The Mounds

TheMOUNDS
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Mounds are unusual earthwork formations that were were made by pre-historic Native Americans.The people that constructed the mounds are known as MOUNDBUILDERS. Although very little is known of the mound building people's way of life, we do know that the three cultures active during the building period were the Adena Culture, the Hopewell Culture, and theMississippian Culture.
There are three basic types of mounds...the Burial mound, the Effigy mound, and the Temple mound.
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Some mounds were built over Two-thousand years before the white Europeans invaded North America. Most were abandoned after the white man had arrived.
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Some mounds are made entirely of stone.Some mounds are made of soil and stones.Other mounds are made only of fine dirt.
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The majority of Effigy mounds are found in the state of Wisconsin; although, some have been found in the states of Ohio and Georgia.
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A Temple mound is usually flat-topped and designed to hold a Temple, the Shaman's house or the Chief's residence.
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Burial mounds contain one or more graves and grave goods.
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One well known site is in Mississippi, near what was once a Choctaw village called Nanihaba.
"Nanih Waiya" is a common flat-topped Temple mound.Its oblong base covers about an acre, and the flat area40 feet above, covers one-fourth of an acre. This moundis surrounded by a 10 foot high, 1.5 mile long circular wall.
Archeological evidence suggests that the Nahih Waiya sitehad been occupied continuously for approximately 2000 yearsprior to the European invasion. The mound itself was builtbetween 1500 and 2000 years ago, likely by the Choctawtribe, and the construction is thought to have taken fromtwo to three generations to complete.
Most sites average from three to six feet highand anywhere from 100 to 600 feet long.