Other sites in the U.S. of similar history may be found at Indian Mounds Park
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,330-foot-long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Including all three parts,extends about 1,370 feet, and varies in height from less than a foot to more than three feet. Conforming to the curve of the property on which it rests with its head approaching near a cliff point, the serpent winds back and forth for more than seven hundred feet and ends with a triple coiled tail. The neck is stretched out off a gentle curve from the seventh coil from the tail, ending with open jaws around the east end of a lengthwise one hundred twenty+ foot hollow oval feature, thought variously to be an egg, the sun, the body of a frog, or merely the remnant of a platform serving to support something. The effigy's extreme western feature is a triangular mound approximately 31.6 feet at its base and long axis. It is the largest effigy earthwork in the world. // History of the Effigy Mounds Park in Whitewater The Effigy Mounds Park in 1995 before recent efforts to clear the parks underbrush. ... An effigy mound is a raised pile of dirt in the shape of an animal. ... Serpent Mound crater is a meteor crater in Ohio, United States. ... Ohio Brush Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in southern Ohio in the United States. ... Adams County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ...

Serpent Mound - an ancient Native American ceremonial structure

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 889 KB)Serpent mound - a Native American burial ground Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL, Pollinator 06:45, 23 February 2006 (UTC) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 889 KB)Serpent mound - a Native American burial ground Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL, Pollinator 06:45, 23 February 2006 (UTC) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ...

Origin of the Serpent Mound

Map of the Great Serpent Mound

The dating of the design, the actual construction, as well as the identity of the builders of the serpent effigy are three questions still debated in the disciplines of social science including ethnology, archeology, and anthropology, with some special interest conveyed today from concerned Native People. Several attributions born of educated opinions have been entered by academic, philosophic, and Native American concerns regarding all three of these unknown factors of when designed, when built, and by whom. These traditionally include the Adena culture, the Hopewell culture and the Fort Ancient culture. However, there is also the possibility of another group of people mentioned originally by missionary John Heckewelder in the 18th century transmitted to him from the Lenni Lenape (later Delaware). This group is remembered in Lenape and Iroquois legend as the Allegheny or Allegewi People,sometimes Tallegewi, and lived in the Ohio Valley in a remotely ancient period, believed pre-Adena, i.e. Archaic or pre-Woodland (before 1200 B.C.E. approximately). Because Native American legend has not been considered reliable by many academics over the last 200 years, the possible influence of an Allegheny nation has never become part of the Serpent Mound literature. Download high resolution version (1799x1064, 2036 KB)Drawing of the Serpent Mound File links The following pages link to this file: Serpent Mound ... Download high resolution version (1799x1064, 2036 KB)Drawing of the Serpent Mound File links The following pages link to this file: Serpent Mound ... An Adena pipe excavated from the Criel Mound The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from c. ... Hopewell mounds from the Mound City Group in Ohio Hopewell culture is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BC to 400 A.D. At its greatest extent, Hopewell culture stretched from... Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1550 among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of southern modern day Ohio and northern Kentucky. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Languages Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora, English, French Religions Christianity, Longhouse religion The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the League of Peace and Power; the Five Nations; the Six Nations; or the People of the Long house) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans that originally consisted of...

The most current attribution is to the so-named Fort Ancient culture, an Ohio Valley-based mound-building society influenced by the contemporaneous Mississippian society based further south. The Fort Ancient society has been given their title because this later Woodland group inhabited the abandoned ramparts of the very large notched earthworks in Warren County, Ohio commonly called "Fort Ancient." Confusingly, this earthwork is actually the creation of the very early Hopewell culture who built it at least 1000 years prior to the arrival of the so-named Fort Ancient culture. This kind of confusion in terminology stems from Ohio Valley archeological interests being unable to determine, through convention, a standarized language for the academic and public forum. This article is about the geologic period; for the North American culture, see Mississippian culture. ... Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. ... Fort Ancient is a collection of American Indian mounds and fortifications located in Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio, along the eastern shore of the Little Miami River about seven miles southeast of Lebanon on State Route 350. ...

The Fort Ancient society also built large effigy mounds in the upper Midwest (such as Wisconsin), in the shape of birds and other creatures. However, the fact of burials found in the immediate vicinity of the serpent effigy dating to the ancient Adena society considerably more than 1000 years prior to the Fort Ancient people has left room for much continuing debate.

