space.
Why was the serpent mound important?
Fletcher and Cameron argued convincingly for the Serpent Mound's coils being aligned to the two solstice and two equinox events each year. If the Serpent Mound was designed to sight both solar and lunar arrays, it would be significant as the consolidation of astronomical knowledge into a single symbol.
How tall is the Great Serpent Mound?
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-foot-long (411 m), three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Maintained within a park by Ohio History Connection, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of Interior.
How long did Putnam work on the Serpent Mound?
He worked for four years excavating the contents and burial sequences of both the Serpent Mound and two nearby conical mounds. After his work was completed and his findings documented, Putnam worked on restoring the mounds to their original state.
What is the significance of the Conical Mound?
One of the conical mounds that was excavated by Putnam (1890) yielded a principal burial which has grave goods that associate it with the Adena period (800 BC-100 BC). He also found and excavated nine intrusive burials in the mound. Additionally, Putnam discovered an ash bed north of the conical mound that contained many prehistoric artifacts. After the excavation, the conical mound was reconstructed and is today standing south of the parking lot at Serpent Mound State Memorial.
What is the alignment of the serpent mound?
In 1987, Clark and Marjorie Hardman published their finding that the oval-to-head area of the serpent is aligned to the summer solstice sunset. William F. Romain has suggested an array of lunar alignments based on the curves in the effigy's body. Fletcher and Cameron argued convincingly for the Serpent Mound's coils being aligned to the two solstice and two equinox events each year. If the Serpent Mound was designed to sight both solar and lunar arrays, it would be significant as the consolidation of astronomical knowledge into a single symbol. The head of the serpent is aligned to the summer solstice sunset and the coils also may point to the winter solstice sunrise and the equinox sunrise.
When was the Adena mound discovered?
Historically, researchers first attributed the mound to the Adena culture (1000 BC – 100 AD). William Webb, noted Adena exponent, found evidence through carbon dating for Kentucky Adena as early as 1200 BC. As there are Adena graves near the Serpent Mound, scholars thought the same people constructed the mound. The skeletal remains of the Adena type uncovered in the 1880s at Serpent Mound indicate that these people were unique among the ancient Ohio Valley peoples.
When was the Serpent Mound built?
Archaeologists are still debating the origin of Serpent Mound. The mound contains no artifacts and no burials that would help establish the age of the mound. The two leading theories are that the mound was built by either the Adena Culture (800 BC to 100 AD) around 320 BC, or the Fort Ancient Culture (1000 to 1750 AD) around 1070 AD.
What is the significance of the serpent mound?
Serpent Mound represents the acme of prehistoric effigy mound-building in the world and is part of a tradition of effigy mound building among some American Indian cultures of the present Eastern United States. Its remarkably naturalistic quality makes it immediately recognizable as a representation of a serpent, and the form also aligns astronomically to mark the passage of the seasons. The Great Serpent was a source of enormous spiritual power that a widespread pre-Columbian culture could invoke to aid them in hunting and in curing illnesses.
When was Serpent Mound restored?
Although Serpent Mound was somewhat degraded by 19th century farming and looting, it has been carefully restored and protected, beginning in 1887. Only limited archeological digging has been carried out and what remains has a high degree of authenticity.
How long is the serpent's eye?
It is a sinuous earthen embankment 411 meters long, including an oval embankment at one end, which has been interpreted variously as the serpent's eye, part of its head, or a secondary object, such as an egg, grasped in the serpent's open jaws.
What is the significance of the serpent mound?
Generations of researchers agree with the theory that the Serpent Mound holds astronomical significance, but the intent of those who built the serpent, and how it was used still remains a mystery. Many scholars believe the Serpent Mound was used in religious ceremonies.
Where is the Great Serpent Mound?
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,300-foot long and 3-foot high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of a crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio , and is the largest surviving prehistoric effigy mound in the world. Resembling an uncoiling serpent, the mound is steeped in mystery and controversy.
How long is the serpent mound?
The Serpent Mound conforms to the curve of the land on which it rests, with its head approaching a cliff above a stream. It winds back and forth for more than eight hundred feet and has seven distinct coils, ending in a triple-coiled tail. The serpent head has an open mouth extending around the east end of a 120-foot-long hollow oval feature, which is generally viewed as an egg, although other interpretations suggest it is the sun, the body of a frog, or merely the remnant of a platform. To the west of the effigy, is a triangular mound measuring approximately 32 feet at its base and long axis. The Serpent Mound is believed to have been laid out all at once, with a layer of clay and ash, and reinforced with stones.
What would happen if the Serpent Mound was designed to sight both solar and lunar arrays?
If the Serpent Mound were designed to sight both solar and lunar arrays, it would be reflect the consolidation of astronomical knowledge into a single symbol.
What is the snake mound?
The most predominant theory is that the Serpent Mound represents a giant snake, which is slowly uncoiling itself and about to seize a huge egg within its extended jaws. However many theories abound suggesting various interpretations.
Why is the serpent aligned to the sun?
In 1987 Clark and Marjorie Hardman published their finding that the oval-to-head area of the serpent is aligned to the summer solstice sunset, suggesting that one of the effigy’s purposes was to mark the turning of the year so that planting and gathering and hunting could be planned.
Where are the effigy mounds?
The Adena culture are well-known for building burial and effigy mounds, many of which are located near the Great Serpent Mound.
Where is the Great Serpent Mound?
Recently, a debate has developed in the Ohio archaeological community over the age and cultural affiliations of the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. So, what does the evidence really show regarding the origins of this mysterious earthwork? Serpent Mound is the greatest effigy mound in the Ohio Valley.
Where is the serpent mound in West Virginia?
