Effigy mound facts for kids
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An effigy mound is a special kind of earthwork. It's a pile of earth shaped like an animal, a symbol, or even a person. These mounds were built by ancient people.
Most effigy mounds were made between 550 and 1200 CE. This time is called the Late Woodland Period. However, some mounds are even older, dating back to 320 BCE.
Many Native American cultures built effigy mounds. Experts think they were mostly for religious reasons. Some mounds were also used as burial sites. The people who built them are often called the Mound Builders. More than 3,200 animal-shaped mounds have been found in the upper Midwest of the United States.
These mounds are sometimes compared to huge geoglyphs. Geoglyphs are large designs made on the ground, like the famous Nazca Lines in Peru.
Contents
History of Effigy Mounds
First European Sightings
Effigy mounds are found only in the Northern and Eastern United States. The French were likely the first Europeans to see them. This happened during their trips south from Canada after 1673.
Early explorers and settlers noticed many effigy mounds. They even drew maps of them. Sadly, farming and building destroyed many sites. People have tried to save them, but it's been a challenge.
Old Ideas About the Builders
After these mounds were "discovered," many wild ideas came up. People wondered who built them and how. At first, in the late 1600s, people thought Native Americans built them. This was the most accurate idea.
But soon, more exciting theories became popular. In the 1800s, many believed a lost race of Mound Builder people had built the mounds and then disappeared. This idea was often used to support certain national feelings. However, archaeologists from the Smithsonian Institution proved this theory wrong in the 1880s.
Why Were They Built?
The Ho-Chunk people, a Native American group, say effigy mounds were safe places. They were also used for burials. Some archaeologists today think clans or groups built them to honor their special animal.
Others believe the animal shape showed the clan or family of the person buried there. Some think the animal helped guide the dead to the next world. Mounds might also have marked hunting areas for different groups. Evidence suggests effigy mounds were used for many ceremonies. These included everything from birth celebrations to funerals.
What Effigy Mounds Look Like
Common Shapes and Designs
Effigy mounds often look like birds, bears, deer, bison, lynx, panthers, turtles, and water spirits. Archaeologists gave them these names to help classify them. The shapes were probably chosen for their religious meaning.
The earliest mounds were "conical," meaning they were simple bumps of earth. These were the easiest burial mounds to make. Over time, conical mounds likely became long, straight "linear" mounds. Bird mounds probably came next. To make a bird, builders just added a head and tail to a linear mound. From there, many different animal shapes appeared. These often looked stretched out or abstract.
Art and Placement
Builders sometimes used different colored soils to decorate the mounds. They would scrape earth from the surface to build the mound. This process could create beautiful patterns of colored sand and silt.
Some mounds might have lined up with the stars. Bird mounds were often placed to look like they were flying up or down a hillside. Animal mounds often looked like they were walking along a ridge or hillside. Wind patterns might have even influenced where bird mounds were placed. Bird mounds also show different wing positions, like a bird flying. This could be like a "freeze-frame" of a bird in motion.
Native American ancestors often buried their dead near lakes, rivers, and on hillsides. These places later became popular for settlers to live. This led to many mounds being destroyed. People often leveled the earth around their homes, or used parts of mounds as fill for new buildings. Sadly, settlers also often dug into mounds to take things, which damaged them.
Where They Are Found
The National Park Service says effigy mounds are found in a specific area. This area stretches from Dubuque, Iowa, north into southeast Minnesota. It also goes across southern Wisconsin, from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan. Finally, it follows the Wisconsin–Illinois border.
In the Mississippi River regions of Wisconsin and Iowa, bear and bird shapes are common. Near Lake Michigan and the Winnebago area, water spirits are more common. These include turtle and panther mounds.
What Was Inside?
The Effigy Mound Builders usually buried one, two, or three people in a single mound. These burials often happened one after another over several years. Unlike the Ohio Hopewellian people, the Effigy Mound Builders did not bury many valuable items with their dead.
This lack of artifacts shows they were a different culture from the Hopewellian people. Even so, some mounds with Hopewell-style items were found in the same area. They were built around the same time as the effigy mounds. Some think that because there were few burial goods, the effigy mound builders were an egalitarian people. This means everyone was treated equally.
Protecting Effigy Mounds Today
Preservation Efforts
Hundreds of effigy mounds have been lost. Plowing, farming, and other building projects destroyed them. Many mounds that are left are now part of national, state, county, or city parks.
After many archaeological digs in the 1950s and 1960s, experts started to question if digging up mounds was always the best idea. The U.S. National Park Service explains that "when a mound is excavated, its value as a scientific object of study is greatly reduced or destroyed."
Today, all effigy mounds are protected by state laws. These laws stop people from disturbing burial sites. If mounds are on federal or tribal land, they are protected by special laws. These include the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the Antiquities Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
See also
- Adena culture
- Effigy Mounds National Monument
- Hopewell culture
- Indian Mounds Park (disambiguation) (15 sites)
- Lizard Mound County Park
- Rock Eagle Effigy Mound
- Rock Hawk Effigy Mound
- Serpent Mound
