Effigy mounds (Native American culture)
Effigy mounds are distinctive earthen structures primarily found in the midwestern United States, particularly in regions like southern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and northern Illinois. These mounds are shaped like various life forms, including animals such as bears, deer, and birds, and are often created in groups that include both conical and linear forms. Many of these mounds served as burial sites, containing human remains and grave goods like pottery, copper, and stone tools, indicating their cultural significance to the Native American communities that built them. The mounds date back to the late Woodland period, with construction influenced by earlier cultures like the Hopewell and Mississippian societies.
Despite their historical importance, many effigy mounds have been damaged or destroyed due to agriculture, development, and looting. Notable examples include the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio, which is renowned for its impressive length and intricate design, although it differs from most mounds in that it does not contain burials. Preservation efforts can be seen in places like Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa, where these ancient structures are protected and celebrated. Overall, effigy mounds reflect the rich cultural heritage and spiritual beliefs of the Native American peoples of the region.
Effigy mounds (Native American culture)
Category: Archaeological sites
Date: 400-1200
Location: Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin
Culture affected: Oneota
Low, earthen mounds in the shape of animals, geometric forms, and other forms are among the most distinguishing features of the Woodland tradition of the midwestern United States. Effigy mounds are known primarily from southern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and northern Illinois. Many have been preserved in state parks. Unfortunately, the majority have been destroyed by plowing, looting, and construction activities.
Effigy mounds were constructed by mounding earth into large, low shapes. They occur mainly in groups with conical and linear mounds. The majority of mounds reported have eroded and indistinct shapes; however, others clearly represent life forms. Among the animals represented are bears, deer, felines, wolves, foxes, buffalos, and turtles, as well as eagles, swallows, and geese. Only two or three have been reported in human form. The effigies can be quite large. At Mendota, Wisconsin, one bird effigy was 6 feet tall and had a wingspan of 624 feet. In general, the mounds are no more than 2 to 5 feet high. The majority of these mounds appear to have been burial grounds. Examples have been found to contain primary or secondary bundle burials, the latter containing as many as thirty individuals, as well as cremations. These burial mounds are usually situated in key parts of the effigies, such as the head, the position of the heart, or (in bird effigies) between the head and tail. Offerings included with the dead include pottery vessels, copper, stone axes, and tobacco pipes of various materials.
The dates for effigy mound construction are not precisely known. Artifacts found associated with burials in effigy mounds include late Middle Woodland pottery in the form of conical or round-bottomed containers decorated with techniques such as cord-marking, fingernail impressions, dentate stamping, and punctuations. These suggest that the features are roughly contemporaneous with the late Hopewell culture of southern Ohio around 200-700 c.e. There is also evidence, however, for a spread of Mississippian populations from the American Bottom in central Illinois to areas of northwestern Illinois and southern Wisconsin around 800-1000, or the early Late Woodland period, and many of the mounds may have been built around that time.
Effigy Mounds National Monument, in McGregor, Iowa, is one location where these mounds have been preserved and restored. Among the examples at this site are bird and bear effigies. The largest concentrations of effigy mounds are in southern Wisconsin, near Madison and in Sauk and Waukesha counties, where many have been preserved in parks or other public areas.
The largest and most famous effigy is the Great Serpent Mound in southern Ohio. Winding along the top of a prominent ridge, it represents an undulating snake with a tightly coiled tail; the snake appears to be holding an oval object in its mouth. The mound, including coils, is 1,330 feet long. Great Serpent Mound, unlike most effigy mounds, did not contain burials. Its age is Early to Middle Woodland (circa 200 to 400), making it several hundred years earlier than the Wisconsin mounds.