09-20-2022, 08:31 AM
Don, that sounds like a terrific trip you have planned. We are in for a treat when you return and share photos with us.
You wondered if Native American mounds were built only in the eastern part of the US.
I think that's true for earthen mounds, which are found from the Canadian border to the Gulf; as far east as Florida and the Carolinas and as far west as South Dakota (Rich has posted about the Mitchell site not far from his home.) The typical earthen mound is a burial mound; another type is the larger platform mound which is sometimes multi-terraced and often had structures at the top serving as homes for the political/spiritual leaders or places to gather for events and rituals (in some cultures involving human sacrifice) important to the societies. An example of another type is the Serpent Mound in southern Ohio; a low, long and twisting depiction of a snake.
At many sites mounds of any sort did double duty by being precisely oriented to serve as astronomical observation positions.
I suspect two reasons why earthen mounds aren't found further west: 1) a lack of cohesive soil in the more arid west; and 2) the difficulty of digging in dry and rocky soil.
But I don't want to sell these other cultures short. Tribal cultures in the US Southwest created some amazing structures. These included large living structures, ceremonial areas and structures, and stations for impressively accurate astronomical observations. Sites such as Mesa Verde, Nine Mile Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, and Chaco Canyon come to mind.
Our early Native American cultures were far more advanced than most people realize.
You wondered if Native American mounds were built only in the eastern part of the US.
I think that's true for earthen mounds, which are found from the Canadian border to the Gulf; as far east as Florida and the Carolinas and as far west as South Dakota (Rich has posted about the Mitchell site not far from his home.) The typical earthen mound is a burial mound; another type is the larger platform mound which is sometimes multi-terraced and often had structures at the top serving as homes for the political/spiritual leaders or places to gather for events and rituals (in some cultures involving human sacrifice) important to the societies. An example of another type is the Serpent Mound in southern Ohio; a low, long and twisting depiction of a snake.
At many sites mounds of any sort did double duty by being precisely oriented to serve as astronomical observation positions.
I suspect two reasons why earthen mounds aren't found further west: 1) a lack of cohesive soil in the more arid west; and 2) the difficulty of digging in dry and rocky soil.
But I don't want to sell these other cultures short. Tribal cultures in the US Southwest created some amazing structures. These included large living structures, ceremonial areas and structures, and stations for impressively accurate astronomical observations. Sites such as Mesa Verde, Nine Mile Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, and Chaco Canyon come to mind.
Our early Native American cultures were far more advanced than most people realize.
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for him!
Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300 mm; PSE2021, PSCS5
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