Effigy Mounds

Effigy Mounds National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Monument Iowa Illustration NPS/Michael Hampshire With what nature pro­ vided, Effigy Mounds people fashioned tools and ornaments like this bird-bone awl (far left) and bear-tooth pendant (left). With basket loads 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. Bears and Birds Made of Earth At first you see low rises on the landscape, but soon your eye picks out regular patterns in the hills. Trace the patterns, and those hills turn into familiar shapes—­animals rising out of the ground in low relief. The effigies aren’t nature’s work—American 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. 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. 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 Mississippi River to Lake Michigan’s western 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 freshwater 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. European explorers began arriving in the late 1600s. The fur trade among the Indians, French, Brit­ish, and later Americans 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. Many early 18th-century views held that technologically advanced cultures from the Middle East, China, or Europe had built the mounds, but Earthen effigy mounds began to apSmith­sonian Institution research in the pear 1,400 years ago, and were possibly 1880s showed that the moundbuilders religious sites or clan symbols used in sea- were prehistoric American Indians. sonal ceremonies. Some show evidence of fire, probably ceremonial, in the mound’s Surveys of northeastern Iowa in the 1800s head, heart, or flank. Some tribal stories and early 1900s documented the preshold that the bear is the guardian of ence of over 10,000 mounds of all types. Earth and the bird the guardian of the But within 100 years, fewer than 1,000 sky. Perhaps the mounds were a means survived, and several people mounted of connecting the people to the land and efforts to preserve some of the remain­ing their spirit world and ancestors. mounds. The Effigy Mounds National Monument was es­tab­lished in 1949. Around 850 years ago, the building of Today, as you walk along the bluffs and effigy mounds ceased. Archeological evi- around the mounds, be re­spectful of the dence suggests a major cultural transition: ancient people whose relationship with the people started to live in larger perma- nature inspired these creations. nent villages, making new forms of pottery, 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 prehisWisconsin 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. 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 ar­ rowheads (lower center and right). Clay from river­banks was used for pottery like this decorated shard (far right). Exotic ma­ ter­ials came from trade: the breastplate (upper right) was made from copper mined on the Up­ per 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. Oth­ ers 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 the 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 Dutchman’s breeches nps Great blue lobelia and cardinal flower NPS Bald eagle NPS Swamp milkweed NPS Planning Your Visit Effigy Mounds Nation­ al Monu­ment is three miles north of Mar­­­ quette on Iowa 76. Nearby towns offer lodging and restaurants. 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. Plants and animals of Ef­figy Mounds are typ­ ical 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. There are picnic areas along Iowa 76 south of the visitor center but no picnic tables in the park. North Unit North of the visitor center a two-mile walk on the Fire Point Trail goes past Lit­tle Bear Mound (outlined with pebbles) and coni­­cal and com­ pound mounds, with good river views. South of the visitor center the one-mile Yellow River Bridge Boardwalk Trail (wheelchair-accessible) lets you explore a wet­ land environment. Rangers conduct pro­ grams from mid-June through Labor Day. A longer, self-­guiding walk follows the Hang­ ing Rock Trail past the Great Bear Mound, tall­ grass prairie, and river overlooks. Educational tours may be arranged in advance during the school year. South Unit The trail system in the south unit leads through hard­wood forest and re­stored tallgrass prai­ rie (see map). Desti­ nations include March-­ ing Bear Group (10 bear and three bird mounds), Com­­pound Mound Group, Found­ ers Pond Overlook, and Neze­­kaw Point Over­ look. A parking lot is 0.5 mile south of the visitor cen­ter at the day-use area. 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. • Use or pos­ session of fire­arms is prohibited. • Watch for poison ivy, mosquitoes, and deer ticks. • Pets must be re­strained by leash at all times. • Stay on trails. • The visitor center, museum, audio­ visual program, and public restrooms are wheelchair-acces­sible. 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 sevA 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 outcropping. On your The park grounds are forested with mixed deciduous trees, oak, maple, walnut, shagbark 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 Up­ per Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Effigy Mounds Nation­ al Monument is one of over 390 parks in the National Park System. The National Park Serv­ ice cares for these spe­ cial places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. More information Effigy Mounds National Monu­ment 151 High­­­way 76 Harpers Ferry, IA 52146-7519 563-873-3491 www.nps.gov/efmo NPS To learn more about the parks and National Park Service programs in America’s communi­ ties visit www.nps.gov. View from Eagle Rock To the south here are Blue­­­gill Pond, Buffalo Pond, and, on the far side of the Yellow River marsh­lands, the south unit of Effigy Mounds. Eagle Rock is an ex­cellent place to spot bald eagles, which nest along the rivers. No­vem­ber through March is the best time to see them. GPO:2007—330-358/007 39 Reprint 2007 Printed on recycled paper.