information about the mound builders
Information About the Mound Builders
United States has a rich archaeological history to boast of - thanks to the prehistoric native Americans belonging to various cultures, who were named as mound builders due to the mounds built for ceremonial, burial or religious purposes. Buzzle, in the following article, will give some interesting information found by archaeologists about the mound builders through excavations.
The Bird-shaped Mound
The largest mound of Poverty Point, 'Mound A' resembles a flying bird, and its height is 70 feet (21m), width is 640 feet (195 m) along the wing, and 710 feet (216m) from head to tail.- Poverty Point: Mainly flourished in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and a little parts of Tennessee, Missouri, and Florida.
- Adena: Belonging to Ohio majorly, traces were also found in Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York.
- Hopewell: Located at the Illinois river valley, the Mississippi river valley, and other valleys of the Midwest and East.
- Mississippian: Moundville in Alabama; Etowah and Ocmulgee in Georgia; Hiwassee Island in Tennessee; Spiro in Oklahoma; Belcher in Louisiana; Aztalan in Wisconsin; and Mount Royal in Florida.
- Poverty Point: Hunting was the main source, it is not traceable whether farming was carried out. Freshwater fish such as gar, catfish, gaspergou, bass, sunfish, etc. (source - Louisiana Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism, article by Jon L. Gibson)
- Adena: This culture started showing early traces of farming activities in Ohio.
- Hopewell: Preferred freshwater fish and animals such as deer, turkey, bison, beaver, duck, etc.
- Mississippian: This culture showed signs of farming activities, crops included squash, corn, pumpkins, etc.
- Poverty Point:
- Hunting tools such as motley, epps, pontchartrain. Atlatl weights: gorgets, and tablets
- Digging and chopping tools such as gouges, adzes, axes, and drills
- Stone ornaments such as pendants, beads and effigies.
- Adena:
- The unique Adena Pipe with a human form has become very famous, which is about 8 inches long. It was found by William C. Mills in Chillicothe. Currently, it is kept at Ohio Historical Society at Columbus. Along with it, many bird- and animal-shaped pipes were also found.
- Various extractions were found at the Adele Mound, which include artifacts such as bracelets, bone and shell beads, rings, spear points etc.
- Mississippian: Cahokian pottery and utensils such as head pots, beakers, jars found depict various human forms and animals.
- Poverty Point: Archeologists have found traces of objects engraved with certain significant symbols like those resembling a fox or a duck. (source - Louisiana Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism, article by Jon L. Gibson)
- Hopewell: It also exhibits religious rituals such as shamanistic religion, sacrifice, etc., through its artifacts such as effigies and pipes.
- Adena Mound: Found at the site of Thomas Worthington's farm, it was stated that this mound contained 36 human remains, which composed mainly of adult males, and 2 or 3 children.
- Mound 'A' of Poverty Point: It is huge in size and resembles a shape of a bird.
- Monk's Mound at Cahokia: Cahokia is located in Illinois, and the Cahokia Mound site is recognized as a World Heritage Site and has also been recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The UNESCO Website mentions Cahokia Mounds as the largest pre-Columbian archeological site. Cahokia culture displays complex layouts of the structures, indicating a pre-urban approach to their building.
- The Adena culture is named for archaeological convenience, since the mound from which the artifacts and cremated bodies were found was known as the Adena Mound.
- The Hopewell name was given by the property owner Mordecai Cloud Hopewell, on whose property the excavation was carried out under the direction of Warren K. Moorehead.
- Poverty Point is named after a cotton plantation which was established in the late 1830s.