Indian mounds are the visible testament of the first Mississippians. Mounds are planned earthen architecture made by Native American people for a variety of reasons including ceremonial and domestic uses.
What were Indian mounds used for?
What were Indian mounds used for? Mounds were typically flat-topped earthen pyramids used as platforms for religious buildings, residences of leaders and priests, and locations for public rituals. In some societies, honored individuals were also buried in mounds. Click to see full answer.
What is known about the Indian mounds?
INDIAN MOUNDS. INDIAN MOUNDS. Indian peoples built mounds made of earth in various shapes and sizes across eastern North America over several thousand years. These mounds were subjects of much speculation during the westward expansion of the United States, even though Thomas Jefferson had excavated one and deduced it to be the work of American Indians. . Unfortunately, as the last eastern ...
What is a famous Indian Mound from Ohio?
Serpent Mound is an internationally known National Historic Landmark built by the ancient American Indian cultures of Ohio. It is an effigy mound (a mound in the shape of an animal) representing a snake with a curled tail. Nearby are three burial mounds—two created by the Adena culture (800 B.C.–.
How do Indians build there mounds?
Indian Mounds were constructed by deliberately heaping soil, rock, or other materials (such as ash, shell, and the remains of burned buildings) onto natural land surfaces. In Arkansas and elsewhere in eastern North America, Native Americans built earthen mounds for ritual or burial purposes or as the location for important structures, but mound-building ceased shortly after European contact ...
Why did natives make mounds?
Regardless of the particular age, form, or function of individual mounds, all had deep meaning for the people who built them. Many earthen mounds were regarded by various American Indian groups as symbols of Mother Earth, the giver of life. Such mounds thus represent the womb from which humanity had emerged.
What are inside Indian mounds?
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.
Why are Native American mounds useful?
From c. 500 B.C. to c. 1650 A.D., the Adena, Hopewell, and Fort Ancient Native American cultures built mounds and enclosures in the Ohio River Valley for burial, religious, and, occasionally, defensive purposes. They often built their mounds on high cliffs or bluffs for dramatic effect, or in fertile river valleys.
What state has most Indian mounds?
Louisiana boasts some of the most significant Native American earthen monuments in North America and ranks second only to Mississippi in the number of mound sites. Eastern approach to Mound A, the largest of the six mounds at Poverty Point.
What happens if you disturb an Indian burial ground?
Any disturbance to the burial site is considered greatly disrespectful and is said to bring suffering to the descendants of the deceased. The Navajo believe a body must be properly buried so that the spirit can move on. If it is buried improperly, the spirit may remain in the physical world.
What are the 3 types of mounds?
North American archaeology Native Americans built a variety of mounds, including flat-topped pyramids or cones known as platform mounds, rounded cones, and ridge or loaf-shaped mounds.
Are Indian mounds sacred?
The Indigenous burial ground that is currently called “Indian Mounds Regional Park” has been a sacred burial ground for over a thousand years. It is significant to living Indigenous Peoples as a cemetery where their ancestors are buried. It is a place of reverence, remembrance, respect, and prayer.
What did Mound Builders eat?
Corn (maize) was brought into the area from Mexico and was widely grown together with other vegetables like beans and squash. They also hunted both small animals like rabbits and squirrels and larger game animals like bison and various types of deer.
Are Indian mounds sacred?
The Indigenous burial ground that is currently called “Indian Mounds Regional Park” has been a sacred burial ground for over a thousand years. It is significant to living Indigenous Peoples as a cemetery where their ancestors are buried. It is a place of reverence, remembrance, respect, and prayer.
What are the 3 types of mounds?
North American archaeology Native Americans built a variety of mounds, including flat-topped pyramids or cones known as platform mounds, rounded cones, and ridge or loaf-shaped mounds.
Are Indian mounds protected?
Please be aware that unauthorized digging, removal of artifacts or human remains, or other disturbance of the mounds and surrounding grounds are strictly prohibited on state and federal lands by the following statues, as applicable: the Antiquities Law of Mississippi, the federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act ...