The Adena culture

See also: Adena culture

Historically, the mound has been attributed to the Adena Indians (800 BC-AD 100). William Webb, noted Adena exponent working out of Lexington, found evidence for Kentucky Adena through carbon dating as early as 1200 B.C.E. By inference, this places the date of the Adena graves around Serpent Mound back in time several centuries. Since the many nearby mounds can be assuredly attributed to the Adena culture, the current explanation for age (see below) put forth by the Ohio Historical Society's archeological branch serves more to frame the Serpent Mound as an inscrutable artifact surrounded by differing chronological theories than owning a clearly defined date of origin. The Adena are also renowned for their elaborate earthworks. Unfortunately, an unrecorded number of their gravesites were destroyed before any organized archeological supervision performed correct analysis of their contents. The last of the great exponents of Adena archeology was Don Dragoo of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, whose work was not concerned with Serpent Mound. An Adena pipe excavated from the Criel Mound The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from c. ... Look up mound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An Adena pipe excavated from the Criel Mound The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from c. ... In archaeology, Earthworks are artificial changes in land level often known as lumps and bumps. ...

In keeping with the chronological inscrutibility the earthwork, recent carbon dating studies place the serpent mound outside of the span of the Adenas. Artifact evidence has been a trait of most other Adena mounds, but with no cultural artifacts found within the mound to date, alternative methodologies emphasizing other possible factors for dating have come to the foreground. From this angle of vision, the mound is either not of Adena origin, or it held a special significance for the Adena or another group before them or after them above the more common burial mounds. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

The Fort Ancient culture

See also: Fort Ancient

A few pieces of wood charcoal were found in a believed undisturbed portion of the Serpent Mound. The team of Robert V. Fletcher and Terry L. Cameron (under the supervision of the Ohio Historical Society's Bradley T. Lepper with special assistance from Dee Anne Wymer and William Pickard) reopened a trench created by Frederick Putnam of Harvard over 100 years before. The discovery of carbon not in association with artifacts encourages the notion that the Serpent Mound is itself an artifact. However, bioturbation,including burrowing animals, frost cracks, etc., can actually reverse the structural timeline of an earthen mound such as Serpent Mound, shifting carbon left from a later culture on the surface deep into the structure, making the earthwork appear younger. Native folk believed the spirits of the dead came back in the form of those burrowing animals like groundhogs, continually inhabiting the burial mounds. When carbon dating experiments were undertaken on these artifacts, two yielded a date of ca. 1070 AD (C.E.), with the third piece dating to the Late Archaic period some two thousand years before, specifically 2920+/-65 years B.P (before the present). The third date, ca 2900 B.P. was recovered from a core sample well below the prepared surface on which tbe mound was originally constructed. The first two dates place the Serpent Mound within the realm of the Fort Ancient People, a Mississippian culture, but the third back to very early Adena or before. ^[1] Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1550 among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of southern modern day Ohio and northern Kentucky. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... Radiocarbon dating is the use of the naturally occurring isotope of carbon-14 in radiometric dating to determine the age of organic materials, up to ca. ... In archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ... Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1550 among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of southern modern day Ohio and northern Kentucky. ... The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 900 to 1500 CE, varying regionally. ... An Adena pipe excavated from the Criel Mound The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from c. ...

The Fort Ancient Indians could have been the erectors of the Serpent Mound, or perhaps engaged their efforts in refurbishing the earthwork for their own use much in the same way as people today fix up old houses to be used again like new. A significant symbol in the Mississippian culture is the rattlesnake, which could explain the design of the mound; but as Harvard's Frederick Putnam, first archeologist at the site stipulated, the Serpent cult dates farther back into world history, figuring prominently in prehistoric Mexico, among other places. Species 27 species; see list of rattlesnake species and subspecies. ...

To make this point more cogent, this mound, if built by the Fort Ancient Indians, is uncharacteristic for that group. This culture also buried many artifacts in their mounds, something of which the Serpent Mound is, as noted above, devoid. Also, the Fort Ancient Indians did not usually bury their dead in the manner which remains were found in proximity to the effigy. The effigy of John Gower in Southwark Cathedral, London. ...

Purpose of the Serpent Mound

The Serpent mound is the largest effigy mound in the world. While there are several burial mounds around the Serpent mound site, the Serpent itself does not contain any human remains and wasn't constructed for burial purposes. The Cherokee relate the legend of the Uktena, a large serpent with supernatural appearance and power. The question raised regarding such Indian legend asks whether the ancient native people actually created very large totemic shrines based upon platforms made of earth and stone. Subsequent changes in the form of inheriting cultures or war could conceiveably have deconstructed such a marvelous effigy, leaving merely its platform.

Astronomical significance

The oval-to-head area of the serpent is aligned to the summer solstice sunset and the snake’s coils align with the winter solstice sunrise, the autumnal and spring equinox sunrises, and the summer solstice sunrise. It is thought that perhaps the mound was created as a response to astronomical occurrences. Moreover, William F. Romain, a northern Ohio resident and lettered archeologist also discovered a remarkable array of lunar alignments using the same coils, but indicating a facility of the designer with the considerably longer lunar cycle. A link to this image and others is noted below. “Summer solstice” redirects here. ...

