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Effigy Mounds National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Monument Iowa ILLUSTRATION NPS / MICHAEL HAMPSHIRE With basketloads of fill ma­terial, Effigy Mounds people in northeastern Iowa created a variety of animal shapes three to four feet high and up to 212 feet long. With what nature pro­ vided, Effigy Mounds people fashioned tools and ornaments like this bird-bone awl (far left) and bear-tooth pendant (left). Bears and Birds Made of Earth European explorers began arriving in the late 1600s. The fur trade among the Indians, French, Brit­ish, and later Ameri­ cans continued into the mid-1800s. The region saw a big influx of American settlers starting in the 1840s. Land with mounds was logged, plowed, and turned into farmland. In the early 1700s many held that technologically advanced cultures from the Middle East, China, or Europe had built the mounds, but Smith­sonian Institution research in the 1880s showed that the moundbuilders were prehistoric American Indians. At first you see low rises on the landscape, but soon your eye picks out regular pat­ terns in the hills. Trace the patterns, and those hills turn into familiar shapes—ani­ mals rising out of the ground in low relief. The effigies aren’t nature’s work—Amer­ ican Indians created them between 850 and 1,400 years ago. American Indians built mounds at various times and places across the Americas, but only in the upper Midwest did a culture regularly build mounds seemingly shaped like birds, turtles, lizards, bison, and, most commonly, bears. shore. Locally this hunter-gatherer culture thrived on the rich resources of Mississippi waters, wetlands, and forests. From summer camps along the river they fished and gathered freshwa­ ter mussels, arrowhead roots, wild rice, acorns, fruits, and berries. White-tailed deer and elk were staple foods in winter when extended family groups lived in rock shelters in the local river valleys. Why were effigy mounds created? They are best viewed from above, so who or what was meant to see them? With no written re­cords and few surviving tribal stories and traditions, the mounds’ origin and meaning remain a mystery. Surveys of northeastern Iowa in the 1800s and early 1900s documented the pres­ ence of over 10,000 mounds of all types. But within 100 years, fewer than 1,000 survived, and several people mounted efforts to preserve some of the remain­ing mounds. Effigy Mounds National Monu­ ment was es­tab­lished in 1949. Today, as you walk along the bluffs and around the Around 850 years ago, the building of effigy mounds ceased. Archeological evi­ mounds, be re­spectful of the ancient dence suggests a major cultural transition: people whose relationship with nature the people started to live in larger perma­ inspired these creations. nent villages, making new forms of pot­ tery, and most significantly depending far The heart of the Effigy more on agriculture than on hunting and Mounds world lay in today’s southern gathering. Archeologists call the prehis­ Wisconsin and parts of toric people who took up this new way adjacent states. Most of life the Oneota Culture. It is be­lieved survi­ving effigies lie along waterways. that they are the ancestors of historic tribes in the effigy mounds region. Effigy mounds have at­tract­ed the most attention but are not the area’s oldest mounds, nor were their builders the first to live here. Humans have lived in eastern Iowa for over 10,000 years. Dome-shaped conical mounds began to be built about 2,500 years ago by people now known as Woodland Indians. By 1,400 years ago, in the Late Wood­­­land period, area Indians began to build effigy mounds from just west of the Upper Mis­ sissippi River to Lake Michigan’s western Earthen effigy mounds began to ap­ pear 1,400 years ago, and were possibly religious sites or clan symbols used in sea­ sonal ceremonies. Some show evidence of fire, probably ceremonial, in the mound’s head, heart, or flank. Some tribal stories hold that the bear is the guardian of Earth and the bird the guardian of the sky. Perhaps the mounds were a means of connecting the people to the land and their spirit world and ancestors. Tools and Trade Stone was abraded to make a celt or adze (below) and a ham­ merhead (right). Chert was fashioned into spear points and arrowheads (lower center and right). Clay from river­banks was used for pottery like this decorated shard (far right). Exotic ma­ter­ials came from trade: the breastplate (upper right) was made from copper mined on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ARTIFACT PHOTOGRAPHS NPS NPS A Guide to the Mounds Effigy Mounds National Monu­ment holds 206 known prehistoric mounds, 31 in the form of animal effigies. Others are conical, linear, or compound (left to right in the bird’s-eye diagrams below). Little Bear effigy mound (right) is near Fire Point. ILLUSTRATIONS NPS / MICHAEL HAMPSHIRE Conical Conical mounds, round domes of earth, are the oldest and most numerous mounds in this area, dating back 2,500 years. They are 2 to 8 feet high and 10 to 20 feet in diameter. Similar mounds can be found throughout the eastern Unit­ed States, Linear but especially in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. Ancient peoples in this region buried their dead in conical mounds. The oldest have