How old are the Indian mounds in Mississippi?
Although the first people entered what is now Mississippi about 12,000 years ago, the earliest major phase of earthen mound construction in this area did not begin until some 2100 years ago. Mounds continued to be built sporadically for another 1800 years.
What were mounds used for?
Not all Woodland mounds were constructed for burial. Some people built earthen platforms with flat tops that were used for public activities of various kinds. Religious and political centers that served dispersed regional populations had both kinds of mounds. Toltec Mounds (Lonoke County), the center of the Plum Bayou culture in central Arkansas, is the largest such site. Over its 400-year history, at least nineteen mounds were constructed. Low platforms were locations for public feasts and other rituals; at least one mound was used for burial , while others served still-unknown purposes. Mounds were periodically refurbished or enlarged and eventually went out of use.
How were Indian mounds built?
Indian Mounds were constructed by deliberately heaping soil, rock, or other materials (such as ash, shell, and the remains of burned buildings) onto natural land surfaces. In Arkansas and elsewhere in eastern North America, Native Americans built earthen mounds for ritual or burial purposes or as the location for important ...
What are the Mississippian mounds?
Mounds were typically flat-topped earthen pyramids used as platforms for religious buildings, residences of leaders and priests, and locations for public rituals. In some societies, honored individuals were also buried in mounds. Some mounds in Arkansas were surrounded by compact towns, such as the Parkin Site in Cross County. Other mound groups, such as the prehistoric Caddo mound sites in southwest Arkansas, were centers for dispersed populations residing in nearby hamlets and small villages.
Where were the Caddo mounds located?
Few people resided at Caddo mound centers. Most lived in family homesteads and small villages scattered across the countryside and congregated at the centers only for important events. Mounds were also constructed in the Arkansas Ozarks and in the Arkansas River Valley.
Why are mounds important?
Mounds also serve as physical symbols of the claims that a group of people makes to control of a particular area or landscape. Since Archaic people did not live in large or permanent communities, workers from dispersed family camps and small settlements would have gathered periodically to build and maintain mounds.
What was used to enlarge and re-shape a mound?
Buildings were replaced, new soil was used to enlarge and re-shape the mound, and the function of the mound may have changed as well. Some centers had several mounds and were used for centuries. These centers were not just collections of mounds, however.
What is the purpose of the mounds?
Their main purpose may have been as symbolic representations of Archaic religious beliefs and as places where rituals and other events that were important to the surrounding population were carried out.
What materials were used to build mounds?
Construction Materials. Mounds could be built out of topsoil, packed clay, detritus from the cleaning of plazas, sea shells, freshwater mussel shells or fieldstones. All of the largest mounds were built out of packed clay.
How long have Indian mounds been abandoned?
Since most Indian mounds in the United States have been abandoned since 1600 AD or earlier, erosion, cultivation and exploratory excavations have radically changed their appearance from when they were in use. Visitors to historic sites, where mounds have been preserved, do not realize that they were once earthen buildings with brightly colored decorative motifs on the side. Most mounds also had large ceremonial ramps or at least wooden steps leading to the top. As a result, laymen often view the remnants of these huge structures as something akin to landscaping, rather than true forms of public architecture.
What were the mounds of Hopewell?
Initially the mounds were simple cones like those of their neighbors the Adena. Over time they grew to massive, complex geometric forms. Toward the end of the Hopewell Period some of their mounds resembled the earthen pyramids of the Lower Southeast. Very few Hopewell houses have been discovered by archaeologists.
How were the shell mounds built?
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. Hundreds of thousands of man-hours of work were required to build each of the larger mounds. It is likely that the shells in shell mounds were thrown there after large community feasts.
Where is the oldest mound in the world?
The earliest known mound is located near Watkins Brake, LA. It consists of an earthen ring over 300 feet (100m) in diameter with conical mounds of varying size dispersed around the crest of the ring. Archaeologists believe that it was constructed around 3500 BC as a ceremonial center for a community that migrated seasonally.
