Indian Mounds of Wisconsin

by Birmingham, Robert A.

• ISBN13: 9780299168742
• ISBN10: 0299168743
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Pr

Summary

More mounds were built by ancient Native American societies in Wisconsin than in any other region of North America--between 15,000 and 20,000 mounds, at least 4,000 of which remain today. Most impressive are the effigy mounds, huge earthworks sculpted into the shapes of birds, animals, and other forms, not found anywhere else in the world in such concentrations. This book, written for general readers but incorporating the most recent research, offers a comprehensive overview of these intriguing earthworks and answers the questions, Who built the mounds? When and why were they built? The archaeological record indicates that most ancient societies in the upper Midwest built mounds of various kinds sometime between about 800 B.C. and A.D. 1200; the effigy mounds were probably built between A.D. 800 and A.D. 1200. Using evidence drawn from archaeology, ethnography, ethnohistory, the traditions and beliefs of present-day Native Americans in the Midwest, and recent research and theories of other archaeologists, Birmingham and Eisenberg present an important new interpretation of the effigy mound groups as "cosmological maps" that model ancient belief systems and social relations. It is likely that the distant ancestors of several present-day Native American groups were among the mound-building societies, in part because these groups' current clan structures and beliefs are similar to the symbolism represented in the effigy mounds. Indian Mounds of Wisconsin includes a travel guide to sites that can be visited by the public, including many in state, county, and local parks.

Author Biography

Robert A. Birmingham is the state archaeologist in the Division of Historic Preservation and Leslie E. Eisenberg is a forensic anthropologist and coordinator of the Burial Sites Preservation Program, both at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	vii
Tables	xi
Preface	xiii
The Mystery of the Mounds	3	(10)
Speculation, Excavation, Explanation: In Search of the Mound Builders	13	(56)
Wisconsin before the Mound Builders: The Paleo-Indian and Archaic Traditions	69	(13)
Early Burial Mound Builders: The Early and Middle Woodland Stages	82	(18)
Effigy Mound Builders: The Late Woodland Stage	100	(42)
Temple Mound Builders: The Mississippian Tradition	142	(21)
Mound Construction and Use in Later Times: Oneota, Northern Wisconsin, and the Historic Period	163	(17)
Indian Mounds in the Modern World	180	(13)
Appendix: Selected Mound Sites Open to the Public	193	(16)
Notes	209	(18)
Bibliography	227	(13)
Index	240