This image was taken from Henry Clyde Shetrone's book The Mound-Builders, copyright 1930. The life-size figure depicted here was executed for the Ohio State Museum and is the first known attempt to portray the builders of the ancient mounds as they appeared in life.
While the Europeans were experiencing the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance, Native Americans who lived along the Mississippi River and
its tributaries were developing their own unique culture. These prehistoric
Native Americans, who are called Mississippian Indians by
archaeologists,
lived in permanent towns which were built on a fairly
standard pattern. Ceremonial buildings on large four sided flat-topped
mounds faced a plaza. The villagers gathered in the plaza for important
events, ceremonies, and to watch various games such as stickball and
chunkey.
The earthen mounds were built over a period of years. Perhaps
they began as a slight rise with an important building on it. After
a time, the building burned. Maybe the people set it on fire because
it had become infested with vermin or perhaps the grass roof caught fire
accidently. Whatever the cause of the fire, the people brought basketful
after basketful of dirt to make a mound. When they were satisfied,
they built a new building on top. Archeologists do not know what
purpose these buildings fulfilled. The most widely accepted ideas are
that these buildings were either religious structures, or the homes
of chiefs or other important families.
Click on one of the following to see the earthworks at these particular archeological sites.
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