How long was Kolomoki occupied?
The town around the mound was occupied for about 600 years. During that same era, Kolomoki, a town with as many as 20 mounds, that seems to have been a ceremonial center, was occupied in southwestern Georgia. There were also large complexes in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia and northern Florida.
Where were burial mounds built?
Burial mounds were built in the Southeast throughout several cultural periods. The massive geometric earthworks of the Hopewell Culture apparently defined locations of major regional trade festivals and religious gatherings.
When were mounds built in Mississippi?
Although the first people entered what is now Mississippi about 12,000 years ago, the earliest major phase of earthen mound construction in this area did not begin until some 2100 years ago. Mounds continued to be built sporadically for another 1800 years.
What are the most prominent remains left on the landscape by these Native peoples?
Mounds built of earth are the most prominent remains left on the landscape by these native peoples. This latest National Register of Historic Places Travel itinerary highlights 11 mound sites, which include some of the best-preserved examples in Mississippi.
What is the National Register of Historic Places?
As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to promote public awareness of history and encourage tourists to visit historic places throughout the nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions, and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries.
What do we know about the people or peoples who created the mounds?
Early excavations suggest the mound builders may have had a structured society with art that included figures with religious implications. The mounds that were examined contained carved animals on the utensils and pottery possibly used for feasts and rituals.
What was the name of the mound that was razed in 1895?
On September 20, 1895, city park workers, razing Mound number eight “to improve the view from the park road”, came upon what they called “a gruesome find” after several tons of earth had been removed. The sets of bones were in the center and on the bottom of the burial mound.
What were the human remains found at the base of the Mounds?
There were log tombs at the base of some mounds and two others contained seven inch high thin limestone slabs set upright. Human remains found there were accompanied by more elaborate grave offerings, including shells, perforated bear teeth and a hammered sheet of copper.
Why were there spiral paths cut into the burial sites?
For years there were spiral paths cut into the burial sites so people could easily walk up to see the scenery. For many years there were poles for electric wires going through the area and even imbedded in the side of a mound until the utility company was forced by law to remove them.
What were the artifacts found in the ancient world?
Artifacts that were found included stone knives, copper axes, a variety of carved pipes, pottery vessels, and ornaments made of copper and shell. Some items were made of material not available locally. There was volcanic glass from Wyoming, copper from Lake Superior area, mica from the Appalachia and marine shell from saltwater oceans. This suggests the existence of an extensive trade network.
Who built the mounds in Minnesota?
However, there is no proof of this and it could be that the local residents were just influenced by the Hopewell practices. One source said that the mounds here are the sole archeological example of Hopewellian characteristics in Minnesota. The Dakota, who were here when European settlers arrived, made use of the mounds for some burials, but may not have been the original builders. One of several sources on the matter include a note in an 1849 issue of the Pioneer Pres, which stated that “mounds… are a subject of wonder and admiration... their ancient and inscrutable origin, baffle even conjecture. The present race of Indians, know as little of them as ourselves.” The truth is, we may never know who the mound builders were.
When were the mounds built in Saint Paul?
An educated guess would be that they were constructed-probably a few at a time-between 200 BCE and--400 AD. They are certainly the oldest remaining examples of human works in Saint Paul. Many scholars see them as part of what they call the Hopewell culture, a concept that includes the beliefs and practices of Native American peoples who built mounds in many area of the country.
What do mounds represent?
Many earthen mounds were regarded by various American Indian groups as symbols of Mother Earth, the giver of life. Such mounds thus represent the womb from which humanity had emerged. With such sacred associations, mounds were powerful territorial markers and monuments of social unity, reinforcing and perpetuating community identity and pride.
What are the shapes of mounds?
The shapes of mounds vary. They can be flat-topped pyramids, rounded domes, or barely perceptible rises on the landscape.
How do tampers carry their burdens?
They carry their burdens to a clearing, dump the soil, and tamp it down with their feet. As the days pass they retrace their footsteps time after time until a shape emerges and begins to grow. An earthen mound is born.
