moundbuilders
Prehistoric earthwork constructors
Moundbuilders refers to the indigenous peoples of North America who constructed earthen mounds for ceremonial, burial, and residential purposes, primarily in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys.
The term encompasses several distinct cultures spanning roughly 3000 BCE to European contact.
Their mounds range from simple burial sites to elaborate effigy shapes and massive platform structures.
The Cahokia site near St. Louis represents the moundbuilders' most impressive achievement.
Ancient burial mound
- effigySculpted human representation
- platformRaised flat structure
- burialPlacing deceased underground
- templeSacred worship structure
conical · earthwork · plaza · embankment · terrace · rampart · geometric · enclosure
Native of a southern state
- HopewellPre-Columbian earthwork civilization
- HavanaCuba's largest city
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- indigenousOriginating in a region
Native American · prehistoric · tribal · clans · chiefdoms · societies · traditions · ceremonial
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- carbon-datingIsotope-based age measurement
- burialPlacing deceased underground
ceramics · potsherd · archaeologists · lithics · radiocarbon · chronology · excavated · surveying
Ground-nesting Australian fowl
- incubatorControlled warming enclosure
- nestingMaking a dwelling
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- New GuineaOceanian island, split politically
decomposition · fermentation · volcanic · burrow · hatchling
tumulus
Ancient burial mound
temple · conical · earthwork · plaza · embankment · terrace · rampart · geometric · enclosure · palisade
Mississippian
Native of a southern state
indigenous · Native American · prehistoric · tribal · clans · chiefdoms · societies · traditions · ceremonial · matrilineal
excavation
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- carbon-datingIsotope-based age measurement
burial · ceramics · potsherd · archaeologists · lithics · radiocarbon · chronology · excavated · surveying · analysis
brush-turkey
Ground-nesting Australian fowl
- incubatorControlled warming enclosure
- nestingMaking a dwelling
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
New Guinea · decomposition · fermentation · volcanic · burrow · hatchling