How Did Native Americans Build The Mounds?

The majority of ancient Egyptian structures studied by architectural historians and planners alike, were erected to honor a pharaoh or as a grand tomb for their journey through to the afterlife. Whether the structure was in the form of a temple, tomb or statue, the ritual and spiritual influence is unquestionable. The location, scale, and materials used to construct these monuments are all defining factors of how the space is used and functions.

Beginning in the Sixteenth Century, Europeans sought to escape religious and class persecution by engaging on a journey to the New World. However, they were unaware that this “New World” was already inhabited by many groups of Native Americans, who had been established on the continent for thousands of years. At first, the two ethnic groups lived in relative peace. The colonists of Jamestown survived due to Powhatan’s tribe teaching them how to cultivate the land. However, things took a twisted turn as the colonists grew greedy. Due to cultural differences, there was stark tension between the Indian groups and European settlers in New England prior to 1750, which tremendously influenced early political means, social life, and the economy.

The Lenape Indians are the natives of New Jersey and were around well before any of the explorers or our ancestors came to the area. They had a society rich of culture, traditions, beliefs and customs. They are one of the largest Indian tribes on the east coast, containing three primary divisions or clans. Frederick Hodge (1907) worked for the Bureau of American Ethnology and has done extensive research on the topic of Native Americans. Hodge compiled a detailed reference book called The Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, which gives detailed histories on many of the American Indian tribes. According to Hodge, the Lenape or Delaware Indians were an Indian society based from the Delaware area all the way to southern New York in

Located in present day Collinsville, Illinois is Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which was once home to the largest city north of Mexico from 700 to 1400 A.D. Settled by the Mississippian people, today their decline remains a mystery. First visited in 1811 by traveler Henry Brackenridge and considered the “discoverer of Cahokia” only in the sense that he wrote several papers and articles about the findings to the public’s attention. After walking around the mounds, Brackenridge described that the locations of the last inhabitants were clearly visible to him, as were fragments of their tools and utensils. Many extensive archeological excavations and several case study theories have come about through the years as to why this magnificent ancient metropolis faced such demise.

When Europeans came to the American continent, contact with the Native Americans who were already living there was inevitable. In the colonization of early America, the various groups of European settlers: the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch each had unique experiences with, and therefore individual opinions of the Native Americans whom they interacted. Each of these nations also shared commonalties in their colonization processes and in how they viewed Native Americans. Furthermore, the Native Americans held differing opinions of each group of Europeans whom they encountered while some features of their relationships with Europeans were consistent despite the tribe or nation involved.

The first time I heard about the Mound Builders, which was in this class, these people seemed like a very primitive group. What was so exciting about having the skill of piling up a bunch of dirt. Then I was able to see some of these mounds and the scale was nothing I had imagined. These mounds were huge and also contained distinct structural shapes. Tombs, houses, and religious structures were constructed in or on top of the mounds. What made the edifices even more amazing was the time period they were built. Constructed all the way back to 3000 B.C., the mounds rivaled the most advanced engineering techniques in the world.

Regarding the Great Serpent mound in Ohio, this evidence suggests that a very complex and highly organized society was in place. The mounds themselves had to be created by following a complex method. It is the largest of its kind and likely required many people to construct. That would also require great organization. Inside these mounds, goods have been found that suggest a trade market. These are all traits of a complex society.

The Hopewell tradition was not a single cultural society, but a widely dispersed set of people. They worshiped a goddess by the name of spider-woman or moon goddess. Mounds were built as a ceremonial object. Which is where they buried members and worshiped. These mounds were actually made as lunar alignments and were an integral part of their highly developed social

o Known for mound building; largest mound is the Great Serpent Mound: 1300 ft long, built by the Mississippian.

The Myth of the Moundbuilders is a myth accepted by American settlers from Europe, in North America into the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. America was being populated and the new colonizers began to notice many artificial earthworks all around the continent. Circular, straight and mound statues were built and uncovered when the new farmers started to clean around the trees in the forest.

In general, Jamestown colony survived because of the determination of the London Company. The London Company in December 1606, sent three ships and 144 colonists all male to Virginia , but unfortunately only 105 survived the voyage and landed in Virginia and form a settlement, which they call Jamestown (Reich, p. 2011, p.59). In short, the area didn’t seem to be prosperous because of the land was marshy and the disease malaria was spreading amongst them and the locals. In addition, another quality they had was the ability to survive animosity from the Native Americans which surrounded them all over. According to Reich (2011), “Relations with the Native Americans was touchy ever since Jamestown was founded and one tribe attacked the English

It all started when the nomads were wandering from place to place. While they were wondering they found this land bridge. So they decided to take advantage of that. They followed herds of animals and explored new continents. After the year went by, the first exploration or America began.

During my visited to the Cahokia mounds we were able to explore the living of the Mississippians. This wasn’t my first time visiting but I haven’t been there for many year. On my way I there you can see the circle of tree, many small mounds and then one real big one. As I drove in to the Cahokia mount museum there was a lake on my left side. As I walk in the front of the beautiful stone build there was a garden of grass and plants by the Native Prairie plant this was very unique because they was able to kept this grass and plants together after the native tribe was no longer there. Once every one in our class made there Mr. Lowery lead his all inside. As we made it in there was two tour guided stand there to make sure we get help

As we may know, there is much speculation as to how and why the pyramids were built. There is very little known about these giant megaliths due to inconsistencies in the documentation, or a lack of documentation altogether. It has been understood for many years that the pyramids were built as tombs for great pharaohs, but how were such large limestone structures built by pure man-power with pinpoint accuracy? Is there a greater meaning behind the locations of these massive formations?

It was referred to as a mountain sanctuary (Schmidt, 46). Paintings and sculptures were excavated while researching Catalhoyuk. With the incredible discoveries of wall paintings, bucrania, sculptures, figurines and cut out reliefs the concept of “shrine” was introduced for buildings with huge amounts of “cultic” pieces. The idea of shrines suggest that Mellart describes these buildings as having primarily a spiritual function. As stated previously the Neolithic culture seemed to have built most of their sites based on spiritual purposes while the Greeks seemed to have built temples or buildings to satisfy a certain need such as the Olympic games. At the city at Ur there was an area called the Bakers square which is what we think to have been a social meeting place for the people living in that area. Frankfort explains that the big building with three entrances would have been an inn for merchants and other travelers that would come through the city that would stay and display all of their wares. At the site a number of public chapels where statues of deities were