Effigy Mound

This phase of Minnesota prehistory is found mostly in southeastern Minnesota along the Mississippi River. They are also common to Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. The Effigy Mound phase is known for the large mounds that they have constructed about 300-1300 AD. These large mounds are shaped mostly in the form of animals, such as canines (wolf), birds (falcon), bear, elk, tortoise, and panther. There are some other shapes that have been found, which are human in shape or spiritual. The size of the mounds is the most intriguing. The mounds are about 2 meters in height, 5 to 15 meters in width, and up to ¼ mile in length for some. (These dimensions vary from mound to mound depending on the shape.) There are approximately 10,000 mounds that are known. There is a national park that is preserving many of these mounds in Northeast Iowa. The exact reason for the construction of these mounds is still a mystery. Some of the mounds were used for burials. There is a variation in the burials; some are found with many possessions and others with nothing. It has been noted that some of the deceased were moved from somewhere else and placed in the mound with another burial. Other mounds have had dedicatory hearths placed in them. An interesting point about these hearths is the placement. Many have been placed in the approximate location of the heart of the representing animal. Some of these mounds were most likely used for ceremonies and symbolic rituals. Other mounds might have been used as territorial markers for the different clans.There must have been group integration; otherwise the construction of the mounds would have been impossible. One theory is that the clans would meet at the mounds in the spring and begin construction then. They needed to be close to water and food. The construction of these mounds would undoubtedly take most of a summer. The exact reason for the construction of these mounds is still unknown. This is not an area that is devoted much attention. The mounds are definitely sacred and have a function and meaning. The integration of groups of people to construct such a large object is fascinating.