About Mound-Builder Indians

The Facts

• The cultures who built mounds stretched across a large area in North America from the Great Lakes in the North to the Gulf of Mexico in the South, and from the Mississippi River in the West to the Appalachian Mountains in the East. The greatest number of mounds are located in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. The mounds were first excavated in1894 by Cyrus Thompson of the Smithsonian Institution.
  The 11 oldest mounds are at Watson Brake near Monroe, Louisiana. They were built in the late 4th millennium B.C., but no one knows their primary reason. Another pair of mounds in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, was made between 1800 B.C. and 500 B.C. Here, six connecting ridges surround two large mounds, one that is 65 feet high.
  The mounds became more elaborate over time, particularly in parts of the Mississippi Valley. After 1200 A.D., a group of unique mound designs ranged from Oklahoma to Northern Georgia. These were made up of a variety of materials, including shells, ceramics, and pipestone. In the same area, archaeologist have found exquisitely detailed copper axes, gorgets and sheet copper plumes. It is believed that these artifacts were used by a large regional religion made up of several local cultures with an advanced political hierarchy.
  
  

History of

• Domesticated dog found in Ohio.
  
  The Hopewell Indians are credited with building some of the most extensive mounds. This culture existed in the Midwestern United States from approximately 100 A.D. until 700 A.D. The main area of the Hopewells was located in Ohio and central Illinois. These hunter-gatherers lived in villages near the rivers and built huge cone- or dome-shaped burial mounds, which contained high-quality pottery, sculptures and metalworking.
  Besides building various shaped mounds, the Hopewell Indians also constructed even more complex enclosures and ceremonial roadways or avenues in Ohio. One of these is called the Great Hopewell Road. Questions still remain about the Hopewell Indians. Normally, hunter-gatherers do not have the ability to remain in one place and the time that it takes to construct such elaborate burial grounds. Such cultures are normally farmers, because they can store food and increase their population over time for a division of labor. However, there is little evidence that the Hopewell raised maize (Indian corn). Recently, however, scientists are finding evidence of other domesticated plants and dogs.
  
  

Time Frame

• The Adena Indians lived in West Virginia of the Ohio Valley area from 1000 B.C. to 1 A.D. The Miamisburg Mound is the largest conical burial mound in Ohio and perhaps in all of the eastern United States. Archaeologists believe that the prehistoric Adena Indians constructed this mound on a 100-foot-high bluff. Its circumference measures 877 feet, and it is over 70 feet high.
  The original mound was surrounded by a moat that was five feet deep and forty feet wide. The mound required more than 60,000 tons of earth. The Adena Indians did not have horses or use the wheel, so all dirt was moved with baskets.
  The Miamisburg mound was initially excavated in 1869 with a vertical shaft and two horizontal tunnels. The excavators found a skeleton eight feet down. Another 28 feet further, they uncovered a vault protected by logs. Between the finds were different layers of ash and stone, indicating that the mound was constructed at different times. Most of this mound remains unexcavated, because of the extensive work it would take.
  
  

Significance

• 1/4 Adams County, Ohio, is one of the largest effigy mounds in the world in the shape of a quarter-mile-long snake. Although several burial mounds are near this Serpent effigy, it was not built for a burial ceremony and does not include any skeletal remains. The Serpent's coils are 1,330 feet long and about 3 feet high. It is believed that this was a sacred location, because the snake's head lies on the same plane as the summer sunset and the coils aim toward the winter sunrise and equinox sunrise. The mound rests on a volcanic or meteorite-formed plateau that overlooks Brush Creek valley.
  Anthropologists disagree about the original intention of the builders. Some believe that it looks like a snake with an open mouth that is going to swallow an egg. Others say that this Serpent mound is based on the horned serpent myth that appears in several Indian stories.
  
  

Evolution

• During the pre-historical period, the land that is now the State of Michigan had hundreds of burial mounds. Over time, however, these mounds were destroyed by different cultures. Some anthropologists believe that these mound builders may have already been in the bronze age and traded with the Aztec and Mayan Indians, although no artifacts have yet been found. Many of the Indians who lived in this area thousands of years later were afraid to go near the mounds, because of the ghosts who roamed the site.
  W.B Hinsdale wrote a book in 1925 book called "Primitive Man in Michigan," where he stated "There are fully 600 mounds still to be seen in the state and at least 500 more must have been destroyed within the last 150 years." The Great Mound on the Rouge by the Detroit River measured 400 by 200 feet and was 40 feet high. It had so many skeletons that they were often unearthed by roaming cattle. Most of these mounds have since been destroyed for local housing and business developments.