The carbon dating attribution of 1070 coincides with two significant astronomic events: The appearance of Halley's Comet in 1066 and the light from the supernova that created Crab Nebula in 1054. This light was visible for two weeks after it first reached earth, even during the day. There is speculation that the serpent mound was to emulate a comet, slithering across the night sky like a snake. However, it must be noted that Halley's Comet's tail has always appeared as a long, straight line, and in no way resembles the convolutions of a serpent. This article is about the comet. ... Multiwavelength X-ray image of the remnant of Keplers Supernova, SN 1604. ... The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M 1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant in the constellation of Taurus. ...

However, the Great Serpent Mound also may have been carefully designed in accord with the placement of many stars composing a large asterism of the familiar constellation Draconis (Draco), rendering the theory of either Halley's Comet or the light of the supernova unconvincing. The star pattern of this asterism of Draconis fitting with remarkable precision to the Serpent Mound map is demonstrated in such a manner as to date the design of the serpent to a considerably earlier time,i.e. the highest position of the ancient north star, Draconis-alpha (Thuban). This chronology is formulated through observing the law of precession and the position of the pole star Thuban (which preceded the present pole star Polaris) placed at the geometrical center of the star layout underscoring the serpent form, viz. beneath the seventh coil from the spiral tailing. An image of this and other astronomical information regarding the Great Serpent Mound is available through this link: [[1]]

Placement

Squier and Davis's map from Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1848

A depiction of the serpent mound that appeared in The Century periodical in April, 1890

The mound is located on a plateau with a unique cryptoexplosion structure that contains faulted and folded bedrock, which is usually either produced by a meteorite or a volcanic explosion. This is one of the few places in North America where such an occurrence is seen. Though the meaning is grounds for debate, the mound's placement on such an area is almost undoubtedly not by coincidence. Glotzhober & Lepper summarize the dispute in their work: ^[2] Download high resolution version (450x602, 128 KB)Drawing of the Serpent Mound File links The following pages link to this file: Serpent Mound ... Download high resolution version (450x602, 128 KB)Drawing of the Serpent Mound File links The following pages link to this file: Serpent Mound ... Library of Congress image used as the frontispiece for the 150th Anniversary re-issue of Squier and Davis Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (full title Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations) by Americans Ephraim... Image of the Serpent Mound from The Century; a popular quarterly. ... Image of the Serpent Mound from The Century; a popular quarterly. ... In geology, a cryptoexplosion structure is any roughly circular structure of unknown origin that was likely caused by a sudden, explosive release of energy resulting in notable localized deformation of rock strata. ... Bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the Earths surface. ... Willamette Meteorite A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earths surface without being destroyed. ... For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...

Determining exactly what formed the Serpent Mound Cryptoexplosion Structure is a problem that geologists continue to debate. Two main solutions have been offered. Some geologists think the structure is a meteorite or asteroid crater. Others suggest that the structure was caused by forces from inside the earth, probably an explosive eruption of gases derived from a deep magma source in the basement rocks.

Geologists from the Ohio Division of Natural Resources Division of Geological Survey and from the University of Glasgow (Scotland) concluded in 2003 that a meteorite strike was responsible for the formation after studying core samples collected at the site in the 1970s. Further analyses of the rock core samples recovered at the site indicated the meteorite impact occurred during the Permian Period, about 248 to 286 million years ago. ^[3]

Recent History of the Serpent Mound

Serpent Mound postcard

The Serpent Mound was first discovered by two Chillicothe men, Ephraim G. Squier and Edwin H. Davis. During a routine surveying expedition, Squier and Davis discovered the unusual mound in 1846. They took particularly careful note of the area. When they published their book, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, in 1848, they included a detailed description and a map of the serpent mound. Serpent Mound Postcard File links The following pages link to this file: Serpent Mound ... Serpent Mound Postcard File links The following pages link to this file: Serpent Mound ... For the record label, see Postcard Records. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Ohio Coordinates: , Country United States State Ohio Counties Ross Government  - Mayor Joseph P. Sulzer (D) Area  - City 9. ... Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888) was an American archaeologist. ... Library of Congress image used as the frontispiece for the 150th Anniversary re-issue of Squier and Davis Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (full title Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations) by Americans Ephraim...