traces of red ocher (iron oxide) used in burials. Linear mounds, built between 1,700 and Compound 1,300 years ago, were 2 to 4 feet high, 6 to 8 feet across, and could be 100 feet long. Compound mounds are conical mounds joined by linear mounds. They may mark a transition phase from conical to linear styles. Groups of these mounds usually will have three or four linked conical mounds. The largest group in this park has seven conicals and ex­tends 480 feet. Linear and compound mounds are found only in the Effigy Mounds region. This upper Mississippi region is famous for Bear Effigy its effigy mounds. The Effigy Mounds cul­ture lived in north­­eastern Iowa, southern Wiscon­ sin, northern Illinois, and southeastern Min­ nesota (see map). A typical effigy is 2 to 4 feet high, 40 feet wide, and 80 feet long. Wing­ spans of 124 and 212 feet are found on two bird mounds here in the park. They created many dif­ferent shapes, but here the bird and bear mounds predominate. The Great Bear Mound measures 137 feet long and 70 feet wide at the shoulder. Exploring Effigy Mounds Wild sweet William NPS Effigy Mounds National Monument is three miles north of Marquette on Iowa 76. Stop first at the visitor center, open daily ex­ cept for certain public holidays. For hours and days of operation, call the monument or check the website. There are picnic areas along Iowa 76 south of the visitor center but no picnic tables in the park. Nearby towns offer lodg­ing and res­ taurants. Dutchman’s breeches Great blue lobelia and cardinal flower Plants and animals of Effigy Mounds are typi­ cal of the upper Missis­ sippi River valley. The park’s main section has two units separated by the Yellow River. Both units are best ex­plored by trails. Boardwalk Trail (wheel­ chair-accessible) lets you explore a wetland envi­ ronment. Rangers con­ duct programs from mid-June through Labor Day. A longer, self-­ guiding walk follows the Hang­ing Rock Trail past the Great Bear Mound, tallgrass prairie, and river overlooks. Educational tours may be arranged in advance during the school year. NPS North Unit North of the visitor center a twomile walk on the Fire Point Trail goes past Lit­tle Bear Mound (out­ lined with pebbles) and coni­­cal and compound mounds, with good river views. South of the visitor center the onemile Yellow River Bridge NPS South Unit The trail system in the south unit leads through hard­ wood forest and re­ stored tallgrass prairie Bald eagle NPS (see map). Desti­nations include Marching Bear Group (10 bear and three bird mounds), Com­­pound Mound Group, Founders Pond Overlook, and Neze­ kaw Point Over­look. A parking lot is 0.5 mile south of the visitor cen­ter at the day-use area. Sny Magill Unit The monument’s largest mound group is 12 miles south of the visi­ tor center and other park areas shown on the map. Please con­ tact or inquire at the Black swallowtail on swamp milkweed NPS visitor center for infor­ mation and directions to this remote unit. For a Safe Visit All archeological and natural objects in the park are protected by law. Vandalism, looting, dig­ging, or altering the mounds or features is prohibited. • Watch for poison ivy, mosquitoes, and deer ticks. • Pets must be re­strained by leash at all times. • Stay on trails. Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to our visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check our website. Related Sites Other Woodlands-era mound sites are the Fish Farm Mounds, north of Lan­ sing, Iowa; Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa; and Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin. There are also mound sites that are open to the public in St. Paul, Minn., and throughout southern Wisconsin. Marching Bear Group NPS NPS NPS View from Hanging Rock way you will pass sev­ A trail (3.5 miles one eral mound groups. way) from the visitor As you walk the trails, center takes you to watch carefully for the Hanging Rock white-tailed deer, a overlook, part of a common resident. large limestone out­ cropping. On your The park grounds are forested with mixed deciduous trees, oak, maple, walnut, shag­ bark hickory, birch, and aspen. View from Fire Point A mysterious feature of Fire Point Mound is burned clay. Found in the top layer of the mound, this clay was carried up from the Mississippi River banks. The ex­pansive view from here includes Pikes Peak State Park, far to the south, and Prairie du Chien across the river in Wis­consin. NPS Third Scenic View Northward is a good view of Hanging Rock as well as the islands that make up the Up­per Mississippi Riv­ er National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Effigy Mounds National Monument is one of over 390 parks in the National Park System. To learn more about national parks and National Park Service programs in America’s communities, visit www.nps.gov. NPS More information Effigy Mounds National Monu­ment 151 High­­­way 76 Harpers Ferry, IA 52146-7519 563-873-3491 www.nps.gov/efmo View from Eagle Rock Looking to the south you can see Bluegill Pond, Buffalo Pond, and, on the far side of the Yellow River marshlands, the south unit of Effigy Mounds. Eagle Rock is an ex­ cellent place to spot bald eagles, which nest along the rivers. November through March is the best time to see them. IGPO: 2012—372-849/80860 Reprint 2012 Printed on recycled paper.