Moundbuilders

ClickontheGooglePreviewimageabovetoreadsomepagesofthisbook!Nineteenth-centuryexplorersoftheAmericancontinentwereamazedtofindgreatmonumentsbuiltofearthintheEasternWoodlands.Thousandsofthesemoundswerediscoveredintheplainsandforestssomeuptoahundredfeethigh,someovergrownhillocks,someconical,othersflattopped.Speculationwasrifeastotheidentityofthemoundbuilders.AsGeorgeMilnershows,researchoverthepastcenturydemonstratesconclusivelythatNativeAmericansbuiltthesemounds.Inaperiodrangingfrom3000BCtothesixteenthcenturyAD,NorthAmericanIndiansquarriedtonsofearthtoformthemonuments,whichvarywidelyinlocation,sizeandpurpose.Somecontainedthousandsofburials,othersservedasplatformsforchiefs'residences,andmanywerelowlying"effigy"moundsintheformofserpents,panthersandothersacredbeasts.Moundbuildingwasakeyelementinsocietyhowpeopleworshippedgods,buriedthedead,rememberedtheirancestorsandrespectedtheirleadersandmanybeautifulobjectshavebeenfoundinsidethemounds,includingartifactsofshell,copperandmica."TheMoundbuilderscoverstheentiresweepofEasternWoodlandsprehistory,withanemphasisonhowsocietiesdevelopedfromhuntergathererstovillagefarmersandtown-dwellers.Greatstrideshavebeenmadeinrecentresearchandmanyofthemostimpressivemounds,suchasPovertyPoint,CahokiaandMoundville,aredescribedanddiscussedindetail.Thiswiderangingandcopiouslyillustratedbook,completewithinformationondozensofsitestovisit,istheperfectguidetotheregionfortourists,archaeologistsandstudents.