Another little-known stone Serpent Mound was located in West Virginia, situated on a ridgeline overlooking the town of Omar in Logan County. The West Virginia serpent was surveyed by Gary Wilkins in 1979, and found to be “similar in form to serpent mounds found in Kentucky and Ohio” (10, p. 1).
Where is the Adena serpent located?
In 1988, Sara L. Sanders surveyed a stone serpent mound situated on a ridge top overlooking the Big Sandy River in Boyd County, Kentucky on the property of Ashland Oil.
When was the Great Serpent Mound effigy discovered?
In addition to the evidence recovered in the 1800s, a recent project at Serpent Mound radiocarbon dated the earliest phase of the effigy to around 321 BC, placing the origin of the mound in the Early Woodland period, which is defined by the Adena Culture. In spite of the Adena evidence, influential organizations have continued to back an alternative interpretation of the Great Serpent Mound, which associates the effigy with the much more recent Fort Ancient Culture manifestation (1000—1600 AD).
What is the serpent made of?
The serpent was composed entirely of sandstone, the head facing east towards the River. The piled sandstone integrates natural “float rock” into the design. On a lower ledge below the serpent, a semi-circular stone structure 5.2 m in diameter built atop a sandstone outcrop has been interpreted to represent an egg.
What is the artifact of Burial 11?
Another “artifact” with Burial 11 recorded by William S. Webb was a serpent skeleton:
When were the Adena mounds discovered?
At least two of the mounds yielded evidence, which today would be recognized as diagnostic of the Adena Culture (1000 BC—300 AD), while several non-mounded burials resemble Late Archaic (2500—500 BC) tombs as found elsewhere in Ohio.
Who built Serpent's Mound?
We have just stated that both the Adena and Fort Ancient cultures were involved, but we have yet to explain how. Serpent's Mound was built by the Adena culture, but it was recognized through further excavation and carbon dating that another culture had lived here as well.
Why is the Serpent Mound Crater called the Serpent Mound Crater?
They have nicknamed this area the Serpent Mound Crater after the structure that now resides inside of it. This place is always associated with Native American culture, but now when you think of this place you can remember the astronomy lesson you learned as well.
What culture did Putnam find?
He found evidence of both the Early Adena Woodland culture and the Fort Ancient culture within his finds. Putnam correctly assumed that it probably belonged to the Adena culture, as they had been there before the latter.
How big is the largest effigy mound in the world?
An effigy mound is a mound that is formed in the shape of an animal, and in this case, that animal is a snake. It spans a total of 1,348 feet in length, and to put it in perspective, that is about 100 feet longer than the Empire State Building is tall. Serpent's Mound isn't very tall, as it ...
What was the name of the building that was built after the Ohio State Archaeological Society came into power?
5 Later, An Observation Tower Was Built. After the Ohio State Archaeological Society came into power, which is now known as Ohio Connection, they made a few changes to the sight. People wanted to be able to see the mound, and they wanted to keep the public from walking all over the sacred grounds.
What is the head of a mound?
The head of the mound is a strange pattern that has baffled archaeologists for ages . Some have declared the large oval to a singular eye, while others have stated that the two halves on either side of the oval are a set of jaws that are closing over an egg.
What is the purpose of the mound?
It could have been used as a place built for spiritual purposes, to determine the solstices, or even a guide to help a lost soul find the north star.
Description
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-foot-long (411 m), three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located in Peebles, Ohio. The mound itself resides on the Serpent Mound crater plateau, running along the Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. The mound is maintained through the Ohio History Connection, a non profit organization dedicated to preserving historical sites throughout Ohi…
Origin and chronology
In previous years, the civilization responsible for the creation of the Serpent Mound had been highly disputed amongst archaeologists, as can be seen in the material published in 2002. Its construction was often attributed to different civilizations. Very little additional evidence, such as artifacts and burials, can be found at the site of the mound, leaving it hard for archaeologists to trace its construction back to one civilization. Archaeologists generally acknowledged that the A…
Prehistory of Ohio
Several groups of Paleo-Indians (13000 B.C. to 7000 B.C.) occupied the land in Ohio prior to the Adena and Hopewell cultures. Evidence shows that numerous civilizations of Paleo-Indians occupied the land in Ohio, thriving through hunter-gatherer techniques, and ranged throughout the land. The Paleo-Indians hunted large game such as mastodon. Archaeologists have found remains of more 15…
Civilizations of the Midwest
The Adena culture consists of the pre-contact American Indian culture that lived throughout the midwest in states such as Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and most predominantly Ohio. The majority of these civilizations inhabited the Scioto River and Hocking Valleys in southern Ohio, as well as the Kanawha Valley near Charleston, West Virginia. This period is often referred t…
Meaning of the mound
Having been built around 1070 A.D., many archaeologists believe that the mound's creation could have been influenced by two different astronomical events: the light from the supernova that created the Crab Nebula in the year 1054 A.D. and the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1066 A.D. The light of the supernova would have been visible for two weeks after it first reached earth, w…
Preservation
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley fascinated many across the country, including Frederic Ward Putnam of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Putnam spent much of his career lecturing and publishing on the Ohio mounds, specifically the Serpent Mound. When he visited the Midwest in 1885, he found that plowing and development were dest…
See also
• Cahokia
• Crooks mound
• Glades culture
• Hopewell culture National Historical Park
• Indian Mounds Park (disambiguation)
Further reading
• Fletcher, Robert V., Terry L. Cameron, Bradley T. Lepper, Dee Anne Wymer, and William Pickard, "Serpent Mound: A Fort Ancient Icon?", Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Vol 21, No. 1, Spring 1996, University of Iowa.
• Putnam, Frederic Ward, "The Serpent Mound of Ohio: Site Excavation and Park Reconstruction.", Century Magazine Vol 39: 871–888. Illustrations by William Jacob Baer.