mound-building
Piling soil up
Mound-building describes the practice of constructing earthen mounds, particularly associated with ancient Indigenous cultures of North America who built elaborate ceremonial, burial, and residential structures from soil.
The term also applies to certain animals that create mounds: mound-building termites, mound-building birds that incubate eggs in composting vegetation.
Constructed soil structure
- HopewellPre-Columbian earthwork civilization
- ceremonialRelating to formal rites
- tumulusAncient burial mound
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
indigenous · Mississippian · artifact · excavation · ancestral · sacred site · plaza · chiefdom
Stinging tropical insect
- FormicaWood ant genus
- anthillInsect colony's earthen home
- excavationAct of unearthing
- tunnelingDigging underground passages
chamber · brood · leafcutter · harvester ant · subterranean · gallery · worker caste · dirt pile
Wood-devouring social insect
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- chimneyVertical smoke passage
- ventilationCirculation of fresh air
- soldierArmed forces member
worker · queen · savanna · Africa · Australia · clay · thermoregulation · symbiosis
Breakdown into simpler parts
- temperature regulationControlling heat levels
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- New GuineaOceanian island, split politically
- compostDecayed organic fertilizer
earthwork
Constructed soil structure
- HopewellPre-Columbian earthwork civilization
- ceremonialRelating to formal rites
- tumulusAncient burial mound
prehistoric · indigenous · Mississippian · artifact · excavation · ancestral · sacred site · plaza · chiefdom · ritual
fire ant
Stinging tropical insect
- FormicaWood ant genus
- anthillInsect colony's earthen home
- excavationAct of unearthing
tunneling · chamber · brood · leafcutter · harvester ant · subterranean · gallery · worker caste · dirt pile · woodland
termite
Wood-devouring social insect
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- chimneyVertical smoke passage
- ventilationCirculation of fresh air
soldier · worker · queen · savanna · Africa · Australia · clay · thermoregulation · symbiosis · cellulose
decomposition
Breakdown into simpler parts
- temperature regulationControlling heat levels
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- New GuineaOceanian island, split politically
compost · scratching · nesting · hatchling
mound-buildingleveling
Making flat or equal
flattening · razing · demolishing · grading · bulldozing