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Indian Mounds of Wisconsin

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It is estimated by archaeologists that there were between 15,000 and 20,000 Native American mounds in Wisconsin, of which at some 4,000 still remain today. These mounds range from simple swellings of earth to elaborate effigy mounds sculpted into the shapes of birds, animals, and other forms. Indian Mounds Of Wisconsin offers a comprehensive overview of these Native American earthworks and addresses the questions of when were they constructed, who built them, and for what purpose. Accessibly written and highly recommended for North American archaeology and Native American studies reference collections, as well as for the non-specialist general reader, Indian Mounds Of Wisconsin is enhanced with a travel guide to mound sites that can be viewed by the general public (including many in local, county, and state parks); photographs and line drawings; a Wisconsin archaeological chronology; effigy mound forms in selected counties; extensive chapter notes; bibliography for further study, and a "user friendly" index.

I found this book to be informative and quite interesting. I certainly was not fully aware of the rich, ancient cultural history of Wisconsin. It is a tragedy that the arrogance of the 'later' settlers of this northern territory would eradicate such historically significant sites . . . but then they did the same all across North America.

As empires rose and fell in the Old World--the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, Anglo-Saxon England, and Charlemagne--so too did civilizations thrive in the New World, the then undreamed-of North America.

Here in Wisconsin, the landscape is littered with seemingly inexplicable manmade mounds of earth, some circular, some rectangular, and many in the shapes of animals. These tantalizing earthworks are the echoes of Paleo-Indians, people who came to Wisconsin 12,000 years ago, as the glaciers begrudgingly receded, and the land burst forth with new vitality and fertility.

At first, the Paleo-Indians lived nomadically, and sparsely, following the herds of mammoth and mastodon, and gathering what wild-growing fruits and vegetables they could find. But by the First Millennium, their population had exploded. Collectively, they established a trading network that stretched from the Rockies to the Atlantic. They discovered horticulture; they established ties with the land; they built towns and cities. They created social divisions. And they waged wars.

In spite of a dry, academic narrative, this book piquantly evokes the splendor of exotic civilizations lost to the ages. This book reveals that the Indian mounds served many purposes, and hidden within them are clues to the disposition, the technology, and the prosperity of these ancient peoples. These mounds are powerful reminders that we were not the first ones here.

This year I myself toured Aztalan State Park, one of Wisconsin's more famous Paleo-Indian sites, and as I beheld the aged fortifications, and climbed atop the mounds, I was haunted by the murmurs of a thriving community long turned to dust. The Indian mounds are a sobering reminder that every civilization must eventually succumb to the tides of history.