Preservation of the Serpent Mound

Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley fascinated many across the country, including Frederic Ward Putnam of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Putnam would spend a considerable amount of his career lecturing and publishing on the Ohio mounds, specifically the Serpent Mound, but when he visited the Midwest in 1885, he found that many of them were quickly being destroyed by plowing and development. In 1886, with help from a group of women in Boston, Putnam raised funds to purchase 60 acres at the Serpent Mound site, which also contained three conical mounds, a village site and a burial place. Originally purchased on behalf of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum, the ownership of the property was granted in 1900 to the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (a predecessor of the present Ohio Historical Society), and it became the United States' first State park. For his contribution of scientific methods and direction to many of the nascent field's best students, Putnam is widely known as the "Father of American Archaeology."^[4] Frederic Ward Putnam (16 April 1839, Salem, U.S. – 14 August 1915, Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American naturalist and anthropologist. ... The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 ...to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio. ... State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. ...

Excavation of the Serpent Mound

After raising sufficient funds, Putnam returned to the site in 1886. He worked for three years excavating the contents and burial sequences of both the Serpent Mound and two nearby conical mounds. After his work was completed and his findings documented, Putnam worked on restoring the mounds to their original state.

The Ohio Historical Society

A digital GIS map of Ohio's Great Serpent Mound, created by Timothy A. Price and Nichole I. Stump in March of 2002.

In 1901 the Ohio Historical Society hired an engineer called Clinton Cowan to survey their newly acquired lands. Cowan returned to them a 56 by 72 inch map that depicted the outline of the Serpent Mound in relation to nearby landmarks, such as rivers. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (5400x3600, 1268 KB) Summary A digital GIS map of Ohios Great Serpent Mound, created by Timothy A. Price and Nichole I. Stump in March of 2002. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (5400x3600, 1268 KB) Summary A digital GIS map of Ohios Great Serpent Mound, created by Timothy A. Price and Nichole I. Stump in March of 2002. ... A geographic information system (GIS) is a system for managing data that has a spatial specialized form of an information system. ... The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 ...to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio. ... For other uses, see River (disambiguation). ...

Cowan also took specific geographical surveys of the area, discovering the unique crypto-volcanic structure the mound sits on top of. He also found that the mound is at the convergence of three distinctly different soil types. Cowan's information, in conjunction with Putnam's archaeological discoveries, have been the basis for all modern investigations of the Serpent Mound. Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ...

In 1967, the Ohio Historical Society opened the Serpent Mound Museum, in close proximity to the mound. In addition to the museum, a pathway was constructed around the base of the mound, which is still in existence today. The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 ...to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The museum features various exhibits, including various interpretations of the effigy's form, the processes of constructing the mound, the geographical history of the area, and an exhibit on the Adena people, historically credited as the creators of the mound. The museum shop offers publications on archaeology and American Indians, as well as souvenirs and refreshments. An Adena pipe excavated from the Criel Mound The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from c. ... This July 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ... A Sioux in traditional dress including war bonnet, circa 1908. ...

Media

• Issue No. 118 of Dungeon (magazine), featured "Throne of Iuz," a Dungeons & Dragons adventure that was inspired by the Serpent Mound.
• An episode of the internet video series "Afterworld" features the Serpent Mound.

Dungeon Adventures, commonly called simply Dungeon, is a magazine targeting people who play role playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. ... This article is about the role-playing game. ...

See also

• Mound builder (people)
• Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
• Crooks mound
• Spiro Mounds
• Glades culture

Miamisburg Mound, the largest conical mound in Ohio, is attributed to the Adena archaeological culture. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Located in La Salle Parish in south central Louisiana, Crooks mound is a large, conical, burial mound that was part of at least six episodes of burials. ... 80. ... The Glades culture is an archaeological culture in southernmost Florida that lasted from about 500 BCE until shortly after European contact. ...

References

Further reading

• Fletcher, Robert V., Terry L. Cameron, Bradley T. Lepper, Dee Anne Wymer, and William Pickard, "Serpent Mound: A Fort Ancient Icon?", Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Vol 21, No. 1, Spring 1996, University of Iowa.

• Squier, Ephraim G. and Edwin H. Davis, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1998. This is a reprint of the 1848 edition with a modern introduction by David J. Meltzer

• Woodward, Susan L. and Jerry N. McDonald, Indian Mounds of the Middle Ohio Valley, The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1986

Library of Congress image used as the frontispiece for the 150th Anniversary re-issue of Squier and Davis Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (full title Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations) by Americans Ephraim...

External links

• -- Ohio's Serpent Mound -- segment of interview with Ross Hamilton, author of "The Mystery of the Serpent Mound" (4:19 minutes)
• Serpent Mound State Memorial
• Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
• Ohio History Teachers - Field Trips: Serpent Mound
• Minnesota State University Mankato - Archaeological Sites: Serpent Mound
• The Ohio Historical Society: Serpent Mound
• Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society
• -- Ohio's Serpent Mound -- Google Maps

Coordinates: 39°01′N, 83°26′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...